"In Hopes that Saint John Would Soon Be There"

Ian was showing me some special fine-grained substance in a small plastic baggy - "oats with sugar and sparkles", he explains, that he acquired from school. With it came a little tag with poetic instructions as to how to sprinkle the lawn with the substance, to ensure that Santa and his reindeer can find their way to your house. But Daniel corrected the premise, and then corrected himself on his own terminology:

"But Santa Claus already knows where we live - or Saint John."

He then went on to tell me how he has been telling the children that Santa Claus's real name is Saint John.

At that point, we revisited the subject of Saint Nicholas.

(December 26, 2011)