Saint Nicholas Day!

Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas! Did you put your shoes out last night? 

OK, so some of us get a little confused from time to time about the whole St. Nicholas v. Santa Claus split personality thing, and we wonder how we should talk to our kids about it. Well, I read this great blog post yesterday, and I think the blogger did a fabulous job of explaining why we should not feel angsty about these conversations.  She has such a great take on what really can be a tricky issue -- I hope you find it as helpful as I did.

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Today's Advent calendar book is, of course, one about the good man himself, in his Santa guise. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is written by the great  L. Frank Baum, of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz fame.  This beautifully illustrated book tells the legend of the early life of Santa -- as opposed to being a biography of St. Nicholas.  It's a fun fantasy about Santa's childhood and early mission to make children happy. There are other editions of the story, with beautiful illustrations -- but they have been simplified and the story is somewhat diminished. While I do love a gorgeous picture book, I hate to see this terrific story dumbed down. So I prefer this edition. 

You might also enjoy an edition that contains both of Baum's Santa stories ("The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" and "A Kidnapped Santa"), published as L. Frank Baum's Book of Santa Claus.  It's fun, too!