VOL. 6, NO. 7
DEC. 18, 1964

Santa as russia sees him
Contradictory to popular belief, there is a Santa Claus in the Soviet Union, or rather a St. Nicholas.

Good old St. Nick seems to be a friend of the farmers since, his legend tells, he once dirtied himself by helping a horseman buried to his waist in mud. Nick was on his way to the promised land, when this incident occurred, and so arrived at the pearly gates with his go-to-meetin' clothes dirty.

Traveling with St. Nicholas was a more elite saint named St. Cassian. Cass wouldn't make a mess out of his church going clothes, and stood by the wayside as Nick helped the horseman.
 When they finally did arrive in the happy hunting ground, St. Peter asked what had happened. After the two saints explained, St. Peter said that he was pleased with St. Nick for helping the man in the mud, but he added that he was mad at St. Cassius because he was a lazy saint.

Peter then made St. Nicholas the number two saint and the second favorite saint of the farmers. He declared a feast day twice a year in his honor. St. Cassian gets only one feast day in his honor, but it comes once every four years.