In France, it is said that Nicholas subsequently put the butcher in chains and forced him into servitude to make penance for his crime, but more on that a little later. By signing up you are agreeing to our. “They came from regions that marked St. Nicholas’ day, and St. Nicholas in various dialects of Schweizerdeutsch, or Swiss-German, becomes either Samichlaus or Santi-Chlaus, both of which sound far more like Santa Claus than the latter, supposedly Dutch derivation from Sint Niklaas.”. It was Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” — which famously starts “‘Twas the night before Christmas” — that painted that memorable picture. Meet the TikTok Generation of Televangelists, I Was a World Series Hero on the Brink of Suicide. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! In fact, some Christians who say that they are paying homage to Saint Nicholas by lying about the existence of Santa Claus to their children, will tell you that he came from Germany. (In more modern versions of the story, he is usually said to have thrown it through the chimney in order to tie it to the Santa Claus story, but chimneys didn't exist in the third century, so it was probably through the window. Another popular story, describing one of these reindeer as having a red nose and being the brunt of other reindeer jokes was written in 1949. I work very hard searching Russian archival and media sources on a daily basis to bring something new to the table every day. Arianism was surprisingly popular in fourth-century Europe, and the orthodox church felt pretty threatened by it. All Christians reverence his memory and call upon his protection.”. Only church tradition. Enter Nicholas, who has heard of his neighbor's plight and is heavy laden with inherited wealth from his parents. Originally, however, he had nothing to do with Christmas.

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This meant that St. Nicholas lived during a time when Christianity was illegal, even being imprisoned himself during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian, and the polytheistic state religion of the Romans was the status quo in most of the empire.

December 6 marks Saint Nicholas Day, and I thought I'd mark the beginning of the Christmas season by telling the story of Santa Claus's namesake. The young Nicholas spent much of his time studying with his uncle Nicholas, his namesake, who was the abbot at a nearby monastery in Xanthos.

All that’s left for experts to work off are writings, such as diary entries, that show what people believed him to be.

The tale goes on that when Maximian and Diocletian started to persecute Christians in that area, Nicholas was then put into prison for his faith. For example, the book The Golden Legend, which a Genoese churchman published around 1260, claimed that St. Nicholas heaved three bags of gold through a poor nobleman’s window at home so that the man could provide dowries for his three children so that they wouldn’t be sold into prostitution. After the most famous ones, perhaps the most prominent B-miracle is the story of how he saved his home from famine by miraculous means. ( Log Out / 

U sually when the Christmas season prompts talk of the truth about St. Nicholas or Santa Claus, the problem is how to explain to kids how all those presents really get under the tree. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Why Putting Christ Back in Christmas Is Not Enough. That said, there are of course many legends about Nicholas, and since these have influenced people throughout history, and they likely illustrate something about the historical man, they are fair game for a publication, like ours, devoted to Christian history. The previous bishop of Myra had died, and the other bishops of the area were having a hard time deciding on a successor. The people of Myra were starving, and some merchant ships from Italy stopped there on its way to deliver grain to Egypt. It is said that his bones are kept to this day in a Church that bears his name, located in Italy in the Port of Bari. All rights reserved. ( Log Out /  Wanting to help his neighbor but not wanting credit for it, he snuck through the night and threw three bags of gold into his neighbor's house so the girls could get married. But long before he gave his name to this beloved holiday icon, St. Nicholas was a real historical person who became so beloved that an enormous body of legend came to surround him. However. There was an error submitting your subscription. Once the reformation took hold, however, much of Saint Nicholas’ following fell away. Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (Greek: Μύρα; modern-day Demre, Turkey) during the time of the Roman Empire. Fresco by Fra Angelico (c1400-55) Italian painter. When he (or in some versions, a sailor traveling with him) revealed his name to the bishop, he was immediately made the bishop of Myra, despite his modest protests. Constantine finally became emperor, at which time Nicholas and many others were allowed to return to their positions and preach the gospel. This tradition plays into the concept of the dark companion of St. Nicholas, chained monsters who play bad cop to the saint's good cop. So threatened, in fact, that as Arius stood on the council floor defending himself, our boy Nicholas strode across the room and slugged him. His reputation as a miracle worker gained him the name Nicholas the Wonder-Worker, but St. Nicholas was also known in legend for taming demons. Sharing the Good News to Children Through St. Nicholas Writing the St. Nicholas Pass Over Icon Simple First-time Celebration Santa's Prayer Video: Legend of Saint-Nicolas (revisited by children) Something New Coming to Bari Bookmarks to Print Frame St. Nicholas Prints Make Ornaments from Our Cards