Who was the real St. Nicholas?
At this time of year, we are bombarded by images and music that celebrate the Christmas season. One of those images appears in the form of a rotund man with a long white beard who is dressed in a fur-trimmed red suit. We call him Santa Claus.
But much of the legend of today’s Santa Claus grew from the life and kindness of a real man who lived many years ago. His name was Nicholas, and he served as the Bishop of Myra in what is today the nation of Turkey.
Nicholas was born during the third century A.D. in the village of Patara in what was then called Asia Minor. During the time of Nicholas the area was Greek. The area is now on the southern coast of Turkey. Nicholas was the child of wealthy parents. They raised him to be a devout Christian. When Nicholas was still young, his parents died in an epidemic, leaving Nicholas an orphan.
After the death of his parents, Nicholas remembered the words of Jesus who had challenged the rich young ruler to sell what he owned and give the money to the poor. The rich young ruler turned away from Christ, but Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God. As a young man, he was named Bishop of Myra. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the area for his generosity to those in need, for his love for children, and for his concern for sailors and ships.
When the Roman Emperor Diocletian ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith. He was exiled and imprisoned. Diocletian’s prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons that the prisons had no room for murderers, thieves, and robbers.
After Nicholas was released, he attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. That council clarified the orthodox Christian doctrine of the deity of Christ and Trinitarian nature of God. The Creed of Nicaea is still used in churches today. Nicholas died on December 6 in A.D. 343 in Myra. He was buried in the church where he had served for many years. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration.
Through the centuries Nicholas has been the center of many stories and legends. Perhaps the most reliable story about Nicholas involves a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman’s father had to offer prospective husbands something of value, a dowry, to entice the man to marry the girl. The larger the dowry, the better the chance the young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry.
Since this poor man’s daughters had no dowries, they were destined to be sold into slavery once their father died. On three different occasions, a bag of gold mysteriously appeared in the home to provide each of the girls the dowries she needed.
According to the story, the bags of gold, tossed through an open window, landed in stockings or shoes left by the fire to dry. This part of the story led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes to wait for gifts from Saint Nicholas.
Other stories tell of Nicholas saving people from famine, sparing the lives of those innocently accused, and a host of kind and generous deeds done in secret. He expected nothing in return.
The celebration of St. Nicholas’ feast day on December 6th kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed as bishops and begged alms for the poor. In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas arrived on a steamship from Spain to ride a white horse on his gift-giving rounds. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving and merrymaking in much of Europe.
I hope that each time you see an image of Santa Claus your mind will turn to a truly good man who believed in Christ and dedicated his life to serving his Lord and others. Maybe then we can begin to distance ourselves from the rapacious materialism that has become the hallmark of so much of what passes for “Christmas” today.
I wish you and yours a true Merry Christmas.
Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
