Father Christmas

From Rae Duke, Religion and Ethics teacher and broadcaster.

Whilst we’re stressing over nailing that perfect roast potato and wondering whether the white sauce meets requirements for any visiting vegans, let’s spare a thought for Santa and his prod squad at HQ as they limber up for their busiest night of the year.

One of Santa’s many names, along with Father Christmas and Kris Kringle is, of course, St Nick – and I’ve done some digging to learn a little more about the saint associated with this mince pie consuming, reindeer owning, present-laden gentleman we so love.

St Nicolas is not only the patron saint of children but also of merchants and brewers too – one saint ticking all the festive boxes there!

Since medieval times there’s been a special tradition to celebrate St Nick. Every December, in cathedrals all across the UK, a boy from the choir was chosen to swap places with the Bishop. For the rest of December, that kid would don a robe, miter and staff, sit on the Bishop’s throne, give talks to the congregation, appoint new vicars and even hand out the church’s money; a take-over of epic proportions.

Nowadays, it’s a one night only affair at Salisbury Cathedral and girls are up for the role too. Earlier this month, chorister Annenora Benians rocked the robe (and hopefully didn’t blow too much of the sidelined Bishop’s budget!)

In this celebration of St Nick, the low become high and the high become low. Perhaps rolling something like this out at home tomorrow could work; the experienced ceremonial turkey carver bumped down to the more junior sprout top and tail-er and vice versa.

I’ll never forget the year when my Mum, with a fridge full to bursting, decided to leave the turkey outside the back door overnight. We awoke on Christmas morning to find it half eaten. Our lowly garden fox had eaten like a King whilst the rest of us filled up on bread sauce and stuffing.

A similarly surprising inversion is at the heart of the nativity scene, the birth of a tiny, fragile baby signalling hope and transformation for the world. As the poet Christina Rossetti wrote – “love came down at Christmas.”

So as we celebrate this season of rejoicing and merrymaking, make sure you’ve prepped plenty of side dishes should the unexpected happen! And keep that turkey indoors…