We teach our children many very detailed things about Santa Claus. He lives in the North Pole and employs elves to make toys for the children of the world, or at least for the nice ones. On Christmas Eve, he magically visits the home of every deserving child delivering toys by sliding down the chimney, even in homes that do not have a fireplace. His magical journey is made possible by eight reindeer pulling a sleigh (and lots of toy cargo). We learned these things from our parents, but where did they and their parents learn them?
St. Nicholas of Myra was a 4th century Greek bishop who was known for his generosity to the needy. He is also the patron saint of the cities of Amsterdam and Moscow. St. Nick was one of the few saints to survive the Protestant Reformation in popular culture. Even when the veneration of saints fell out of fashion, worshippers were reluctant to give up on a saint with such a reputation for generosity. As a compromise measure, Martin Luther encouraged the giving of gifts on the purported birthday of Jesus rather than the saint’s day dedicated to Nicholas.
Fast forward to the 19th century, and much of our modern notions of St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas as the Dutch called him, were formed by the cartoons of Thomas Nast and Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, originally titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and better known today as “The Night Before Christmas.”
Now back to the title question: Who could fix Santa’s sleigh? You might think that a man who could visit all of the homes of the nice children of the world in one night could not be hampered by breakdowns. However, sources claim that he was once hindered by weather so much that he needed foglight help from a reindeer with a red nose.
Cassels Garage in West Melbourne is up to the task. We normally specialize in vehicles like cars and trucks and SUVs, but we have been known to tackle trickier repair jobs like tractors and one particularly stubborn hair spray cap. In West Melbourne, Florida, Cassels Garage is a family-owned shop that has been serving Brevard County since 1966. We offer an unmatched level of customer care and personal attention and might have had a hand in fixing Santa’s sleigh a few times. Ask the elves…
