The many faces of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on the Church calendar on December 6.  All kinds of traditions and practices are associated with St. Nicholas, from Clement C Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas, from which we get some of our modern Santa Claus imagery and Christmas morning traditions to sipping hot chocolate and practicing the Germanic tradition of putting coins in shoes.  And there’s always Europe’s Krampus and Schmutzli to beware of!  A favorite, of course, is watching sentimental Christmas specials: Scrooge’s redemption in his declaration that “I will live in the past, present and future.  The spirits of all three shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!” and the Grinch, too, when he finally realized that perhaps Christmas doesn’t come from a store, but may mean a little bit more; and then the true meaning of Christmas shown through and his heart grew three sizes, times two.  Y’know, I love these stories, but I’m not sure how the true meaning of Christmas can come through without mentioning the birth of the infant Messiah, Jesus.  It’s like The Nicholas Center’s (https://www.stnicholascenter.org/) claim that St. Nicholas needs to be “rescued” from Santa Claus or Charlie Brown loudly lamenting from the darkened stage: “Isn’t there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?!” and Linus saving the day by retelling the birth narrative from Luke’s gospel.

 
What many people seem not to know is that St. Nicholas was a real person.  From The Episcopal Church’s Lesser Feasts and Fasts we learn that Nicholas of Myra was a bishop in the early to mid-fourth century and that “very little is known about the life of Nicholas, except that he suffered torture and imprisonment during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian.  It is probable that he was one of the bishops attending the Council of Nicaea in 325 (from which is derived our Nicene Creed).  According to popular tradition, he famously lost his temper at the council and punched the heretic Arius, but this story dates to more than 1,000 years after his death and is almost certainly apocryphal.  He was honored as a saint in Constantinople in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian.  His veneration also became immensely popular in the West after the supposed removal of his body to Bari, Italy, in the late eleventh century.  In England, almost 400 churches were dedicated to him.  Nicholas is famed as the traditional patron of seafarers and sailors, and, more especially, of children.  Many of the accounts of Nicholas’ life recount his habit of secret gift-giving to those in need, a tradition that many Christians have felt inspired to continue in his honor.  As a bearer of gifts to children, his name was brought to America by the Dutch colonists in New York, from whom he is popularly known as Santa Claus.”
 
Whether actual history or fanciful traditions, we are grateful for the life, work, and ministry of Nicholas of Myra, for from him we have the example of self-giving as God gave of God’s self in the through the incarnation in Jesus: a Savior born, which is good news of great joy for all people.  And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

-- Marc Vance

Advent

Advent, from the Latin adventus meaning “coming,” in the Christian calendar is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and of the preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.  In Western churches, Advent begins on the Sunday nearest to November 30 and always ends on Christmas Eve, December 24.  Advent is the season of hope, peace, joy, and love. It is also the beginning of a new liturgical year. 

It is not known exactly when the celebration or remembrance of Advent began nor is there a credible explanation of its origin.  Throughout the centuries, popes imposed fasting, optional fasting, abstinence, and eventually a proscribed liturgy with collects, Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays preceding Christmas, with special emphasis for these liturgies to be used on Wednesdays and Fridays. 
 
Since the 13th century, the usual liturgical color for Advent has been violet or purple, replaced with black during the time of Pope Innocent III.  More recently, blue has become the accepted color, first used by the Church of Sweden.  Proponents of using blue argue that purple is traditionally associated with solemnity and somberness which is more fitting for the repentant character of Lent.  They feel blue represents a hopeful season of preparation.  While blue is now used widely within the Protestant traditions, the Roman church still uses purple.
 
There are a wide variety of local rites regarding Advent.  In England and other northern countries, there was a custom (now extinct!), for poor women to carry around the “Advent images”, two dolls dressed to represent Jesus and the Virgin Mary.  A halfpenny coin was expected from everyone to whom these were exhibited for good luck, and bad luck was thought to menace those households not visited by the doll-bearers before Christmas Eve.  In Normandy, farmers employed children under twelve to run through the fields and orchards armed with torches, setting fire to bundles of straw.  This was believed to drive out vermin likely to damage the next year’s crops.  In Italy, bagpipers would come into Rome on the last day of Advent and play before the shrines of Mary, recreating the shepherds who played their pipes when they came to the manger in Bethlehem.
 
In more recent times, traditions include using an Advent calendar, an Advent wreath, and candles in home windows.  In many countries, the first day of Advent often heralds the start of the Christmas season, with many people opting to put up their Christmas trees and decorations.
 
Our words of our Advent hymns reflect this time of preparation:
Redeemer of the nations come…
Lo! the Lamb, so long expected, comes with pardon down from heaven…
Greet One who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story…
The King shall come when morning dawns…
O come, O come, Emmanuel … as we rejoice to celebrate this season of hope, peace, joy, and love.
 
Bill Wilds

With a Voice of Singing

God works in mysterious ways: it is perfect timing that the Net cover I’ve written lands on the week of Thanksgiving. Since it’s my last Net article of the year, I want to use it to give thanks for Bill Wilds, who is retiring December 31st.

When Bill and I (well…mostly Bill!) were organizing the choir library this summer, Bill was delighted to come across an anthem he hadn’t sung in many years: “With a Voice of Singing,” by Martin Shaw. Because Bill loves it so much and because the words embody his legacy so well, the choir (with several alumni coming in from out of town!) will be singing it on December 17th.
 
With a voice of singing declare ye this, and let it be heard, Alleluia!
Utter it even unto the ends of the earth. The Lord hath delivered His people, Alleluia!
O sing praises to the honor of His name, make His praise to be glorious.
With a voice of singing, declare ye this, and let it be heard, Alleluia!
 (Martin Shaw, 1923)
 
The phrase “with a voice of singing” sounds redundant at first glance but Martin Shaw, who is also the composer of the music, knew what he was doing. There is another layer of meaning that is added when we sing words instead of speaking them. My experience of Bill is that he understands this to the core. Bill Wilds hums non-stop. If it’s Veteran’s Day he’s humming “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.” If it’s Advent, he’s got our Advent hymns on shuffle, and often at other times of the year!  I’ve never been to his home but I imagine him humming “Bringing in the Sheaves” while he mows the lawn, or “Be Thou My Vision” at his yearly eye exam.
 
Singing, or humming, hymns is more than just an endearing habit of a unique individual. It is a way of imbuing your life with the truths of Scripture and the presence of God. It reminds you, often on a subconscious level, that God is present in the mundane as well as the profound. God is there in the good and the bad. God is there when you are making new friends, and when you are saying goodbye to old ones.
 
Bill Wilds is larger than life, and not just because of the things he has accomplished, his legions of loyal friends, or because he’s 6 foot 3. It is the humble way he lives his life: his daily faithfulness to work, his devotion to friends, and his infectious joy. And he’s humming all the way.
 
Ginny Chilton
Minister of Music

Thanks-giving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Because of the historical nature of the national holiday, we mostly hear this only at this time of year, but it seems to me that this is something we should be doing absolutely every single day - remembering and giving thanks.  It is good and appropriate for families and friends to gather each November to enjoy company and remember with gratitude all our forebears did for us, but if we broaden it to include, not just the holiday, but daily blessings, we do just that! 

There is an obscure churchy word that we never hear, but we do every time we celebrate the Eucharist (which, by the way, is the original New Testament Greek word for giving thanks, or The Great Thanksgiving, if you look in the Prayer Book on p. 333/361): that word is “anamnesis,” which means “remembrance,” especially during the part of the Eucharist in which we remember that “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,” and when Jesus took the bread and wine, blessed them, and shared them among his friends - a defining moment when we accept our Lord’s invitation to receive the holy food and drink of his Table.

All of these - the holiday, our weekly Eucharistic remembrance, our daily life - gives us the opportunity to remain focused on ways to give thanks for what Jesus has done for us.  And so I hope everyone has a blessed time, not only at the end of this month on our national holiday, but every single day: remembering and giving thanks.

--- Marc

Tradition and Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner!  It’s the fourth Thursday in November and an annual observance that crosses all boundaries.  We should remember that first Thanksgiving in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation on the banks of the James River and one celebrated by in 1621 by the Pilgrims as times to remember those struggling for freedom and to express our gratitude for our many gifts and good fortune.  Let’s look at where our traditions come from.

• Thanks comes originally developed from “thought” to “kind thoughts or feeling good will” to “being grateful.”  In 1619 and 1621 it was a day devoted first the prayers and then food.
• President Lincoln issued a proclamation of October 3, 1863, that Thanksgiving would be celebrated the last Thursday of November.  The tradition began officially, therefore, in 1864.  In 1941, a congressional resolution set the date as the fourth Thursday in November for us.  The date varies in other countries.Thursday.  and finally Thur, Thunor, Thunor’s Day, Thurs-doeg, evolved to Thor comes from Scandinavian mythology and their most worshiped god, Thor.  In Old English, Thursday
• …raise the song of harvest-home, …all is safely gathered in, …gather thou thy people in.is the season when crops ripen and are gathered in and the time of remembrance is often referred to as “harvest home” – giving thanks for the crop yields so that families could enjoy hearty meals.  In the hymn, “Come, ye thankful people, come,” there are the phrases Harvest

 And from these came feast with turkey, stuffing/dressing, gravy, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. 

• The “bird” we now refer to a the turkey could at one time have been almost any bird someone saw!  Spanish conquistadors exploring returned to Europe with cargoes of newly discovered wild birds.  In 1524, Henry VIII served these for his English court.  Turkey doesn’t become an American tradition until the 1860’s, and it’s place was made secure after World War II when the poultry industry launched a full-scale marketing campaign of hybrid birds that would offer lots of meals!
• The ingredients for stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie made these traditional items on our tables because they are easily grown and harvested and therefore, once processed, accessible for our enjoyment.

And so the tradition continues with the addition of parades (begun by Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia in 1920 – Macy’s started in 1924), football (which replaced baseball in the 1880’s), travel, and over eating!   As the hymn says, “…gather thou thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin; …raise the glorious harvest home.”

Bill Wilds