Here’s one version of jolly old Kris Kringle: a cute little white goat with golden horns wishes the whole world a Keroppi Christmas, via Joi Ito’s Web: Merry Christmas

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And here’s another version, which I also put in a post at the Holy Moly site, seeing as it’s a video of the Feast of St Nicholas as celebrated at Canterbury Cathedral, and we’re actually St Nicholas’ little Episcopal church in Elk Grove Village, IL:

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The video is narrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, also known as “the ABC” or “Cantuar” in the Anglican blogging world, and he comes across as a rather cuddly, engaging preacher in the short homily he delivers at the end to a cathedralful of children and parents.  It stands in pretty stark contrast to the news that church attendance in England has plummeted, that more people self-identify as Catholics rather than Anglicans, and that the ABC himself was widely castigated for daring to suggest that some parts of the traditional Christmas story might be…legend and not fact.

He really should get out more, and do more of that kind of welcoming and gentle evangelizing.

After watching both videos, and admitting my very strong bias, I think St Nicholas is the winnah and champeen. The one in this video is very nattily turned out in a red and white ensemble, being driven in a tiny car up a narrow street in Canterbury and bumbling through a department store in order to address the crowd from a balcony overlooking the store entrance.

[tags]St Nicholas, Episcopal, Elk Grove Village, Joi Ito[/tags]