As Christmas approaches, and yes, it is ok for me to talk about Christmas now that we are officially into Advent. Anyway, as Christmas approaches I find myself once again pondering the myth, legend, and facts about the man we currently know as Santa Claus. Santa Claus, as I am sure you all know is an anglicized version of the name Saint (Santa) Nicholas (Claus). Now there have been many saints named Nicholas over the 2000 year history of the Church, a few of them have even been canonized. The St. Nicholas that is generally associated with Christmas is St. Nicholas of Myra also called St. Nicholas of Bari. Why does the same saint get two places, because Myra is where he was bishop and originally buried and Bari is the town in Italy where his remains were moved after Myra was conquered by the Muslims. He lived during the 4th century and is one of the few saints of that time to have died from old age rather than martyrdom. All that being said, how does guy fit in with our modern concept of Santa Claus? The legend of St. Nicholas involves exactly 0 elves at a toy factory in the North Pole, 0 reindeer, and no sleigh whatsoever. One legend talks about a young boy who lived in Myra. On the Feast of St. Nicholas the city was attacked by pirates and the boy was taken as a slave. He was made the cup bearer for their king. His mother prayed every day for his safe return and for the protection of St. Nicholas. On the Feast of St. Nicholas the following year, the young boy suddenly appeared in the town, still holding the kings golden cup. He said that God had whisked him away from the pirates and St. Nicholas had brought him home. Thus, St. Nicholas is known as the protector of children. Another legend tells of three sisters who had no dowry and were on the verge of being sold into slavery. As each of the three girls came of age to marry, Nicholas would sneak in and leave them money for a dowry. Once he left it in some stocking that were hanging above the fireplace to dry. Thus he became known through his legends as a giver of gifts and a protector of children. His feast day is on December 6, (Thursday) and the tradition used to be to leave out you shoes and he would put some candy of fruit in them for you. I think this is a fun tradition and I encourage you to give it a shot for your younger brothers and sisters (or parents for all your kids). It is a great way to honor the real St. Nicholas during this time of Advent as we prepare for Christmas.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Saint Nicholas, Great Saint or Jolly old fat man (12-02-2007)
As Christmas approaches, and yes, it is ok for me to talk about Christmas now that we are officially into Advent. Anyway, as Christmas approaches I find myself once again pondering the myth, legend, and facts about the man we currently know as Santa Claus. Santa Claus, as I am sure you all know is an anglicized version of the name Saint (Santa) Nicholas (Claus). Now there have been many saints named Nicholas over the 2000 year history of the Church, a few of them have even been canonized. The St. Nicholas that is generally associated with Christmas is St. Nicholas of Myra also called St. Nicholas of Bari. Why does the same saint get two places, because Myra is where he was bishop and originally buried and Bari is the town in Italy where his remains were moved after Myra was conquered by the Muslims. He lived during the 4th century and is one of the few saints of that time to have died from old age rather than martyrdom. All that being said, how does guy fit in with our modern concept of Santa Claus? The legend of St. Nicholas involves exactly 0 elves at a toy factory in the North Pole, 0 reindeer, and no sleigh whatsoever. One legend talks about a young boy who lived in Myra. On the Feast of St. Nicholas the city was attacked by pirates and the boy was taken as a slave. He was made the cup bearer for their king. His mother prayed every day for his safe return and for the protection of St. Nicholas. On the Feast of St. Nicholas the following year, the young boy suddenly appeared in the town, still holding the kings golden cup. He said that God had whisked him away from the pirates and St. Nicholas had brought him home. Thus, St. Nicholas is known as the protector of children. Another legend tells of three sisters who had no dowry and were on the verge of being sold into slavery. As each of the three girls came of age to marry, Nicholas would sneak in and leave them money for a dowry. Once he left it in some stocking that were hanging above the fireplace to dry. Thus he became known through his legends as a giver of gifts and a protector of children. His feast day is on December 6, (Thursday) and the tradition used to be to leave out you shoes and he would put some candy of fruit in them for you. I think this is a fun tradition and I encourage you to give it a shot for your younger brothers and sisters (or parents for all your kids). It is a great way to honor the real St. Nicholas during this time of Advent as we prepare for Christmas.
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