Our family just finished reading St. Nicholas the Believer by Eric and Lana Elder and it was wonderful! The story portrays the man we celebrate as Santa Claus as someone with a deep faith in Jesus that characterized his whole life. It begins with the love and compassion of his parents, acted out in small generosities to their town and taught to Nicholas, and reveals his dedication to God throughout his life.
I really liked this excerpt from the book’s introduction:
I read an article by a man who simply loved celebrating Christmas. He could think of no greater way to celebrate the birth of the most important figure in human history than throwing the grandest of parties for Him—gathering and feasting and sharing gifts with as many of his family and friends as possible. This man was a pastor of deep faith and great joy. For him, the joy of Christ’s birth was so wondrous that he reveled in every aspect of Christmas, including all the planning, decorating and activities that went along with it. He even loved bringing Santa Claus into the festivities, our modern-day version of the very real and very ancient Saint Nicholas, a man of deep faith and great joy as well who Himself worshipped and adored the Baby who was born in Bethlehem.
This is a wonderful story, and I cannot wait to experience it with the drama and balletic beauty that are always characteristic of an SCCDT production. I know that a great deal of planning, thought, and prayer has gone into creating this new Christmas production.
When Cynthia reached out to Eric Elder and expressed her desire to transform the story into a ballet, it was an answer to prayer. Eric had been hoping for a way to bring the story further to life, and couldn’t believe that Cynthia had found the story so touching. It was an exciting phone call for them both. Eric is planning to join us for the production, and his daughter (15) who dances ballet at home, will be joining the SCCDT company in “One Life.”
Please plan to join us for this very special production on November 30 and December 1.