The First Lady of Christmas

by

Happy December, Y’all!
Gosh, how did that happen! Wasn’t it a bzillon degrees just last week? But here we are…Thanksgiving is behind us, and Christmas is only 24 days away!
The amount of Christmas lore we see, hear, touch, and taste at this time of year is staggering. We’ve got songs about reindeer, snowmen, the 12 days of Christmas, an elf who sits on a shelf, and letters to Santa.
But what do we know about the first lady of Christmas…Mrs. Claus?
Little is known about Mrs. C … that’s Mrs. Santa Claus to you and me. who, in vivid imagination, is seen baking cookies with the help of her house elves in a cozy, dainty kitchen somewhere in their North Pole abode. As Santa Claus’s wife, Mrs. Claus has been imagined as a stout woman, a little on the heavier side, with grey hair and spectacles…gee, that describes yours truly to perfection.
But before Mrs. C. came on the scene, here’s a bit about her husband. There is no mention of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, having a wife. Yet as the 4th century Turkish bishop’s practice of distributing gifts anonymously expanded and morphed over time, he has transitioned into a full-time behavior monitor, jolly elf, and bringer of toys.
However, even mythological love affairs don’t just happen overnight. It would be centuries before Santa found his lady love. The first mention of Mrs. Claus appears in an 1849 short story “A Christmas Legend” by James Rees, in which a couple disguise themselves, angel-like, as travelers, and seek shelter with a family. As it turns out the two strangers are not the Clauses at all, but long-lost family members in disguise…thus, the legend was born.
Mrs. Claus is known to have lived during the early Middle Ages with Santa and was given the name ‘Goody’ which meant a good wife who took care of the house and Santa Claus. Her reputation was further elevated in Katharine Lee Bates’s 1889 poem “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride” when she demands to accompany her husband on his rounds and deliver the toys herself. It seems she had a bit of feistiness hidden beneath her red dress!
People unanimously agree on Mrs. Claus’s character. So, it stands to reason that since Santa Claus was a jolly character, his wife would be no different. She has been portrayed as an elderly woman, with white hair, spectacles and a red outfit with white fur trimmings. She was made to look like the perfect, caring wife who would wrap a scarf around Santa Claus every year before he embarked on his long Christmas journey.
Mrs. Claus’s role may have been overshadowed by the other important aspects of Christmas, but nothing can take away her pedestal as the woman in red waiting, on a night of celebration, for her husband to return from his long journey. The image is complete with her decorating Christmas trees and making cookies or gingerbread houses with her dear elves in the backdrop of a cozy fireplace.
Whether she goes by the name of Jessica, Mary, Anna or Gertrude, Mrs. Santa Claus has been a part of the oral and literary Santa Claus stories for as long as Santa himself, but she has been a quiet companion for several generations.
P.S. Don’t tell my husband, but in my next life, I’d like to be Mrs. C.  Imagine baking and eating cookies all day!!!
On behalf of Santa and Mrs. Claus, I wish you a holiday filled with love, joy, peace and all things that make you happy.
Happy Holidays!
To win an eBook edition of my latest release, “Lefse by Linnea” Old Timey Holiday Kitchen, leave a comment to the question below:

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

He made a promise to a dying friend.
She vowed never to love again.
“You can’t continue living like this, Linnea. You’ve become a hermit.”
Linnea Nyland heard the concern in her sister-in-law’s voice. Still filled with grief and missing her husband a year after his unexpected passing, she didn’t have the inclination to disagree with the statement. Though she dearly missed working her magic in the family bakery, she liked her life on the farm just the way it was…solitary.

Especially after Deputy Finn McBride came calling with his ridiculous proposal of marriage!

In a moment of panic, Finn made a heart pledge to Erik Nyland to take care of Linnea, to marry her. He’d bungled his first attempt, and he’s not sure his heart can endure the vow he made knowing he’d been in love with her from the day he came to Holly Springs.

Giving it one last try, he challenges her to a holiday baking competition. If he wins, she must agree to let him court…if she wins, he’ll leave her alone…forever.

Throw in a matchmaking landlady, a Norwegian Buhund dog, and a missing special ingredient, the lonely deputy prays for a Christmas miracle.

 

 

 

Author at JMV Creative Enterprise | jrobertsauthor@yahoo.com | Website |  + posts

Born and raised in western Massachusetts, Jo-Ann Roberts was fascinated by America’s Old West and always felt she was destined to travel on a wagon train following the Oregon Trail. With her love of history and reading, she began reading historical romance during high school and college. Victoria Holt, Jude Deveraux, and Roseanne Bittner were among her favorites. Influenced by her father, she fell in love with John Wayne, James Garner, and her all-time favorite, James Stewart and grew up watching Wagon Train, Bonanza and Rawhide.
A firm believer in HEA with a healthy dose of realism, Jo-Ann strives to give her readers a sweet historical romance while imparting carefully researched historical facts, personalities, and experiences relative to the time period. Her romances take her readers back to a simpler time to escape the stress of modern life by living in a small town where families and friends help one another find love and happiness.
When she isn’t creating believable plots and relatable heroes and heroines, Jo-Ann enjoys spending time with her husband, children and grandson. She also enjoys baking, quilting and eating way too much chocolate.
After 38 years in public education in Connecticut and Maryland, she’s now calls North Carolina home.

58 thoughts on “The First Lady of Christmas”

  2. Hello, welcome and Happy December. I wanted to be a veterinarian. I do have an animal science degree and have been using it all my life in my career choices.

  4. So many things! I wanted to be a teacher, a nurse, a park ranger, a detective (skip the lowly regular cop duties, I wanted to go straight to detective).

  10. Good morning! I love this blog it’s always interesting to know where our customs come from!

    I do not recall having a major “what I want to be when I grow up” dream. It jumped around from vet, to doctor, to teacher, to just a mom and housewife like my mother, a nurse, to many other job titles. Unfortunately, even while in college I couldn’t pinpoint that one profession either! lol I loved to travel so I ended up in the Marketing and business degree program. It’s amazing to me how small of a mindset I had of what there was to do in life.

    I hear students majors and minors now and I always have a a wow moment of, “I didn’t even know that was a thing”. Even now I’m not sure what direction I’d go. I did love my psychology courses the most. I’m a major true come person too so I’d probably do along the lines of a criminal psychologist.

    I’d love the opportunity to read your book!

    • Welcome, Stephanie! There are so many options for young people these days. When I was in school, there were limited options especially for women…teacher, secretary, nurse. Whether there were other options, guidance counselors didn’t encourage us to pursue them. Happy Holidays to you and your family

  12. From the time I was very young all I ever wanted to be was a nurse. At one time, a missionary nurse. I became a nurse in 1972 and took my first missions triip in 1992, although not as a nurse but as a pastor.

  13. That’s so weird I was just talking about this with my son this morning! I wanted to be a lawyer or a pediatrician. Neither one of those accounts happened haha but I love being a mom!

  14. The profession changed many times while growing up, but I always wanted to be a mom. And I am. Mom to three grown boys, Gigi to one baby girl.

  17. I wanted to work in an office and almost went to business school out of high school. Unfortunately, I got married instead. I divorced after 9 years. During that time I did a number of office jobs and after remarrying we became involved in hotel management which lasted a good many years for us. In my late 40’s I continued management by myself and did lots of traveling with it for nearly 10 years to my retirement.

    I agree, your book sounds very enthralling. I hope to find time to read it soon. Have a blessed Christmas

  19. Hi, I wanted to be a nurse but I never pursued it. My daughter is a Registered Nurse and so is her husband, -my son in law. So, I have 2 personal Nurses. 🙂 Have a great weekend.

  20. I guess the most consistent thought was to become a librarian (that didn’t fly but I did work as a library technician in government libraries for a number of years).

  21. I guess the most consistent thought was to become a librarian (that didn’t fly but I did work as a library technician in government libraries for a number of years).

  26. From grade school well into high school, I wanted to be an archeologist. I still would have liked to have pursued that career. My dad’s comment that everything had already been found, plus there was no college nearby or affordable where I could get the degree needed, kept me from that path. I think of all the wonderful discoveries made since then and still being made and wish I could have been part of them.

  28. A teacher until I worked in a 4th grade classroom as a senior in high school… the teacher later told me that that class almost made her retire!

    • Welcome, Kate! As a former teacher/Classroom Assistant, I can relate to your post. Some classes are more challenging than others, especially in PreK-Grade 1 where my heart will always be.

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