Should old acquaintance be forgot

Cyprus in a year ...

January 2013

world record for getting it wrong

The government had to withdraw and reprint more than half a million general election ballot sheets after Guinness World Records objected to the unauthorised use of its logo.  Presidential candidate Andreas Efstratiou, who owns a bridal wear shop, had previously won the world record for creating the longest wedding dress train.  The record has since been superseded, preventing Efstratiou's legal use of the logo.  He had to pay back the Cyprus government 15,000 euro for the ballot reprint.  He didn't win the election either ... 

February 

Mr. Resurrection and his top financial advisor

... but this man did.  The 67-year-old right-wing conservative leader, Nicos Anastasiades, got 57.5% of the vote in a final showdown against the communist party-backed Stavros Malas.  Boasting of his connections with European centre-right leaders, Anastasiades promised to resurrect the island's economy from its impending quicksand death.  A masterplan which has gone brilliantly so far.  Go, Nick, go.  Happy voters know they made the right choice.


March 

carrying an invisible knife 

And then it all kicks off.  The good news:  10 billion euro aid package to come from Brussels.  The catch:  it's not enough.  Private savings accounts to be raided to make up the shortfall.  Mass panic run on cashpoint machines while trembling bank employees hold their teddy bears behind closed doors for 10 days.  Furious protesters rally outside the presidential palace, chanting: "Troika out of Cyprus".  Putin not amused, threatens to withdraw aid if Russian off-shore accounts on the island are hit.  Cameron objects to the suggested levies on British troops' accounts.  Meltdown.  

April

Michael Sarris:  last seen on a yacht in the Cayman Islands

Even the Archbishop of Cyprus gets involved in the melee.  Chrysostom II - a well known economic expert - publicly advises the finance minister, Michael Sarris, to resign.  So he does.  Coincidentally, Sarris is the former chairman of the Laiki Bank - the same bank that is to be dissolved.  And, he disappears just as a formal investigation is launched into the events leading to the financial crisis.  Handy.  Meanwhile, Anastasiades does an Oliver Twist and asks the EU:  please, sir, can I have some more?  

May

Ayia Napa:  a peaceful and civilised haven

A Cyprus court finds a British-Somalian man guilty of manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of a British soldier in Ayia Napa, and jails him for 8 years.  Although the resort, known for its lively night life, is officially off bounds to British soldiers stationed on the island, Fusilier David Lee Collins, 19, was involved in a night club brawl there the night before he was to begin a tour in Afghanistan.  A surprisingly quick legal process and result for the Cyprus courts.  Ex-president Christofias is still safe somewhere in Russia.  


June

one way to drown sorrows

Non-euro holding tourists take advantage of favourable exchange rates, and revenue from tourism in Cyprus goes up in June, compared to the same time last year.  The Swiss were the biggest spenders in Cyprus this summer, followed by Russians and Austrians.  The average stay increased to 10.1 days, compared to 9.5 days in June 2012, while the average daily expenditure by tourists went up from 81.5 to 83.3 euro per day.  Hey, those 2 euros a day make all the difference!  [data source:  Famagusta Gazette]


July

resurrecting unemployment

Just when we thought it was safe selling ice creams and beach bats, Eurostat releases gloomy figures of rising Cypriot unemployment.  For the under-25s, unemployment hits 30%.  The IMF forecasts that instead of fixing problems, the austere bailout terms may have plunged the island into an even deeper long-term economic decline.  President Anastasiades said:  "I am not a magician." [The New York Times, 13/7/13] 

August

at least someone's protecting us

Syria Crisis.  Like we didn't have enough to worry about.  Britain deploys 6 Typhoon fighter jets to RAF Akrotiri.  Within days, Assad responds with his own fighter jets in a 'goad-and-probe' sortie near Famagusta.  Two of the British Typhoons were scrambled to see them off, and Turkey got jittery too, sending out two F16s.  The Syrians retreated, but not without blowing a couple of raspberries first.  In Larnaca Bay, a French warship is anchored for several days, then glides quietly away.

September

is it a film, a book or a song?

The new whizzkid, finance minister Haris Georgiades, announces that all restrictions imposed in March on the flow of capital will be lifted by early 2014 ... except in the case of transfers abroad.  [Umm, so that's not all then.]  Up to now account holders at the now defunct Laiki Bank have been shunted along to the Bank of Cyprus, but are not allowed to move their money to any other bank on the island or abroad.  The EU and the IMF release the second installment of the 10 billion euro bailout package.  Meanwhile, municipal, church-run and private food banks feed the starving - reportedly now a sixth of the population.  Unemployment spikes.  Local businesses close their doors, leaving bills and rents unpaid.  Town centres turn into ghost towns of empty shops.  


October

get your bargains here... so cheap they're invisible!

Anastasiades shelves plans to pass a new law slashing all commercial and residential rents, citing legal red tape.  Syria meets its deadline to destroy or render inoperable its chemical weapons facilities.  One welfare services department in Nicosia is threatened with a bomb (a hoax).  Cyprus Airways shells out more than 420K euro to Hermes Airports, after a row between the airport authority and the airline over unpaid debts.  And another row erupts between the Cyprus government and the UN over  'Downergate'.    


November

the nation weeps

The 94-year-old former president Glafkos Clerides dies and the government announces three days of public mourning.  Anastasiades breathes a sigh of relief as he can now take a break from all the awkward questions pesky journalists keep asking him.  Much was made of Clerides's great statesmanship, his wartime heroism, and his valiant but ultimately unsuccessful efforts over decades to unify a divided island.  After 3 days everybody forgot about him.  Bram, the Great Dane dog who was going to be euthanised, was saved following a social media appeal.  


December 2013

And here we are!  What a year of achievements for Cyprus!  The icing on the cake is that Cyprus officially has the lowest educational standards in Europe, according to the OECD/PISA report in which even Romanian kids do better.  The other good news is that there's been a significant drop in the number of fatal road accidents this year, probably because nobody can afford the petrol.  But we can look forward to a new year of growth, prosperity, stability, legality and state efficiency because after all, the only way forward from here is up.  

Happy New Year, folks!  


O sacred and adorable Trinity, hear our prayers on behalf of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, our bishops, our clergy, and for all that are in authority over us.  Bless, we beseech Thee, during the coming year, the whole Catholic Church, convert heretics and unbelievers, soften the hearts of sinners so that they may return to Thy friendship.  Give prosperity to our country and peace among nations of the world.  Pour down Thy blessings upon our friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and upon our enemies, if we have any.  Assist the poor and the sick.  Have pity on the souls of those whom this year has taken from us, and do Thou be merciful to those who during the coming year will be summoned before Thy judgement seat.  May all our actions be preceded by Thy inspirations, and carried on by Thy assistance, so that all our prayers and works, having begun in Thee, may likewise be ended through Thee.  Amen.  

Stone me!

A Nicosia lawyer is suing the Cyprus government over her “constitutional right” to grow and smoke cannabis, according to the Cyprus Daily (print edition, p. 21).

The 35-year-old claims she suffers from work-related stress [it’s tough being a lawyer in this country ... so much work] that can only be relieved by smoking weed.

She also argues that cannabis is a sacred plant in “many” religions and that she needs to smoke it in order to achieve “spiritual fulfillment”. 

Maybe she's a Rastafarian Cypriot.  

The lawyer took up her case after her home was raided in 2012 by drug squad officers, who found half a gram of cannabis in her possession. (That’s just about enough for one joint.)  

She may have been stoned when filing her lawsuit.  Or possibly work is a bit slow for her at the moment. 

Under Cyprus law cannabis is classed as an illegal Class B narcotic.  The penalty for cannabis use in Cyprus may be life imprisonment, while possession (without use) can fetch up to 8 years’ imprisonment, or up to 2 years for a first offence of an under 25-year-old, although in practice, first offenders receive only a caution.  Possession of 3 plants or more or 30 grams or more is deemed as intention to supply. 

This year, Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalise the sale, production and distribution of marijuana as of April 2014.  In Iran, its cultivation is legal if planted for food purposes – the Iranian people eat the seeds.  Despite this, cannabis cultivation and use in Iran remain low.

Across the EU, marijuana is illegal, although laws regarding personal use vary.  In the Netherlands, it is effectively decriminalised and sold openly in “coffee” shops. 

If the Nicosia woman wins her case, my uncle’s an aunt. 

I didn’t inhale.

- Bill Clinton

Who is man's best friend's best friend?

In the Middle Ages, men convicted of high treason in England were hanged, drawn and quartered.  

Cyprus is still in the Middle Ages in its treatment of animals.  

A 64-year-old Limassol man has been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly tying his dog to the back of his car and dragging it through the streets until it died, the CM reports.  

The man was released on bail.  

from Avaaz.org

Sign this petition to the President of Cyprus, Mr. Anastasiades, to establish an animal police unit in Cyprus and bring all animal abusers to rightful justice.  

More than 10,000 have already signed.  

Added 29/12/13 - the petitioner recently changed his/her profile pic to this:

from Avaaz.org

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/President_of_Cyprus_Nikos_Anastasiades_Timoria_ston_64hrono_poy_skotose_ton_skylo_toy_stin_LemesoDimioyrgia_APZ/?cJzrhbb

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. 
- Mahatma Gandhi  

If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you

Two bombs in Christian areas of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killed 35 people or more on Christmas Day yesterday, according to the BBC.

Stoning of St. Stephen
attributed to Luigi Garzi (1638-1721)

One bomb killing 11 people exploded in an outdoor market in a mainly Christian neighbourhood, followed shortly after by a bomb outside St. John's Catholic Church, just as Christmas Day worshippers were leaving the church, killing another 24.  

On the Feast of St. Stephen today, we remember Pope John Paul II's Angelus message of 2003:

"The death of the martyr is a birth in Heaven."  

The pontiff reminds us of all Christian communities around the world who suffer persecution because of their faith.  Like St. Stephen, stoned to death outside Jerusalem in the first century AD following false accusations against him, the suffering of Christian martyrs imitates the suffering of Christ.  Their blood shed out of their love of God.  

As Pope Benedict XVI said in his St. Stephen's Day Angelus message of 2006:

"Their death [of the early Christian martyrs] was not a reason for fear and sadness but of spiritual enthusiasm, which always gives rise to new Christians.  For believers, the day of death, and even more so, the day of martyrdom, is not the end of everything, but rather the 'passage' to immortal life, it is the day of the final birth, the 'dies natalis'."

"It is no accident that the Christmas iconography sometimes represents the divine newborn child lying in a small sarcophagus, to indicate that the Redeemer was born to die, He was born to give His life in ransom to all."

Nativity of the Lord
Byzantine icon

Echoed by Pope Francis I in his Angelus message today, appealing on behalf of all Christians who suffer violence, discrimination and injustice.  Nevertheless, he said Christians ought not to be surprised by such mistreatment, since Jesus said such things would happen.

It is this consistency in the Church throughout the papacies and throughout the ages from the beginning of the Christian era from which we derive stability, comfort and hope. 

Without the spiritual dimension, Christmas is reduced to just another "holiday", an excuse for shopping, gluttony and parties.  That, too, is a form of discrimination against Christ - an attempt to distort Christ's birth into something without Him.  A more subtle form of the marginalisation of Christianity but not so different to the oppression of Christian worship in Iraq, elsewhere in the Middle East, North Africa, China and Indonesia.  

Even Britain is heading down the perilous road of banning or diminishing Christmas, e.g. in 2002, the British Red Cross ordered its 430 charity shops nationwide to remove all Christmas decorations from its shop windows in case they were "offensive" to Muslims.  

The irony is that one of the excuses for the Second Iraq War in 2003 was to impose the "superior" values of Western "civilised democracy" upon them.  Well, that went well.  

Marketplace in the Doura district of Baghdad
Christmas Day 2013
Channel 4 news photo

This morning, the BBC Radio 4's Thought for Day slot on the Today programme invited an atheist to broadcast his 'faith', (he kept saying he didn't have one), despite previous assurances from the BBC that the traditional 50-year-long, daily religious slot would not be hijacked by the humanist/secularist/atheist brigade.  The politically correct, right-on BBC has been under lobbying pressure for some time to include an "alternative" Thought for the Day by non-religious speakers.  They got round it by having two.  Cop-out.  

St. Stephen's Day without remembering St. Stephen and Christmas without including Christ is like trying to build a house without builders.  A house of cards that will eventually collapse.  

O Great St. Stephen, the scriptures tell us that your face was like an angel's as you witnessed to the truth of Christ.  Please ask the Holy Trinity to fill my soul and the souls of all my brothers and sisters throughout the world with a deep hunger for the truth that comes from the heart of Jesus, and also with the loving courage to embrace and profess the truth even amid difficulties, confusion and persecution.  May the serenity and peace which were yours at the hour of your stoning be ours as well as we wait in hope for the coming of the Lord Jesus, who lives and reigns forever and ever.  Amen. 

Happy Christmas!

Footsteps wishes all our readers a very joyous and blessed Christmas.

O Holy Night!  

Chumps of the week

200 kilograms of air mail destined for Cyprus via Athens are missing, according to Peter Stevenson in the CM today.  

Chief postal superintendent of Cyprus, Pavlos Pavlides, said: "either the mail was misplaced or put on the wrong plane".  

Isn't that the same thing?  

Nobody seems to know where the missing mail bags are.  

"We would like to apologise to everyone who is expecting mail," [yes, it is Christmas] "despite it not being our fault," Pavlides said.  

Of course it's not the Cyprus PO's fault!  Why break the habit of a lifetime and claim responsibility for anything?  Just blame it on Athens.  

Chumps of the week.  It's an honour really.  

Fortitudo Dei, St. Gabriel the Archangel, the greatest of messengers.  

All the world's a stage

You know you’re getting older when the last time you went clubbing it was called a disco. 

Age alert.

The CM’s arts editor gave me a good laugh on Thursday (print edition, p. 19):

“Ladies and gents, are you ready for Marco Da Silva? [who?]  “You’ve most likely seen him in music videos or on the cover of magazines.”  [Err, no]  “Perhaps you were lucky enough to have seen him dancing on tour with Kylie Minogue" [no again] "Yes that’s him, the really hot dancer with the awesome tatts.”  [nobody says ‘awesome’ in Europe, dear CM, and tatts are simply chav]  “However you know him [we don’t], get ready to take your relationship a step further...” [relationship???]

Oh dear.  This is the level of entertainment in Larnaca.  It might be a bit better in Nicosia or Limassol (we hope), but poor old Larnaca gets left with the dross, while the CM tries to big up a “famous” choreographer, dancer, model and DJ [performing] "exclusively in Cyprus"  [exclusive because nobody else wanted him].  Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Da Silva, I’ve got nothing against you or your, umm, dee-jaying/modelling achievements, but let’s not pretend this is high art.  

Please, Mr. Mayor Andreas Louroujatis, may we have some decent entertainment in Larnaca for a change, other than the usual vraka dancers at Phinikoudes?  We know the country’s broke, but if Cyprus can afford Russian missiles and Israeli gunboats, then surely we could get Andrea Bocelli? 

Harrumph.  Bah, humbug.  

In the mean time, we have to content ourselves with YouTube.  

Patron saint of musicians:  Saint Cecilia

A bit of Handel

The King's College Choir, Cambridge, UK

A very Bavarian tree

The giant Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, Rome - donated by Bavaria this year

Pope Francis told visiting German pilgrims the tree symbolises the joy of the brilliant divine light

This kid loves priests

From the Sunday Times (UK) front page splash and the Mail on Sunday (UK) today

Boom

While Greece and Cyprus are on their financial knees with their begging bowls out, they still have the resources to conduct missile tests, Angelos Anastasiou of the CM reports.  

The long-range surface-to-air missiles, bought from Russia in 1997 at an estimated cost of 200-300 million euro (official figures were shrouded in secrecy), ended up on the island of Crete to avoid annoying Turkey too much, who issued a warning of a military strike against Cyprus if the missiles were kept in Cyprus.  

Codenamed Operation White Eagle 2013 (not a very scary name really), the S-300s were tested for the first time at Chania yesterday, with the Greek and Cypriot defence ministers looking on.  It was the first ever test of this particular missile system by a NATO member.  

I suppose they wanted to check that they're still working 16 years after the initial purchase.  They are.  Turkey will not be amused.  

Angela Merkel will be delighted that EU bailout funds to Greece and Cyprus are being to put to such good use.  Meanwhile, in both countries, families are starving, businesses are going bust, unemployment rising, state workers on strike, and banks are calling in loans.  Cyprus could have just sold the missiles rather than play with fireworks.  

Another dazzling stroke of genius from Mr. Resurrection (President Anastasiades).  But he can always follow Christofias's example and pretend he "didn't know" what the defence minister was doing.  

Give me the grace, good Lord, to set the world at nought.  To set the mind firmly on you and not to hang on upon the words of men's mouths.
- St. Thomas More, patron saint of politicians

If in doubt just met it up

Snow levels on Troodos are being estimated by a cop because the Met Office's weather reading machine is broken, the CM tells us.

And they haven't got round to fixing it yet. 

"I don't know how [the police officer] estimates [snow] levels but I'm sure he must have something..." said met officer Panayiotis Mouskos vaguely on CYBC radio yesterday. 

"But it doesn't matter very much whether it's 80cm or 78cm or 82cm," he added.  

Tell that to the mountain villagers who've been stranded without supplies for the last 4 days.  

Minister of the interior, Socrates Hasikos, said the state doesn't have the kind of equipment available in other countries that regularly experience such weather.  

What, a digger?

Standing on the shoulders of giants. 

The deceitful man shall not find gain, but the substance of a just man shall be precious gold.  
- Proverbs 12:27 (DR)

Chumps of the week

This week's prize for CHUMPS OF THE WEEK goes to the 1,000 CYTA employees, associates and "friends" who ran through Nicosia today dressed as Santa Claus in the name of charity, the CM reports.  

CYTA, the semi-state telecom authority of Cyprus, is desperately trying to claw back some credibility in the wake of the dodgy land deals scandals in which a CYTA employee, his brother - a land registry civil servant, and their trade union rep were arrested, among others (including the CYTA chairman) for selling land in Cyprus at hugely inflated prices and pocketing the profits.  

We are not convinced by the charity stunt.  

Apart from the fact that Santa Claus is just plain wrong and anti-Christ - see Footsteps earlier this week - nobody in their right mind believes for a second that anyone in the Cyprus government has done anything for Cyprus in the last 5 years.  

Cyprus is an oligarchy.  The very small elite group of the rich and powerful on this island look after their own and the rest, well ...  Wouldn't it be better if CYTA concentrated on giving us a functioning internet service in bad weather rather than dressing up as pagan paedophiles, all in the name of "charity"?  

Chumps.

God of power and might, wisdom and justice, through You, authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgement is decreed.  Assist with Your Spirit of counsel and fortitude the president of Cyprus and other government leaders.  May they always seek the ways of righteousness, justice and mercy.  Grant that they may be enabled by Your powerful protection to lead our country with honesty and integrity.  We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.  

Person of the Year 2013

How cool is this?

Pope Francis is the third pontiff in history to be named Person of the Year by the secular TIME magazine.  

The other two were Pope John XXIII in 1962 - famous for calling the Second Vatican Council with its historic consequences, and expected to be canonised by Pope Francis in April next year - and Pope John Paul II in 1994, also expected to be canonised at the same time.  

Papa Frankie is reportedly "really happy" about the honour, even though "he's not someone who seeks fame and success because he has put his life at the service of announcing the Gospel of the love of God for mankind", said Fr. Lombardi, the Holy See's chief press officer.  [Vatican News] 

Cynics might say TIME magazine is simply cashing in on a trend and the common knowledge of the Pope's global and ever increasing popularity.  After all, if you want to sell papers or magazines, appealing to 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide is not a bad marketing move.  

On the other hand, the magazine has never been shy about electing far less popular and more controversial figures in the past, e.g. Mark Zuckerberg, Vladmir Putin, George W. Bush (twice?) and his dad, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Adolf Hitler?!  It's not like TIME is worried about pleasing (or displeasing) the masses.  It's the world's most largely circulated news magazine with a readership of 25 million people, 20 million of whom are in the US.  

It's not the best ever photo-portrait they could have found of His Holiness (slightly cross-eyed above) and it is unfortunate that the M is obscured so that it reads: TIE, which a pontiff does not wear, although Freemasons do.  There seem to be quite a lot of Masons in past POYs of TIME.  Hmm ...

Nor was there much competition from the other 9 contenders this year:  Bashar Assad, the Syrian president?  Miley Cyrus?  Who voted for them?  Hardly in the same league as the ground-breaking, historic influence and work of Pope Francis.  No tie.  

Thumbs up for TIME this time.  Read why they chose "the people's Pope" here.  

And the nominations for the Person of the Year of Cyprus are ... ?

Let us pray, O God, the Pastor and Ruler of all the faithful, look down in Your mercy upon Your Servant, Francis, whom you have appointed to preside over Your Church, and grant, we beseech you that both by word and example, he may edify all those under his charge, so that with the flock entrusted to him, he may arrive at length into life everlasting.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Chilly willies

It's a sad day when there are no better news to report than the weather, but we like dispelling popular myths about Cyprus as a sun and sea pleasure island. 

click to enlarge

When it snows on the Troodos massif, it gets pretty parky on the plains.  In such conditions our internet connections often don't work properly.  Local architects have not always thought things through with winter housing, e.g. cold tiled floors, no workable heating systems, low water pressure that doesn't reach the whole building to heat bath water ... As if everyone here lives here in sunny glory 365 days a year.  Not.  

Troodos skiers

There is currently no gas central heating in Cyprus as there are no pipelines (yet).  Cyprus has discovered deep sea gas and oil reserves off the coast of the island, somewhere within Cyprus's exclusive economic zone, west of Israel and The Lebanon and north of Egypt.  You would think this a gift from Heaven, one for the whole island nation to enjoy.  

But no, our president(s) couldn't even get that right.  They're still arguing about the regional geopolitics.  Cyprus has already sold off most of its 'Aphrodite Field' (the offshore gas & oil) to international companies, since it does not have the money or qualified scientists to extract the hydrocarbon reserves itself.  So if we get any pipelined gas at all in about 10 years' time, it might be coming via Turkey, funded by Israel/the US.   Meanwhile, it's chilly penguins.  And we will get a lot of gas in other forms from the politicians.  

Chilly Willy had 2 nephews called Ping and Pong.
So cold that he had to wear a Santa hat.

So try and stay warm, folks, with portable gas heaters / electric units (expensive) / diesel fuel central heating / log fires ... if you're lucky to have a chimney.   

Graciously hear us, O Lord, when we call upon you, and grant unto our supplications a calm atmosphere, that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins, may by Your protecting mercy experience pardon.  Through Christ Our Lord.  Amen.  

A bum rap

A man who stole a mobile phone was shot in the tooshie by an enraged shotgun-wielding Cypriot guy in Larnaca in broad daylight, the CM reports. 

I only wanted to call my mum

The 51-year-old Cypriot left his car unlocked with his mobile inside it.  Genius.   On returning to the car and realising his phone was missing, he asked around and was given a description of two men seen acting suspiciously around the car.  He drove around hunting for them – literally – found and confronted them with a loaded hunting gun, near St. Lazarus’s Primary School on Phaneromeni Avenue.  The two men, who are Israeli nationals, ran off, so the Cypriot promptly shot one of them.  In the buttocks.   

The CM has changed its online version of the story to the less embarrassing "lower back area" while the print edition headlines buttocks (page 7).  Personally, Footsteps prefers the buttocks story.  In fact, we just like the word so we'll say it again: buttocks.  

Forrest Chump in Cyprus

The Cypriot guy was arrested and charged with attempted murder and illegally carrying and discharging a firearm.  The Israeli with the very sore bum has been charged with theft.

Strong contenders for Footsteps’ CHUMPS OF THE WEEK awards but there’s always room for more.  They just keep coming.  

Our hearts were made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in You.

- St. Augustine of Hippo

Santa sucks

10 reasons why Santa and all Santa-related symbolisms are just plain wrong:

1. He doesn’t exist
2. An obese old man who never married but likes fondling other people’s children ...
3. His chauffeur is the Horned One
4. His helpers are elves/pixies/sprites/goblins/orcs  = little demons
5. The discovery by children that their parents and teachers lied to them all along is a recipe for years of therapy on a shrink’s couch in future
6. He’s a white supremacist
7. In Holland, he was/is portrayed as a mockery of a Catholic bishop
8. In the US, he was popularised to sell Coca Cola (which worked)
9. It encourages kids (and immature adults) to think Christmas is just about getting stuff
10. It’s a subversion of the focus on the Holy Family and the Nativity of Our Lord

Atheists, secularists and anti-Catholics love banging on about how the early Church “sequestrated” ancient pagan rituals of Yuletide, winter solstice, blah di blah, ad snoream.  Meanwhile, Santa Claus is a sequestration or corruption of the life of the early Christian saint, Nicholas of Myra (now Demre, in present day Turkey) – a 4^th century Greek Christian bishop, famous among other things for his generous gifts to the poor.  There is nothing saintly or holy about Santa.  Even his name is a fraud!  

One school in Brighton, UK, famously insisted on a green-suited Santa in 2007, in protest against the conventional Coca Cola image.  It was a Steiner school - they like being different.  (Very Brighton.)  Why not just get rid of Santa all together?  Bah, humbug. 

If you’re a parent, grandparent, Godparent, aunt, uncle or teacher, put the Christ back into Christmas: ban Santa. Tell the kids the truth instead:  the most wonderful, miraculous account of the Holy Night - the greatest gift you can give a child.  

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And the angel being came in, and said unto her:  Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.  

– Luke 1:26-28 (DR)

Thank you, Readers!

as at 7th December 2013
circa 5.30 pm local time

Footsteps has had one thousand page views.  

Thank you, all readers, for your continued support and interest.  

Clustermaps provides different stats, perhaps based on one-off country visitors, not on page views.  

Certain countries are off the radar on Clustermaps but are picked up by Blogger, and vice versa, for techie reasons unknown to us.  

Our greatest number of readers are in Cyprus (inevitably), then the US (surprisingly), then the UK (not surprisingly), plus Serbia, Japan, Israel, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Russia ... 

Keep reading, folks!  Thank you.  

Country stats for FOOTSTEPS from Blogger
from September 27th, 2013 (first blog) to December 7th, 2013
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Thank you also to St. Francis de Sales for his continued inspiration.

Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you.  Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.
- St. Francis de Sales