We could not think of a better way to see out the Term, than by throwing open our doors for a very, very special visit, particularly for all the children in Early Years. Santa Claus came to see us in person and he also came to ask if everyone had behaved well, although he already knew they had. Of course, he also wanted to take a look at the Christmas Tree, decorated by the students and families from Early Years. And, he also listened to carols, which our Secondary Choir dedicated to him.
Very excited, our students went up to Santa Claus to remind him of the presents they had asked him for in their letters. In this way, full of enthusiasm, they said goodbye to the School year, went to class in home clothes and really enjoyed the Christmas Party with games, activities and carol singing, before heading off, for a much deserved holiday.
The most recent version of the legend tells how Santa Claus lives somewhere near the North Pole, along with Mrs Santa Claus and a large number of Christmas elves, who help him make all the toys and other presents which children ask for in their letters. To be able to carry all the presents, Father Christmas, keeps them in a magic sack and distributes them at midnight on the 25th of December. He has a magical, flying sleigh which is pulled by Rudolph, who has a shinning, bright red nose, to light the way. Santa Claus gets into the children´s homes by turning himself into a puff of magic smoke, going down the chimney or through some other crack in the house.
But this marvelous character who brightens up our Christmas, like others, has a much older and more realistic origin. It is in fact based on the figure of a Christian bishop from Greece called Nicholas, who lived in the 4th Century in Anatolia, in the Licia valleys, in what is now Turkey. He was one of the most venerated religious people in the Middle Ages, and, still today, his relics are kept in the basilica of St Nicholas of Bari, in Italy.
Santa Claus´s visit was certainly the final flourish to 2019! Merry Christmas everyone and we look forward to seeing you back on the 7th of January, 2020.