By His Grace, Lord Westover and the Earl of Fulton
Millions of children believe in Santa Claus, a mystical fat
man who brings them presents, providing they are "good" (whatever that means), every Christmas. The fairy tale is loosely based on a true story of an actual
man we know today as Saint Nicholas.
But what few of us are aware of is that “Jolly Old Saint Nick”
had an Italian brother named Stefano or “Fabulous Saint Stefano”.
 |
| Found in the doll collection of Marie Antoinette, this image of Gay Santa is thought by historians to be the most accurate. (The Lord Westover Collection, Obviously) |
History records Saint Stefano as the more flamboyant of the
Claus siblings. Instead of breaking into homes and giving toys to children (in what
seems a little odd for a stranger) Stefano brought the magic of
fabulousness to all he encountered. And, most importantly, taught others to
bring out their inner fabulousness—like your inner Nobility it's the gift that never stops giving!
In fact, the French Court of Louis XV so adored Stefano they
began to refer to him as the (roughly translated) “Gay Santa”. But alas it was
this adoration of the ruling French aristocratic class that was Gay Santa’s undoing.
Abandoning his prized position of robe designer in the Papal
court to live at the Palace of Versailles, Stefano unwittingly found himself
the ridicule of the Jacobin revolutionaries.
Gay Santa’s fabulousness, his pink silk-brocade-ermine-lined
robes, meters long strands of pearls, diamond adored belts and his exquisitely
manicured white flowing beard was just too much for the rough-hewed Jacobins,
who, during the French Revolution, destroyed all images of Gay Santa and nearly
erased him from history.
But the darkness and fear of ignorant minds could not keep
the memory of Saint Stefano buried forever. Like the inner fabulousness (or Nobility) that dwells in all of us, the story of Gay Santa lives on!
A Very Merry Christmas from The Vast Estate!
LW and EF
