HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM POPPY

The weather is a bit better and there is no longer water in the hotel- though we still have some work to do cleaning up. Last night was, I think, the longest night. It’s dark now at 5.30pm and though I know that is later than in the UK, it will be nice to have longer days again.

There are only 2 windows left on Kaan’s advent calendar, which means not much time left to get everything ready. Still I am not in too much of a panic. There is not nearly as much pressure as there is in the UK and though I will be cooking dinner for about 18 people, most of them are Turkish so they won’t really notice if something is not quite right!

I am lucky that Cem is an enthusiastic celebrator of Christmas. I never used to think this was strange but speaking to other foreigners married to Turkish men I have found that some of the husbands choose to ignore it altogether. Actually it isn’t just Cem but his family and close friends who have jumped on board and eagerly join in our celebrations. They enjoy the turkey, love the roast potatoes (not a common thing in Turkey) and are amazed by a cake that you make months (or at least weeks) in advance and feed with brandy.

Christmas is also made easier for me thanks to the hotel. Just as it made it easier to celebrate Turkish bayram with 28 members of Cem’s family, it enables us to have large numbers of people for dinner without too much stress. The kitchen is large, there are two ovens, no shortage of plates or cutlery and the mess can be left and cleared up the next day!

So, my preparations are nearly in place. I have tested a new recipe for chicken liver pate; hope it’s nice because I am taking some to some friends who we are seeing tonight. I have never made it before, but it doesn’t seem to be that difficult and with an Anthony Worral Thompson recipe you can’t – hopefully – go wrong! I have made my nut roast and it’s in the freezer. The remainder of the shopping can be done on Friday at the local farmers’ market.

I have bought and wrapped all but a couple of the presents, made a gingerbread house, knitted a few decorations and made a Santa suit for Kaan’s teddy. I think I have earned my Martha Stewart badge or - as my dear Canadian friend Fran says - my ‘Suzie homemaker’ points, for this year! Now I am going to sit back and enjoy a glass of wine and trust that by Saturday it will all be ready – and what isn’t ready, we’ll do without! I leave you with some thoughts about Santa…..Happy Christmas to you all!


From Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus

                                 Did you know Saint Nicholas was born in Patara, just a short way from Fethiye? He became bishop of nearby Myra and was known for his generosity in helping people in need. One of the stories tells of him providing dowries for girls from poor families by dropping sacks of gold through open doors and windows – making the gift anonymous.

After his death, pilgrims started to visit his tomb and many miracles were reported. He was made the patron saint of children, sailors and scholars and given the feast day of 6th January – still the main day for present-giving in some European countries.

His conversion from 3rd century Saint to the jovial red-robed character we know is the result of mass media and marketing during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In 1810, the New York Historical Society commissioned a picture of the first ‘American’ St Nicholas in which he appears as an amiable fatherly figure filling stockings hung over the fireplace.

In 1823, the famous poem ‘The Night Before Christmas’ was published, referring to Saint Nicholas as ‘a right jolly old elf’ who was ‘dressed all in fur’ and drove a ‘miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer’. Pictures showed him wearing a variety of styles and colours of dress, until the early twentieth century when illustrators started to favour the red fur-lined suit. Long-running advertisements for Coca-Cola, which began in 1931, also helped to make this the standard.

So what is left, among all the tinsel and fake snow, of the original Saint? The sacks of presents seem to mirror the sacks of gold he left, the candy canes could be a bishop’s crook and even the bags of chocolate money we buy for the children echo the legend of St Nicholas. Other connections may be more obscure so, for example, the way Santa Claus operates secretly under cover of darkness is similar to the way the Saint made his gifts anonymously. The story is a mixture of fact and fiction but Saint Nicholas is definitely a well-travelled Saint!