December 6. I’m still here – Krampus didn’t
come to get me! I was on high alert all
day.
On a much brighter note – today is Saint
Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas lived in the 4th Century. That was even before my human was born. Just. He was born to wealthy parents – but
they died when he was young. He was a very kind man – who liked to give away
his money and help others. There are
lots of stories about good things that he did.
For example, legend has it that a man who was very poor, had three
daughters. At that time, women needed to
have dowries in order to be married – but the man was too poor – so his
daughters could not be married. One
night – they hung their stockings by the fire to dry them. Saint Nicholas got on the roof and dropped a
bag of gold down the chimney – to help the man.
The bag fell into one of the stockings. Can you see how this later
started the tradition of Christmas stockings?!
Anyway, over the centuries, the figure of
Saint Nicholas eventually became Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and finally
Santa Claus. Besides being an all around
good guy – Saint Nicholas is also the patron saint of sailors, children,
brewers and pawnbrokers. Interesting
combo there.
So to celebrate Saint Nicholas day, it
seems only fitting that we should put up our Christmas tree. The REAL tree. Once upon a time, my human used to cut her
tree at a tree farm. The last time she
went, she took Frodo. I think I wrote
about this last year – but it's worth repeating….An idyllic walk in the
countryside searching for the perfect evergreen, was quickly aborted when Frodo
ran off barking at a family who was also out tree hunting. Not that he would DO anything to anyone. But his barking was enough to send people
scattering while my human was running to catch him shouting “He’s friendly.
He’s FRIENDLY.” By the time she caught
Frodo, he had dashed through every mud puddle on the road. That was the last time my human went tree
hunting….
So now she goes to the tree lot down the
road. I would like to say I went with
her – but she KNEW I would pee on every tree, and it was unlikely that kind of behavior
would be appreciated. So she went to get
the tree, brought it home, dragged it out of the car, loaded me IN the car,
drove me back and took the photos. And
if that isn’t crazy enough – my human bought THE first tree she looked at. We are talking about a woman who would walk
for miles on a tree farm searching for the right tree. Yesterday she looked at first one that the
tree guy held up, and she said “I’ll take it.”
I think she’s getting old.
Anyway, today is decorating day. Which sounds like fun, but in reality means
we will likely be sequestered again while she brings out the 4,582 boxes of glass
ornaments. Yup – that gate on the DFZ is
definitely going to be a challenge!
Have a happy Saint Nick day! I'm certain it means we will get extra treats!
© Linda Wozniak
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