TH E STORY OF SANTA KLA! S TOLD FOR CHILDREN O F ALL ' AGES FROM SIX TO SIXTY A WILLI AM S . W L SH AND IL L! STRATED BY ARTISTS OF ALL AGES FROM FRA ANGELICO TO HENRY H! TT NEW YORK MOFFAT YARD A , ND COMPANY 1909 Co ri t 1909 by py g h , , WILLI AM S . WALSH NEW YORK is ed O to er 1909 Publ h c b , W ES ?M CONTENTS C HAP TER WH O I S N S I . SA TA KLAU ’ N G V N S OF H IN S B Y II . STRA E AD E TURE T E SA T OD H IS - K INK N H IS - K IN IN III . C R T LE A D C R T DLE H E V I N OF H IS M S IV . T E OLUT O C R T A I N S R N H V. S LE U , SATU , T OR A TERRIB LE CHRISTMAS IN O L D FRAN C E TH IS M S I L G N VII . E CHR T A TREE N E E D M Y VIII . THE CHRIST AS TREE IN HI STOR H C H IS M S IN E P IX . T E R T A TREE URO E M G M R X . THE CHRIST AS TREE IN EN LAND AND A E I C A Y O F G XI . THE STOR THE THREE KIN S M W F G M XII . SO E T EL TH NI HT CUSTO S . I C H S IN EN G N XIII . ST N OLA LA D XI F H H I S M S N IS MI Y V. AT ER C R T A A D H FA L P M M P P XV . ANTO I E IN THE AST AND RESENT C R P XVI . SAINT NI HOLAS IN EU O E C M C XVII . SAINT NI HOLAS IN A ERI A L I ST OF I L L! STRA TIONS Merry Christmas to all ! o a the a ron ai n of ren St. Nich l s p t s t child of a The Consecration St. Nichol s o a and th r e n St. Nich l s e th e m aide s o a re a n th o St. Nich l s suscit ti g e sch olboys Bishop Nichola s o a of ar St. Nich l s B i ’ H eads of the Christ child The Christ child surrounde d by angels ‘ Sufl e r little children to come unto me Christ the giver Christmas pre sents a rn the God of T me S tu , i Silenus and F auns S anta Claus and his young C arrying home the Christma s dinner The Fe ast of the P a ssover The Adoration of the Lamb Luther and the Christmas tree Christmas tre e of the E nglish royal family On the way to B ethlehem The Three Kings v isit Herod The J ourney of the Three Kings The Arriva l o f the Three Kings The Adoration of the Magi ( 1) The Adoration of the Magi ( 2 ) T H E STORY OF SANTA KLAUS The Adoration of the Three Kings ’ The Child s Twelfth Night Dre am Father Christma s Father Christmas ( anothe r conception ) The Old and the New Christma s B rm gm g ln Old Christma s The Christmas Waits J ongleurs announ cing the birth of our L ord Going to the P antomime Mute a dmiration S anta Klaus comes to grief on an automobile ’ No on e eve in ou an more , I d t b li y y S anta Klaus S anta Klaus up in a b alloon ’ ’ New Year s gifts in a F rench workingman s family F rench children going up the chimney for gifts Silenus and B a cchus The bambino ’ S anta Klaus on New Ye ar s ev e The investigating committ ee o a e St. Nich l s unv ils TH E STO RY O F SANTA KLA! S CH APTER I WH O I S SANTA KLAUS ? IF you go to England you will find many people / there who have never heard of Santa Klaus . Only the other day a leading London paper confessed that it could not understand why a magazine for chil dren should be called St . Nicholas . Now if you were asked the question which heads . this chapter do you think you could answer it so as to make an Englishman understand who Santa Klaus is ? Could you also explain what connection Saint Nicholas has with childr en ? Of course you might glibly reply “ Santa Klaus is the Dutch diminutive (or pet for n i name) Sai t Nicholas , and Saint Nicholas s the patron saint of boys and girls . But the Englishman might want to know more t o to han this . Perhaps you yourself w uld be glad know more . It is for the purpose of supplying you 13 14 TH E STORY OF SANTA KLAUS with in formation that I have prepared this little book . Let us begin with the legends which concern this a holy m an and see what help they will give us . I s y let us begin with the legends , because history itself tells us little or nothing about the saint beyond the fact that he was Bishop of a town called Myra in A sia Minor and that he died about the year 342 . Legend fills out these meagre details with many a pretty story which throws a kindly light upon the character of good S aint Nicholas . Y ou know what a legend is ? It means a story which was not put into writing by historians at the i t me when the thing is said to have happened, but which has been handed down from father to son for i o hundreds and somet mes for th usands of years . It may or may not have had some basis of truth at the o t beginning . But after passing from m uth o mouth in this fashion it is v ery likely to lose what truth it o . i once p ssessed Still , even if the facts are not g ven in just the manner in which they happened there is nearly always some useful moral wrapped up in the o o fiction that has gr wn ar und the facts . That is why wise and learned men are glad to collect these legends from the lips of the peasants and other sim ple minded folk who have learned them at their ’ o all . m thers knee, and who believe that they are true These legends are called by the general name of - o folk l re . a a he a ron o f ren . St. Nichol s s t p t child I a an r n t li p i t . WH O I S L ? I Z SANTA K AUS / , Two brothers of the name of Grimm once collected oo olk- o o into a b k the f l re of their native c untry, Ger ’ o is k to ou i many. This bo k nown y as Grimm s Fa ry An o o Tales . Hans Christian dersen also f und am ng the legends of Denmark some of the prettiest and m/ost . fanciful of his tales . Now stories concerning Saint Nicholas abound in al o n ahn ost m st every cou try of Europe, for every country except Great Britain is interested in his name of and fame . He may, indeed, be called the busiest all the saints . In the first place legend makes him the o no patron saint of children all over the w rld, matter of what sex or COlor or station in life /Ever childlike “ um so o and h ble , we are told by a quaint old auth r, he keepeth the name of a child, for he chose to keep the virtues of meekn ess and simpleness . Thus he lived all ’ i rt his l fe in vi ues with this child s name, and therefore ” o i childr en d him worsh p before all other saints . ’ One might think that to be a patron of the world s h ul c ildren wo d keep one saint pretty busy, even if it ot o did not exhaust his energies . N s with Saint Nich o i las . He occupies h s spare moments as the protector a the o of the weak ag inst strong, of the p or against the rich, of the servant and the slave against the master . he once calmed a storm he is the patron of s and sailors and of many seaport towns . B e a gang of robbers and ma de them restore their booty to the men they had robbed / }8 TH E STORY OF SANTA KLAUS indl he is still thought to retain a k y interest in thieves . Moreover he is the patron of the largest of all Eur o i of . pean countries , the emp re Russia Now we will make our promised examination o f the legends which have gathered around this saint and i given h m a fame so widespread. Saint Nicholas is said to hav/e been born in a town Potara A i " o called in s a Minor.