La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
My first Christmas with San Geraldo was in 1981. The previous Christmas, he and his roommate hosted a tree-trimming party. Free food and drinks, with guests required to bring an ornament. In 2011, when I unpacked our Christmas stuff (reduced from 10 giant Rubbermaid tubs to only 2 before we moved) for our first Christmas in Spain, I was stunned to find we still had one of those ornaments. And my least favorite at that. I was sure I had brought it to Goodwill. Maybe Goodwill brought it back. SG was delighted to see it again. He calls it S&M Santa. I call it disturbing. S&M is not my style. Nor, I’m glad, is it SG’s. That’s one of those things you have to both agree on. I wouldn’t mind S&M Santa so much if he were simply done up in leather with small piercings here and there. But “he’s hung” by a giant steel safety pin drilled through his head.
Fortunately, we have a collection of very pleasant Santas. Each year, SG’s sister Linda would send us a gift from our nephews, Matt and Ryan. (They were clueless.) We have most of those Boyds Bears Folkstone Santas and wish they were still making them. We have other Santas collected over the years, plus several Julenisser from Norway.
A Nisse is often described as a short man or woman (under four feet tall) wearing a red cap. Nisser (plural) are believed to be guardian spirits on Norwegian farms. They’re said to be temperamental, petulant, volatile… you get the idea. Unlike in the USA, where you’re supposed to leave cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve, in Norway you’re expected to leave a bowl of porridge (with butter) for the Nisse. Woe unto those who don’t do so.
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Mi primera Navidad con San Geraldo fue en 1981. La Navidad anterior, él y su compañero de cuarto organizaron una fiesta de poda de árboles. Comida y bebidas gratis, y los invitados deben traer un adorno. En 2011, cuando desempaqué nuestras cosas navideñas (reducidas de 10 botes gigantes de Rubbermaid a solo 2 antes de mudarnos) para nuestra primera Navidad en España, me sorprendió descubrir que todavía teníamos uno de esos adornos. Y mi menos favorito en eso. Estaba seguro de haberlo llevado a Goodwill. Tal vez Goodwill lo trajo de vuelta. SG estaba encantada de volver a verlo. Él lo llama S&M Santa [Sado Papá Noel]. Yo lo llamo perturbador. El sadomasoquismo no es mi estilo. Tampoco, me alegro, es de SG. Esa es una de esas cosas en las que ambos tienen que estar de acuerdo. No me importaría tanto S&M Santa si simplemente estuviera vestido de cuero con pequeños piercings aquí y allá. Pero está “colgado” por un imperdible de acero perforado en su cabeza.
Afortunadamente, tenemos una colección de Papáa Noel muy agradables. Cada año, la hermana de SG, Linda, nos enviaba un regalo de nuestros sobrinos, Matt y Ryan. (No tenían ni idea). Tenemos la mayoría de esos Boyds Bears Folkstone Santas y desearíamos que todavía los estuvieran haciendo. Tenemos otros Papá Noel recogidos a lo largo de los años, además de varios Julenisser de Noruega.
Un Nisse a menudo se describe como un hombre o una mujer de baja estatura (menos de cuatro pies de altura) que lleva una gorra roja. Se cree que los nisser (plural) son espíritus guardianes en las granjas noruegas. Se dice que son temperamentales, petulantes, volátiles… entiendes la idea. A diferencia de los EE. UU., donde se supone que debes dejar galletas y leche para Papá Noel en Nochebuena, en Noruega se espera que dejes un tazón de avena (con mantequilla) para el Nisse. ¡Ay de aquellos que no lo hagan!
• La prima Inger y su esposo Jan Olaf trajeron el Yule Nisse de la derecha cuando nos visitaron desde Bergen mientras vivíamos en Santa Bárbara. Compramos el bobble head (extremo izquierdo) en Bergen un año después.
• Compramos este par en Bergen, Noruega, en 1998.
• La prima de San Geraldo, Ellen, en Bergen, los hizo para nosotros. Los atesoramos.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
“Una pausa para el Papá Noel”
Letras:
¿Por qué te sientas ahí tan extraño?
¿Es porque eres hermoso?
Debes pensar que estás trastornado
¿Por qué los policías golpean a los pacifistas?
Debes pensar que Papá Noel es raro
tiene el pelo largo y barba
Dando sus regalos gratis
¿Por qué los policías se meten con los de la paz?
Consigamos a Papá Noel porque;
Papá Noel tiene un traje rojo
el es un comunista
Y una barba, y el pelo largo
debe ser pacifista
¿Qué hay en la pipa que está fumando?
Señor Claus se cuela en tu casa por la noche.
Debe ser un drogadicto, para ponerte fuerte
¿Por qué los policías golpean a los pacifistas?
SM Santa looks like the kind that will follow you to the end of the earth. Be good little boys, and treat the jolly old elves well. (And the Yule cat.)
David:
SM Santa has followed us to the end of the earth, it seems.
I like the nisser crafted by Cousin Ellen, especially those adorable mittens!
Debra:
We love those nisser. She is exceptionally creative and so skilled. We’re honored she would spend that time for us.
Since you brought it up, I do have a naughty Santa fantasy or two.
And you know that Bergen Christmas couple always gives me the willies. I’ve seen how the Christmas horror movies play out…..
I’d never be able to sleep with a Santa bearing an axe in the house. Nor his missus with that sex-toy-rolling-pin. Jx
Jon:
As long as we leave them porridge on Christmas Eve, they’ll protect us and won’t murder us in our sleep.
Mistress Borghese:
You? A naughty fantasy or two? I’m shocked.
Oh, what fun these are! Very nice collection.
Jim:
We love them. I started looking for the ones we’re missing. More expensive to ship them to Spain than to buy them.
I love your Santas, except for the S&M fellow. He look quite surprised by his predicament, and not in a happy way. Woe unto that Santa.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
The Santa offends me slightly less since he faded to orange.
The bobble-head makes me smile!
Bob:
It did us, too, so went into the shop and bought it.
It’s fun to have ornaments with stories behind them. S&M Santa is certainly unusual! A conversation piece, you might say.
I like the ones made by SG’s cousin the best.
Steve:
The ones Ellen made are truly special. When we were thinning out our Christmas collection for our move to Spain, the requirement was they had to have special meaning.
That Santa ornament –a gift that keeps on giving– just looks painful. Yikes.
A wonderful season to you and SG, Mitchell. Hugs!
Robyn:
I used to place S&M Santa on the back of the tree. I can’t believe he survived his ocean voyage.
I had trouble commenting
Loved the figures but find S & m not me xx
finlaygray:
I had a feeling S&M Santa wouldn’t be your style.
We were cheated, no pictures of the S&M Santa???
Laurent:
It’s the photo at the top of the post.
What a nifty collection! Except for, you know, the one in the orange suit. 😉
Walt the Fourth:
And the suit used to be red. Water sports?
I love Christmas ornaments with stories behind them. Even when the ornament is ugly, the history behind it makes them in their own way beautiful. Happy Holidays!
mcpersonalspace54:
No story could make S&M Santa beautiful, but I completely agree with you. We’ve got some keepers that we never would have selected, but they make us feel all warm inside.