How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas by Jeff Guinn Page B

and Britain about Nicholas, the ancient Catholic saint who somehow was still around and brought gifts for children at holiday time. In some countries, Germany especially, people began to think that perhaps his special gift-giving time was December 6, the date of Nicholas’s “death” in 343.
    So now, in addition to our year-round tasks, we were faced with not one but three special days when children particularly hoped to receive our gifts. I finally suggested that we gratefully accept these new obligations as opportunities rather than problems.
    â€œIn this way, we can make our night visits three times each year and spend the rest of the time planning our gift-giving and helping Arthur and Attila and Dorothea at the factories,” I said. “Why, we can each choose one or two countries for our special individual attention. It will be more efficient, and great fun besides.”
    So it happened that, each year at holiday time, while Nicholas might roam anywhere, Arthur and his helpers brought gifts in England and all other parts of Britain. Attila and Dorothea took much of Western Europe, while Willie Skokan concentrated on Eastern European countries. Francis led the holiday gift-giving in Spain and Portugal, Felix found Scandinavia to his liking, and no one was surprised when I asked for Italy. The reason, of course, was Befana.
    Everywhere else, legend now had it that holiday gifts were brought by a man—St. Nicholas or a similar male gift-giver with another name. But in Italy, children woke up on January 6 hoping for toys or treats from Befana, an old woman. As Italian tradition had it, when the three wise men began their search for the Baby Jesus, they came to Befana’s house, asking directions to Bethlehem and inviting her to come with them. She wouldn’t give the directions, because she didn’t understand who Jesus was. Afterward, when Befana learned Jesus was the savior, she wished she had gone to give presents to him, too, and so ever since she went out before dawn on Epiphany to leave gifts for any child she could find. What fun it was for me to spend that special time leaving dolls and tops and marbles for children all over Italy! Of course, every few years we would switch countries so we could share in all the different traditions. But it’s also true Befana and Italy remained especially dear to my heart.
    The excitement for us only increased in 1492, when Francis met Queen Isabella of Aragon in Spain and was able to make a place for himself on the first voyage to the fabled New World by Italian sea captain Christopher Columbus. Francis returned with tales of this wonderful new land, and his enthusiasm was contagious. Everyone, especially Nicholas and Felix, couldn’t wait to visit the New World. None of us, though, felt we could leave immediately, for we were still helping build holiday gift-giving traditions in Britain and Europe. Still, I didn’t miss the longing in my husband’s voice as he talked about crossing the Atlantic Ocean someday. I decided then that it might take fifty years, or a hundred, but as soon as it was practical I would insist that Nicholas get on a boat and travel to that new place he so clearly yearned to see for himself.
    About this same time, in 1501 Princess Catherine of Aragon was given in marriage to Prince Arthur of England. Though we didn’t know it at the time, this began a series of events that would result in Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans banning Christmas 144 years later.

    Nicholas, Felix, and I set off for England the next day. We’d hardly arrived in London before my husband and his friend disappeared, hurrying to the docks where Arthur told them the group of colonists was being recruited for the voyage to America.

CHAPTER Five
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    Y ou know you want to visit what they’re calling the New World,” I said to Nicholas one fine early fall evening in 1620. We were spending a few weeks in