Several years ago, when Tim and I were new parents,  we needed to decide what Christmas traditions we wanted to pass on to our children.  We definitely wanted our child and future children to celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birthday, because that’s why there is even a Christmas Day, after all.  But could we also fit the magical fun of Santa Claus into Christmas without taking anything away from Jesus? 

For a while, we just opened our gifts on Christmas Eve and had our feast and a cake for Jesus on Christmas Day.  That’s it.   No Santa Claus. But as our children grew older, they started asking about the jolly red fellow they saw in the mall, and they kept seeing his image on nearly every sign in sight.  There’s something cozy about believing in a magical reward for doing good.  I could tell that the kids wanted to believe in Santa Claus. 

It was a happy day when I read about St. Nicholas and realized that I could have both – a special, set-aside day for Jesus, and a celebration of Santa Claus, too.  And I was also happy – no, delighted – to read that St. Nicholas’ day is December 6^th.  This gave me a way to extend the holiday season.

Who is St. Nicholas, Santa Claus?

Nicholas was Bishop of Asia Minor in AD 325.  He was known for being an all-around great guy, very generous and kind to all.  The story goes that Nicholas once threw bags of gold into a window one night, to help pay the dowry of a poor man’s daughter so she could be married.  When he threw the bags of gold, they landed into the daughter’s stockings which were hung to dry near the fireplace.

(This is where we get hung stockings near the fireplace)

The Santa Claus that we Americans have grown up knowing, the one who comes down the chimney, wears a red robe, and says, “Ho, ho, ho,” originated in 1822 when Reverend Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem ('Twas the Night Before Christmas') to his daughters.  His appearance is thanks to the Coca-Cola company who had him drawn for an advertisement.  Such an adorable Santa Claus was drawn that he became immediately popular.  This Santa Claus is a fictional character, but one that many Americans love.

You’ll have to decide which Santa you want to celebrate – the fictional American version of 1822 or the real St. Nicholas of 325.  I think you can figure out ways to mix the two, if you like, and celebrate them both on St. Nicholas Day on December 6^th each year.  (Why December 6th?  That's the date of the birthday of Nicholas, the real Santa Claus)

You can read a lot more about the history of St. Nicholas at the website that I’ll mention at the end of this article.

How can we celebrate St. Nicholas Day, December 6^th?

(please note: I wrote this article in 2005.  Children have grown a bit and traditions have deepened, so a few of the following ideas have changed for our family.  Consider the following, and then visit the blog in the next few days for my 2007 ideas)

This is only our third year celebrating St. Nicholas Day, so we don’t have a lot of traditions established.  You will want to visit the website mentioned below for more on how to celebrate St. Nicholas Day.  Here is what we have planned for December 6^th this year:   

• On the night of December 5^th, children place carrots and/or hay in their shoes.  Legend has it that if a child leaves a treat for St. Nicholas’ white horse, he will leave a gift of candy and a present for the child.  Of course, we don’t tell our kids that the real St. Nicholas will be coming down from Heaven to do this, but we tell them that since St. Nicholas was such a kind person, he has inspired others to do kind deeds like he did.   The kids then get all twinkly-eyed trying to guess who would do a “St. Nicholas deed.” 
• We like to bake, so this year we will try the St. Nicholas Breads at the St. Nicholas Center website (below), which has recipes from around the world.   I think we'll try cookies from Germany or Switzerland. 
• Since St. Nicholas was known for giving to the poor and needy, we are going to go through our belongings in the next few days, and have them ready to give away on St. Nicholas Day.
• After our trip into town to give away items, we will have an afternoon tea (with our baked items front and center, of course!)

 You can read a lot more about St. Nicholas Day at this beautiful website devoted to the day:  http://www.StNicholasCenter.org .  The site is full of recipes from around the world, traditions from other countries, a kids page and much more.  I love to visit this site!

by Lori Seaborg

Over a chocolate shake (hers) and an iced caramel coffee (mine), a wonderful friend and I shared a lovely conversation today in a quaint little bookstore cafe in our equally quaint bayside town.  Everytime I go downtown, I hear myself say aloud, "I love this town!" 

Well, anyway, that was not the topic of the day. Instead, we discussed St. Nicholas and Santa Claus and handmade gifts and books that inspire us and the Nutcracker ballet and knitting .... and how to make the Christmas season last.  With that last thought still in my mind, I went to my blog this evening and searched my archives for December 2005 where I found this post I thought I'd rerun for you:

”Can you not see it is clear folly to crowd Christmas into twelve very

 full hours of one day and expect everyone to enjoy themselves? 

Christmastide is, after all, not just a day but a season. 

Let us make the most of it. 

By spreading out the gifts, parties,

and special treats over an extended period, parents quiet down

the choruses of ‘I can’t wait,’

as our little ones discover that

they can indeed learn to wait –

as long as they don’t have to wait very long.” ~

from Mrs. Sharp's Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach

A few Christmases ago, I decided that Christmas was becoming more of a burden than a good time.  The day after Christmas, I was faced with a huge mess – wrapping paper scrunched up across the floor; a new toy already broken; greedy, grouchy and over-sugared children; leftovers to deal with; the tree’s needles scattered across the carpet; decorations to pack up; and a few store returns, the thought of which created a migraine.  Yes, Christmas had become a burden. 

Memory-making is terribly important to me. I determined to figure this holiday thing out before the kids had a childhood-full of grumpy Christmas memories. 

I absolutely believe in what Mrs. Sharp is saying in the above quote.  Can’t we see that it is crazy (she says folly) to celebrate all in one day?  What great expectations we are putting on one little day!  We think we are supposed to enjoy family, invite friends, sing carols, open perfectly chosen and perfectly wrapped gifts, enjoy a dinner as large as Thanksgiving, give at least a thought if not a basket of fruit to someone else, and have a tray of goodies to equal all the sweets eaten all year long, plus much more – all in one day. 

Are we absolutely crazy??

Well, I was. 

So with the reminder in my heart of the true meaning of Christmas, and with the help of Mrs. Sharp in the book above, I decided to change.

Over the holiday season, I will write you a series of articles about holiday traditions that we have observed in our home.   

I will share my ideas with you, but honestly, I’m as eager as you are for new ideas.  So please feel free to share your family’s traditions in the comments. 

by Lori Seaborg

I'm feeling very domestic today.  So far....

I painted as much as I can of the girls' room without Tim's help.  He needs to move the bed and dresser for me to do more.  Oh, and he has to do the trim work.  I cannot cut straight lines nor can I hold a paintbrush steady enough to do the trim.  In an impatient moment, I tried to do the trim on one wall of the girls' room, just so it would be done, and Tim could be proud....but not only is he going to have to finish it for me, he's also going to have to fix several smudges on the baseboards and two big "oopsies" on the ceiling.  A pretty pinkish-lavender does not look swell on a white ceiling. 

The kids, who regularly dig huges holes from the riverbank, discovered "treasures" today. I was so hoping that they'd find something from the Civil War era. The Yankees walked up our river to meet up with the Rebs.  But I think the treasure is just a bunch of useless junk that someone must have tossed into the river at some point, or perhaps it came to our yard via a flood.  Either way, I don't need an old roller skate, a few bones, and pieces of glass.

In the oven as I write, is a Whole Wheat Banana Bread, sweetened with Sucanat (cane juice).  I haven't tried a wheat banana bread, nor have I tried one with Sucanat, but I'm going on the recommendation of the always-right Crystal Miller, who says it is great.  

Sharing the oven with the banana bread is my homemade granola.  I make this quite often, all year-round.  Here's the receipt (as Tasha Tudor would say - I love her recipe book):

• Pour 4 cups old-fashioned oatmeal into a 9x13 pan
• Heat oats in 350 F oven for 5 minutes.
  
• Remove from oven, stir, and heat 5 minutes more.
• Heat together:  1/3 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup olive oil (I microwave this)
• Combine together: 1-2 cups chopped nuts (I use pecans, sunflower seeds, almonds) and 1 cup flaked coconut
• Add to heated oats and mix thoroughly.  Pour honey-oil mixture over oat mixture.  Mix thoroughly.
• Sprinkle 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon nutmeg over the oat mixture.
• Return to oven, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes for even browning.

by Lori Seaborg 2006

" 'I'm only a housewife, I'm afraid.' How often do we hear this shocking admission.  I"m afraid when I hear it I feel very angry indeed.  Only a housewife: only a practitioner of one of the two most noble professions (the other one is that of a farmer); only the mistress of a huge battery of high and varied skills and custodian of civilization itself.  Only a typist, perhaps!  Only a company director, or a nuclear physicist; only a barrister; only the President!  When a woman says she is a housewife she should say it with the utmost pride, for there is nothing higher on this planet to which she could aspire."

~ John Seymour, The Forgotten Arts & Crafts

by Lori Seaborg 2006

We are going to do a little something on St. Lucia's Day this year.  My husband is 25% Swedish and our last name is Seaborg, so it is fitting that St. Lucia's Day is celebrated in our home.  The thing is, he is so American that he doesn't know anything about Sweden or Swedish customs, so basically I'm just using that as an excuse to celebrate St. Lucia's Day.  Why not add another fun day to keep the holiday season rolling along?

I don't know enough yet about St. Lucia's Day to explain the holiday to you.  But I do know that there is a custom of the eldest daughter serving her parents breakfast in bed on the morning of St. Lucia's Day.  I am all over that!  I hope 8 years old is old enough!

I'll let other sites tell you more about St. Lucia's Day:

Here is a little history on St. Lucia's Day

This is a photograph of a little girl in a white dress with a red sash.  She has battery-operated candles on her head and is carrying a serving tray for her parents. 

How to celebrate St. Lucia's Day.

by Lori Seaborg

Several years ago, when Tim and I were new parents,  we needed to decide what Christmas traditions we wanted to pass on to our children.  We definitely wanted our child and future children to celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birthday, because that’s why there is even a Christmas Day, after all.  But could we also fit the magical fun of Santa Claus into Christmas without taking anything away from Jesus? 

For a while, we just opened our gifts on Christmas Eve and had our feast and a cake for Jesus on Christmas Day.  That’s it.   No Santa Claus. But as our children grew older, they started asking about the jolly red fellow they saw in the mall, and they kept seeing his image on nearly every sign in sight.  There’s something cozy about believing in a magical reward for doing good.  I could tell that the kids wanted to believe in Santa Claus. 

It was a happy day when I read about St. Nicholas and realized that I could have both – a special, set-aside day for Jesus, and a celebration of Santa Claus, too.  And I was also happy – no, delighted – to read that St. Nicholas’ day is December 6^th.  This gave me a way to extend the holiday season.

Who is St. Nicholas, Santa Claus?

Nicholas was Bishop of Asia Minor in AD 325.  He was known for being an all-around great guy, very generous and kind to all.  The story goes that Nicholas once threw bags of gold into a window one night, to help pay the dowry of a poor man’s daughter so she could be married.  When he threw the bags of gold, they landed into the daughter’s stockings which were hung to dry near the fireplace.

(This is where we get hung stockings near the fireplace)

The Santa Claus that we Americans have grown up knowing – the one who comes down the chimney, wears a red robe, and says, “Ho, ho, ho,” originated in 1822 when Reverend Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem to his daughters.  This Santa Claus is a fictional character, but one that many Americans love.

You’ll have to decide which Santa you want to celebrate – the American version of 1822 or the real St. Nicholas of 325.  I think you can figure out ways to mix the two, if you like, and celebrate them both on St. Nicholas Day on December 6^th each year. 

You can read a lot more about the history of St. Nicholas at the website that I’ll mention at the end of this article.

How can we celebrate St. Nicholas Day, December 6^th?

This is only our third year celebrating St. Nicholas Day, so I don’t have a lot of traditions established.  You will want to visit the website mentioned below for more on how to celebrate St. Nicholas Day.  Here is what we have planned for December 6^th this year:   

• On the night of December 5^th, the children place carrots and/or hay in their shoes.  Legend has it that if a child leaves a treat for St. Nicholas’ white horse, he will leave a gift of candy and a present for the child.  I don’t tell my kids that the real St. Nicholas will be coming down from Heaven to do this, but I tell them that since St. Nicholas was such a kind person, he has inspired others to do kind deeds like he did.   The kids then get all twinkly-eyed trying to guess who would do a “St. Nicholas deed.” 
• We like to bake, so this year we will try the St. Nicholas Breads at the St. Nicholas Center website (below), and maybe some cookies from Germany or Switzerland. 
• Since St. Nicholas was known for giving to the poor and needy, we are going to go through our belongings in the next few days, and have them ready to give away on St. Nicholas Day.
• After our trip into town to give away items, we will have an afternoon tea (with our baked items front and center, of course!)

You can read a lot more about St. Nicholas Day at this website devoted to the day:  http://www.StNicholasCenter.org .  The site is full of recipes from around the world, traditions from other countries, a kids page and much more.  I love to visit this site!

by Lori Seaborg

”Can you not see it is clear folly to crowd Christmas into twelve very

 full hours of one day and expect everyone to enjoy themselves? 

Christmastide is, after all, not just a day but a season. 

Let us make the most of it.  By spreading out the gifts, parties,

and special treats over an extended period, parents quiet down

the choruses of ‘I can’t wait,’ as our little ones discover that

they can indeed learn to wait –

 as long as they don’t have to wait very long.” ~

Mrs. Sharp's Traditions>

A few Christmases ago, I decided that Christmas was becoming more of a burden than a good time.  The day after Christmas, I was faced with a huge mess – wrapping paper scrunched up across the floor; a new toy already broken; greedy, grouchy and over-sugared children; leftovers to deal with; the tree’s needles scattered across the carpet; decorations to pack up; and a few store returns, the thought of which created a migraine.  Yes, Christmas had become a burden. 

Memory-making is terribly important to me. I determined to figure this holiday thing out before the kids had a childhood-full of grumpy Christmas memories. 

I absolutely believe in what Mrs. Sharp is saying in the above quote.  Can’t we see that it is crazy (she says folly) to celebrate all in one day?  What great expectations we are putting on one little day!  We think we are supposed to enjoy family, invite friends, sing carols, open perfectly chosen and perfectly wrapped gifts, enjoy a dinner as large as Thanksgiving, give at least a thought if not a basket of fruit to someone else, and have a tray of goodies to equal all the sweets eaten all year long, plus much more – all in one day. 

Are we absolutely crazy??

Well, I was. 

So with the reminder in my heart of the true meaning of Christmas, and with the help of Mrs. Sharp in the book above, I decided to change.

Over this next week, I will write you a series of articles about holiday traditions that we have observed in our home.   Instead of celebrating Christmas all in one day, we celebrate a holiday season that stretches from Thanksgiving Day through February’s Mardi Gras celebrations.  I will focus, in my articles, on December’s traditions.

I will share my ideas with you, but honestly, I’m as eager as you are for new ideas.  So please feel free to share your family’s traditions in the comments. 

Let’s extend the Christmas spirit throughout the month of December, starting today, December 1^st !

Coming Articles (blog posts): 

• St. Nicholas Day
• St. Lucia’s Day
• Hanukkah
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas
• Boxing Day
• New Years
• Twelfth Night

by Lori Seaborg

This is a beautiful book, full of beautiful photographs. I think this book may be directly responsible for my deep desire to one day have goats (a dream that came true only last week when I acquired two angora does). I love the simple living of Tasha Tudor, who insists on living as if it is still the 19th Century.

Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions is full of Victorian-style traditions and rituals that a family may do for holidays or special days. I pull out the book and browse through it at least once a month, looking for new ideas to make days special. Because of this book, our family now celebrates St. Nicholas Day in early December, which leaves Christmas Day all to Jesus.

Feeling discouraged about my house’s current messiness, I sighed this afternoon, and looked outside the window to the woods nearby.

But instead of a relaxing and orderly view, I thought, “Well, it’s a mess, too!”

I mean, there are all sorts of different types of plants there in the woods, with no rhyme or matching to them, except for their common green color.  The plants grow every which way, tangling themselves together with the help of fast-growing vines.  Some plants’ green leaves have turned brown; some are now yellow.  There is pine straw dangling from most leaves.  Even the birds can’t fly through these woods.  Rather, they tend to dive to their nests. 

I often think that in homemaking we should follow God’s example of creation.  Just as nature has seasons: rainy, dry, winter, summer; our home can have seasons: canning season, candle making season, attic-cleaning season, outside-all-day season.  Just as nature makes use of everything, without waste, so also can we learn to be frugal and careful by making the most of our income, by learning natural health care, and by mulching and composting our gardens.

Could we then follow nature’s example of my messy forest?  Well, we can at least learn from it. 

Some of us keep a messy house with little decoration.  We are like my forest in Alabama and Florida, where there is plenty of scrub brush, and you cannot walk a straight line without becoming tangled by the vines. Maybe once in a while, but you really have to look, you might find a bit of decoration in a blooming plant.  If we are like the Deep South forests, we need to work on cleaning our homes more efficiently, so our family will feel relaxed and guests will feel welcome.  We also need to work on adding a little decoration and scent to our homes. 

Some of us, on the other hand, keep a house so clean that nobody feels welcome in it, not even our own family.  We are like the desert, sparse and neat.  There is beauty in the desert, in occasional flowers or in painted rocks.  We will not get sick here, and we will enjoy the beauty of the house, but we will not feel like we can relax here.  If we are like the desert, we need to work on being more welcoming, by allowing a little more of the forest into our homes.  We’re doing a great job with decorating and cleaning, but we need to remind ourselves not to be obsessed about it. 

The forests of British Columbia and the forests of North Carolina offer excellent examples of good housekeeping to us.  One forest is more majestic, with huge trees and tall mountains, while the other is simpler, with bushes and small trees and large hills, yet each gives us a good idea of what would make a cozy home.  In these forests, you will find neatly kept forest floors, strewn with occasional flowers and scented leaves.  The forest is clean enough to walk through, yet decorated enough to be two of the most beautiful of nature’s Cathedrals.  We feel welcome here. 

I first started writing this article to say, “Choose what type you are, then be happy with that.”  But now that I’ve thought more about it, I think we should not be content to say, “Oh, that’s the way I am.”  What’s the point of a home?  A home is to shelter and nurture and serve your family, and to welcome guests.   If our home is not performing that way, we need to think about what we can do to change that.

Look outside your window.  What example is God teaching you through nature? 

While you’re looking out the window, I’ve got some cleaning to do!

Lori Seaborg

http://www.SurvivedKatrina.org (visit often for updates and new photos!)