Christmas closures and Santa history
Offices, schools, banks, post offices, and businesses across the Highland Lakes will be closed on Christmas.
Government offices for Burnet and Llano counties will be closed on both Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 25 and 26.
All city governments in Burnet and Llano counties will be closed on Monday, and most on Tuesday. The city of Bertram is the only municipality with open offices on Dec. 26. Granite Shoals offices will be closed from 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22, through Wednesday, Dec. 27.
Students in the Marble Falls, Burnet, and Llano school districts are off until Jan. 9, 2024.
All major banks and post offices will be closed on Monday.
If you’re waiting until the last minute to do your holiday shopping, check business hours before heading out.
The Marble Falls Walmart, 2700 U.S. 281, will be closed on Christmas and only be open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday, Christmas Eve.
H-E-B stores in Marble Falls and Kingsland will be closed on Christmas and have adjusted hours on Christmas Eve:
- Store — open 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Curbside — closes at 7 p.m
- Home delivery — ends at 6 p.m.
- Pharmacy — closes at 5 p.m.
The DailyTrib.com/KBEY/Picayune Magazine office, 1007 Avenue K in Marble Falls, is also closed on Monday. Merry Christmas from Victory Media staff.
HOW DID WE GET TO SANTA?
(Warning: Not for young eyes!)
Santa Claus is a modern take on fourth-century holy man Saint Nicholas, who was known for his generosity. He is the patron saint of children and sailors and was once highly revered in cathedrals across medieval Europe. His remains are kept at the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy. (Read more in a “Christmas Tales” story at 101HighlandLakes.com.)
His popularity died down after the Protestant Reformation swept across Europe in the 16th century, but the country of Holland (The Netherlands) remained attached to its jolly saint. The Dutch call him “Sinterklaas.”
When Dutch immigrants trickled into the Americas, mostly to New York, in the 17th century, they brought Sinterklaas with them, and he eventually became known as Santa Claus to English-speaking Americans.
Harper’s Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast whipped up a drawing of “Merry Old Santa Claus” in 1863, depicting him as a jolly, portly man in a red suit carrying gifts. The illustration was mostly based on the description of Santa in the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (‘Twas the night before Christmas), which was first published in 1823.
Santa reached his most modern version when illustrator Haddon Sundblom drew him for a series of 1930s Coca-Cola advertisements. Today, Santa is almost inseparable from his red suit, white beard, black belt, big belly, bigger smile, rosy cheeks, and twinkling eyes.