Book Promo ~ Santa Claus Worldwide

A History of St.  Nicholas and
Other Midwinter Gift-Bringers

Finally: Proof of Santa’s Existence and His Impact on Our World

The 200-year legacy of the American Santa Claus as we know him is meticulously documented and explained in author Tom Jerman’s fascinating new book, Santa Claus Worldwide: A History of St. Nicholas and Other Holiday Gift-Bringers.
 

Readers will be surprised to learn Santa’s true origin story (hint: it wasn’t in Clement C. Moore’s popular poem, “The Night Before Christmas”), plus they’ll be treated to a deep dive into the backstories of other midwinter gift-givers from all over the globe. Jerman’s exhaustive research is evident in his detailed descriptions, and he masterfully showcases the rich diversity among the characters while also pointing out shared traits.
 

Santa Claus Worldwide is the first legitimate history of Santa Claus in more than a decade, and the first history in more than 100 years to provide a comprehensive look at the Yuletide gift-givers throughout the world.  

Readers will discover:

• How midwinter gift-givers developed over thousands of years;

• The difference between Catholic followers of St. Nicholas and Protestant followers of the secular “terror men” in Europe following the Reformation;

• Historical examples of midwinter gift-givers who were female, Black, rich, gay, atheist and communist;

• When and how a New York printer named William Gilley created the “American Santa Claus” in an 1821 booklet, The Children’s Friend;

• How a wealthy New York professor, Clement C. Moore, bought a copy of The Children’s Friend and, in 1822, wrote “The Night Before Christmas;” and

• How The Children’s Friend disappeared from history until it was rediscovered in 1953. 

Ultimately, Santa Claus Worldwide proves, conclusively, the existence of Santa and his impact on our world.

“Santa indisputably exists as the symbol of Christmas, and Christmas represents our most noble virtues,” Jerman says. “Symbols are real, and they can be very powerful.”

About the Author

Tom A. Jerman, a resident of Asheville, N.C., has bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and journalism and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Utah. Employed as a copy editor with The Salt Lake Tribune between 1974-78, he went on to practice labor and employment law for 35 years. In 2015, he took early retirement to pursue his desire to write something more interesting and enduring than legal treatises.

A serious collector, Jerman has amassed some 4,500 Santa figurines and ornaments, and thousands of antique postcards printed between 1900 and 1910. The enormous diversity of figures — temporal, geographic, historical, size, attire, date of gift-giving, mode of travel — prompted him to write Santa Claus Worldwide, the first volume of a planned trilogy. 

For more information, please visit http://acollectionofsantas.com, or follow the author on Twitter at @tomajerman

Santa Claus Worldwide: A History of St.  Nicholas
and Other Midwinter Gift-Bringers
Publisher: McFarland & Co.
ISBN-10: ‎1476680930
ISBN-13: ‎978-1476680934
Available from
Amazon.com, BN.com
and other online retailers 

Understanding Wills

Your Will: The Overlooked Bucket-list Item
Financial Expert Explains the Vital Importance of this
Document

Of the trendy terms to come around in the past decade, “bucket list” remains among the most useful, says retirement planning expert Jeff Gorton.

“As a neologism, I hope it endures because it reminds us of how precious our time is – and that it’s important to plan wisely,” says Gorton, a veteran Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner™, and head of Gorton Financial Group (www.gortonfinancialgroup.com).

“Unfortunately, after some have listed their items and even checked a few things off, they forget about one important item that really counts after they’ve ‘kicked the bucket’ – their will.”

Only about 40 percent of adults in America have a will, which is probably due to people not wanting to be reminded of their own mortality and that life will go on without them, he says.

“But what’s the alternative? If you die without one, the state decides what becomes of your property, without regard to your priorities,” says Gorton, who also advocates his clients make use of a written income plan (WIP), a living document that helps organize financial priorities. “Why not enjoy the fact that a will is an instrument of power? Youget to decide who gets what.”

Since so many adults don’t have a will, many don’t understand how they work. Gorton breaks down wills into four basic parts:

• Executors — Most wills begin by naming an executor, the person responsible for carrying out the wishes outlined in the will. Duties include assessing the value of the estate, gathering the assets, paying inheritance tax and other debts if necessary, and distributing assets among beneficiaries. It is recommended that you name at least two executors in case your first choice is unable to fulfill the obligation.

• Guardians — A will allows you to designate a guardian for your minor children. Whomever you appoint, you will want to make sure beforehand that the individual is able and willing to assume the responsibility. For many people, this is the most important part of a will since, if you die without naming a guardian, the court will decide who takes care of your children.

• Gifts — This section enables you to identify people or organizations to whom you wish to give gifts of money or specific possessions, such as family heirlooms or a car. You can also specify conditional gifts, such as a sum of money to a young daughter, but only when she reaches a certain age.

• Estate — Your estate encompasses everything you own, including real property, financial investments, cash and personal possessions. Once you have identified specific gifts you would like to distribute, you can apportion the rest of your estate
in equal shares among your heirs, or you can split it into percentages. For example, you may decide to give 45 percent each to two children and the remaining 10 percent to a sibling.

“You’re not legally required to have a professional write a will for you, but I highly recommend you get certified help because these documents are often contested by people who are unhappy with the decisions you made,” he says. “After working a lifetime for your assets, you deserve to have them go where you want after you’re gone, and your family will be grateful to you for not leaving them with the headache of trying to sort out your estate.”

About Jeff Gorton, CPA, CFP®

Jeff Gorton is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner™ specializing in individual tax and retirement planning. He is also an Investment Advisor Representative under Alphastar Capital Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, and has a life and health insurance license. Gorton works with individuals and their families to create and protect their financial legacies. He specializes in working with retirees in the areas of tax planning, benefits, retirement planning, estate planning and safe money techniques. He received his BBA in Accounting from the University of Oklahoma. Gorton previously worked for 10 years as the Chief Financial Officer for a large retail organization, overseeing their accounting, benefits and 401(k) retirement plans.