In honor of today's Feast day of St. Nicholas, here are some words that G.K. Chesterton once wrote in reference to the famous December saint.
"What has happened to me has been the very reverse of what appears to be the experience of most of my friends. Instead of dwindling to a point, Santa Claus has grown larger and larger in my life until he fills almost the whole of it. It happened in this way.
As a child I was faced with a phenomenon requiring explanation. I hung up at the end of my bed an empty stocking, which in the morning became a full stocking. I had done nothing to produce the things that filled it. I had not worked for them, or made them or helped to make them. I had not even been good–far from it.
And the explanation was that a certain being whom people called Santa Claus was benevolently disposed toward me. What we believed was that a certain benevolent agency did give us those toys for nothing. And, as I say, I believe it still. I have merely extended the idea.
Then I only wondered who put the toys in the stocking; now I wonder who put the stocking by the bed, and the bed in the room, and the room in the house, and the house on the planet, and the great planet in the void.
Once I only thanked Santa Claus for a few dolls and crackers, now, I thank him for stars and street faces and wine and the great sea.
Once I thought it delightful and astonishing to find a present so big that it only went halfway into the stocking. Now I am delighted and astonished every morning to find a present so big that it takes two stockings to hold it, and then leaves a great deal outside; it is the large and preposterous present of myself, as to the origin of which I can offer no suggestion except that Santa Claus gave it to me in a fit of peculiarly fantastic goodwill."
~ “The Other Stocking” (“My Experiences with Santa Claus” was printed in the Tablet in 1974, and was a reprint of an article Chesterton wrote in a magazine called Black and White in 1903)
He later wrote,
As a child I was faced with a phenomenon requiring explanation. I hung up at the end of my bed an empty stocking, which in the morning became a full stocking. I had done nothing to produce the things that filled it. I had not worked for them, or made them or helped to make them. I had not even been good–far from it.
And the explanation was that a certain being whom people called Santa Claus was benevolently disposed toward me. What we believed was that a certain benevolent agency did give us those toys for nothing. And, as I say, I believe it still. I have merely extended the idea.
Then I only wondered who put the toys in the stocking; now I wonder who put the stocking by the bed, and the bed in the room, and the room in the house, and the house on the planet, and the great planet in the void.
Once I only thanked Santa Claus for a few dolls and crackers, now, I thank him for stars and street faces and wine and the great sea.
Once I thought it delightful and astonishing to find a present so big that it only went halfway into the stocking. Now I am delighted and astonished every morning to find a present so big that it takes two stockings to hold it, and then leaves a great deal outside; it is the large and preposterous present of myself, as to the origin of which I can offer no suggestion except that Santa Claus gave it to me in a fit of peculiarly fantastic goodwill."
~ “The Other Stocking” (“My Experiences with Santa Claus” was printed in the Tablet in 1974, and was a reprint of an article Chesterton wrote in a magazine called Black and White in 1903)
He later wrote,
"Most men need institutions to make them distinguish themselves; and they also need institutions to make them enjoy themselves. For, paradoxical as it sounds, men shrink back from enjoyment; they make one automatic step backwards from the brink of hilarity; because they know that it means the loss of dignity and a certain furious self-effacement. It is to get over this first reluctance of every reveller that men have created also coercive festivals such as Christmas Day." (The Alleged Decline of Christmas, 1910
As a warm-up in practicing the art of humble hilarity, which we will all be enjoying in a few short weeks, and in keeping with our tradition of December meetings in the past, our WPA Chesterton Society meeting this Friday will be a somewhat festive occasion...in an Advent sort of way.
There is a group of us having dinner together at The Harmony Inn restaurant before the meeting, at 5:45pm. If you did not sign up to join us, and would still like to participate, please email me asap, and I will add you to our number.
Our meeting will be held in the Village of Middle Lancaster, at the Lancaster Township Community Center*. The doors will open at 7:30 pm for a pot luck of cheeses, desserts and festive treats, with the discussion beginning shortly thereafter.
Please note the adjusted time frame for the December meeting only. The 7:30 meeting time will allow plenty of time for each of us to have had dinner before coming to the meeting. The meeting will wrap up sometime around 9:45pm.
In the course of our evening together, we will read the following two essays written by G. K. Chesterton. We will also consider how Gilbert and Frances Chesterton "kept" Christmas in their home at Beaconsfield. Please print and bring these essays if you can. (If you'd prefer me to email them to you as documents that you can print, let me know by email.)
On Christmas that is Coming
The Survival of Christmas.pdf
Please bring a contribution to the festivities... any desserts, fruits, cheeses or beverage contributions will be appreciated. Coffee, teas and paper products will be provided. Please email me to let me know what you'd like to bring.
*The Community Center located on Kings Alley and Community Center Drive, in Butler County PA. Kings Ally is off of Rt. 19 approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, and just north of the Zion Lutheran Church and just south of East Lancaster Road. (The Community Center is a former one room school house, adjacent to the ball fields at Bauder Park.)
...and as always, feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.
As a warm-up in practicing the art of humble hilarity, which we will all be enjoying in a few short weeks, and in keeping with our tradition of December meetings in the past, our WPA Chesterton Society meeting this Friday will be a somewhat festive occasion...in an Advent sort of way.
There is a group of us having dinner together at The Harmony Inn restaurant before the meeting, at 5:45pm. If you did not sign up to join us, and would still like to participate, please email me asap, and I will add you to our number.
Our meeting will be held in the Village of Middle Lancaster, at the Lancaster Township Community Center*. The doors will open at 7:30 pm for a pot luck of cheeses, desserts and festive treats, with the discussion beginning shortly thereafter.
Please note the adjusted time frame for the December meeting only. The 7:30 meeting time will allow plenty of time for each of us to have had dinner before coming to the meeting. The meeting will wrap up sometime around 9:45pm.
In the course of our evening together, we will read the following two essays written by G. K. Chesterton. We will also consider how Gilbert and Frances Chesterton "kept" Christmas in their home at Beaconsfield. Please print and bring these essays if you can. (If you'd prefer me to email them to you as documents that you can print, let me know by email.)
On Christmas that is Coming
The Survival of Christmas.pdf
Please bring a contribution to the festivities... any desserts, fruits, cheeses or beverage contributions will be appreciated. Coffee, teas and paper products will be provided. Please email me to let me know what you'd like to bring.
*The Community Center located on Kings Alley and Community Center Drive, in Butler County PA. Kings Ally is off of Rt. 19 approx. 4.5 miles north of Zelienople, and just north of the Zion Lutheran Church and just south of East Lancaster Road. (The Community Center is a former one room school house, adjacent to the ball fields at Bauder Park.)
...and as always, feel free to email me at wpachesterton@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.
