wfn.org | Saintly "Santa" - Historic Visit to Canterbury Cathedral

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 2788 - ENGLAND - 4 December 2001

Saintly "Santa" historic visit to Canterbury

4 December 2001

Saturday, December 8 at 11 a.m. the original image of Santa Claus/Father
Christmas will enter Christchurch Gate in Canterbury, St Nicholas, Patron
Saint of Children, Sailors and many more.

"We hope to educate and inspire those who come along as to the history and
true identity of the person the world calls Santa," said St Nicholas Society
president Jim Rosenthal. "Santa points to himself, whereas, as a saint,
Bishop Nicholas moves us on the true celebration of the birth of Christ
celebrated on December 25 around the world, " he added.

Mrs Eileen Carey is the honorary patron of the festival and The Lord Mayor
and Lady Mayoress will greet St Nick with the Dean of Canterbury. The event
is free and the Cathedral tree and Crib will be already in place. There will
be special guests from the St Nicholas Society in Flanders. The Cathedral
Choristers will sing. There are 400 churches in UK called St Nicholas.

A Three Day Exhibition on St Nicholas is being held 7, 8 and 9 December from
9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. at Eastbridge Hospital on the High Street,
Canterbury. Adults are asked to donate #1 and children are free. Saturday
from 12-2, St Nick will greet children at the Cathedral Shoppe on Burgate.
Gifts for each child.

Information on the St Nicholas Society will be available at Eastbridge. The
Society is grateful to The Merchant Chandler for their support, along with
others. Windows featuring St Nicholas can be seen at Castle Street Florist
and Tourist Information Office.

ST NICHOLAS, the true historical foundation for the Santa custom, will wear
the attire of a Bishop. As a Christian Bishop (born 260 AD) he served the
Diocese of Myra in what is now Turkey. His memory is venerated to this day
in a tomb containing relics (bones) in a church in Bari, Italy.

COLLECTIONS by Scouts from Bridge, Stelling Minnis and Upper Hardes, will
support ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, New York, destroyed on September 11 and an AIDS
Project run by the Anglican Church in South Africa.

On Sunday the Cathedral Choir will sing Haydn's St Nicholas Mass at 11 a.m.
All are welcome.

For more information on St Nicholas click here

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

St Nicholas is available for interviews from today (4 December 2001)

Photographers, Video, TV, Radio welcome to experience this unique and rare
event.

Contact: +44 780 389 4751 - All Press welcome.

_________________________
The ACNSlist is published by the Anglican Communion Office, London.

You can join or leave the ACNSlist via our ACNS web page -
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/source.html#subscribe
or, to unsubscribe via email, send a blank email to:
leave-acnslist@epicom.org
from the email address which has been subscribed.

Please send QUESTIONS or COMMENTS to acnslist@anglicancommunion.org