| OCR Text |
Show The Original of Santa Claus. St. Nicholas is not only the patron saint of Russia, but he is greatly honored in the charming ; little valley in the Salzkruntnergut, where the IseU and the Trauu rivers unite. Indeed. Ischl onec went by the name of St. .Vikola. This is the season of St. Nicholas, for Santa Claus w a corruption of the name introduced into England from America. In the Ischl valley th-o feast of St. Nicholas is a typical holiday, and at ihis time for three day-, there is an assemblage, of booths along the Wirev-strasse Wirev-strasse forming nquite a market. In the shop windows win-dows are seen numeroix images and pictures' ct the benevolent saint and his companion, the'rara-pus, the'rara-pus, with his switch and chain a most formidable and threatening looking object to scare the hearts of naughty children. The evening before St. Nicholas' Nich-olas' Day the good saint ;md his terrifying-companion are actually seen wniUing about the streets and enter some of the hou-;- When Ischl was inhabited inhab-ited by the Iiomans it went by the name of "Iscola.'' because of the number of ;.di found there, and some people connect this fi'et v.irh the legend of St. Nicholas and the fish. The church is dedicated to him, and the interior js beautifully paiutcd wilh illustrations from his lif hy ;l celebrated Tyrolean painter named iMadei A population of hardy and thrifty peasants inhabit the surrounding country and throng into the town on Sundays and holidays in their picturesque co-tnnies. . , |
