It has been almost 500 years since the American Santa was born. If we could ask him, he might not remember much about being a kid. What happened to his Mom and Dad and the rest of his family*?
It’s fun to think about Santa when he was younger and all the places he’s been. We know his reindeer take him anywhere he needs to go. But in the old days, before he got to the North Pole and started the reindeer ranch and met the Elves, and opened his toy shop, he probably walked a lot.
How come Santa has lived so long? Many people and cultures tell stories about Santa. There are lots of books about him. Some people think he lives with his wife, Mrs. Claus. They don’t seem to have any kids of their own. This is probably because they are so busy working with the Elves and making toys.
It’s possible that Santa’s mother came from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean with Christopher Columbus in 1492. This is "another beginning" of Santa Claus and his brother. Nobody really knows, but if it’s true or not, it’s still a wonderful folk tale.
It starts with a smiling baby girl who had no Mommy, on-board the sailing ship "Santa Maria." The little girl was taken care of by a teenager named Katerina, who had blond hair and blue eyes. Columbus’ crew also watched over the baby while they survived storms, huge waves, and many days without any wind. They baby giggled through it all and it gave them hope and faith that everything would be OK.
The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria were running out of fresh water and food the morning they saw land. The crew believed the baby girl was their good luck charm who made it possible for them to survive. The ships anchored offshore and when they rowed to land, they were greeted by the native people.
In a ceremony on the first day, the baby girl was christened “Santa Maria,” to celebrate the crew's good fortune at finding land so far away from home. Katerina and the Santa Maria stayed in the native village with a family whose baby had recently died, so the Mommy could feed it breast milk.
Life among the native children was filled with laughter and adventure for little Santa Maria. She grew up to be a beautiful young girl and all the warriors were captivated by her fair skin and doe-like eyes. Some of the boys tried to kiss her when no one was looking. But Santa Maria was saving her first kiss for a a boy named Kachada. He was handsome and strong, and had blue eyes too.
Kachada’s father was the Chief of the native people and his Mother was Katerina. The Chief had lost his wife the same year the ships had arrived and Columbus thought Katerina would be a perfect mate for the Chief. This made the Chief very happy and in his good mood he showed Columbus where the fresh water was, told the tribesmen to show them how to dive for shell fish, and gave them corn seeds.
Santa Maria’s love for Kachada grew, and when they were teenagers, Santa Maria and Kachada were married in a native ceremony. They had a love for sailing and often went out on the Chief’s sailboat to enjoy the ocean.
Two years later, they left the tribe, with the blessing of the Chief, crossed a smaller sea to the west, and found a bigger land mass. They sailed up an inter-coastal waterway, eventually joining another group of explorers.
Santa Maria and Kachada traveled north and inland with this party to discover the “Fountain of Youth” in what is now Florida. Ponce De Leon was the Spanish explorer in charge of this expedition.
After they settled in the area known today as St. Petersburg, they had 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys. The boys played, swam, and dove in the magical water, while the girls stayed home learning to gather berries, sew, and cook. One day, there was a mournful cry in the new settlement, when Kachada was bitten by a poisonous snake and died.
After their Dad died, the boys spend many days away from the village looking for game. Later they would be away for weeks at a time, trapping, hunting with bows and arrows, and learning the ways of the local natives and the traders in north Florida.
They eventually told Santa Maria that they wanted to find the big inland river the native people and white men often talked about. Santa Maria's youngest daughter, Santa Isabel, stayed with her Mom to help her heal from a broken heart and to teach school. Santa Isabel eventually opened an orphanage and is remembered as a generous, saintly woman.
Santa Maria's oldest daughter, the beautiful but spoiled Santa Barbara, had been pampered by her Father Kachada. After he died, she soon married a wealthy fisherman Peter. It is told that their descendants found oil in the Gulf and were very greedy.
The 2 brothers traveled west and walked hundreds of miles, looking for the mighty river. When they reached its banks, they built a small sailboat, the way their Father had taught them, and headed north. It was a dangerous time to have blue eyes in the wilderness, but because they were friendly and knowledgeable about hunting and trapping, the natives along the river were not afraid of them. It is said that one of the brothers was named Santa Claus.
There are many myths and legends about these 2 men. It was thought that they had magical powers. Like most stories repeated over and over through time, what we know now is part fact, part fiction, and certainly fantastic. With the natural ease and smiles of care-free travelers, they left behind a legacy of kindness every place they went.
Many American villages, Inns, bars, seaports, and songs tell stories about 2 young men, training wild horses, teaching children to speak English, caring for the sick, and helping with the harvest. They would give anything, including the shirt off their backs, to the poor, and they spread the gifts of laughter and wisdom, and shared all the treasures they accumulated.
At some unknown point in their lives, the 2 men decided it was time to go forward alone. It is probably because Santa Claus liked the colder, rugged winters and wanted to explore the northern territories, but his brother preferred warmer deserts and southwestern red rocks.
Santa Claus eventually made his way through the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific northwest into Canada. He went searching for the legendary land bridge from Alaska to Asia, but at some point got distracted and ended up at the northern-most seaport on the Arctic Ocean. It is told that he joined a summer whaling expedition. We can only imagine how he made it from that ship to his home at the North Pole.
Santa Claus' brother original name is lost to time. He seems to have traveled through the southwest to California, as there are stories handed down from the villages surrounding the Spanish Missions, about a bearded, jolly man who enjoyed sitting in the shade of the largest local trees, giggling with the local kids. They say he had boundless energy and was believed to be the first one to introduce a team game that featured kicking a pig bladder ball into a net.
Old fishing villages in California, Mexico, and Central America, all have stories about a man who seemed to appear out of nowhere, bringing good luck to the fisherman. He knew where huge schools of fish gathered around hidden reefs and taught them how to catch thousands using the same nets he made for the kick-the-ball game.
This same man seems to have sailed around Cape Horn on a small ship in an attempt to learn about his ancestors in Europe. We don’t know if he ever made it, but there is a folk tale on the island of Aruba about a man fitting the description of Santa's brother. They speak of this man splashing in the surf, entertaining families around nightly bonfires on the beaches with songs and stories of travel and adventures. He even learned their native language, Papiamento.
The people gave him a local name, XOQ (pronounced Zok). He was lovingly referred to by young and old as Uncle XOQ; an easy to talk to, somewhat eccentric, ageless character. They don’t know where he came from, and they don’t know where he went. It all seems so familiar. (Research reveals that in Papiamento, the word XOQ means "crossing over.")
This unusual man must certainly be Santa Claus' brother. The brothers longevity is attributed to their childhood spent in the waters of the Fountain of Youth. The sons of Santa Maria and Kachada still spread joy, hope, faith, compassion, and many other gifts. It is always delivered with a hardy HO! HO! HO!
*This “Santa family story” is new and recently written by Robby Hoffman's in Carlsbad, CA. It has never appeared anywhere before. Copyright 2012.
We just returned from South Florida. There are many items of note from this short trip to close out 2012, but I promise I won't bore you with details of visiting my aging parents. They are getting old, with the aches and pains typical of living 90 years and are taking enough medication to keep Pfiser afloat.
The morning had started with the TSA at Miami International having only one human scanner operating at 7 AM on Sunday, during what has to be one of the busiest days travel days of the year. As human cattle, we shuffled our feet, inching forward, internalizing our frustration with this tedious, incompetent process of protecting us from ..... ???
