Feast of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas was born in Lycia, Asia Minor, and died as Bishop of Myra in 352. He performed many miracles and exercised a special power over flames. He practiced both the spiritual and temporal works of mercy, and fasted twice a week. When he heard that a father who had fallen into poverty was about to expose his three daughters to a life of sin, Nicholas took a bag of gold and secretly flung it through the window into the room of the sleeping father. In this way, the three girls were dowered and saved from mortal sin and hell.
Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra, is undoubtedly one of the most popular saints honored in the Western world. In the United States, his memory has survived in the unique personality of Saint Claus — the jolly, rotund, white-bearded gentleman who captivates children with promises of gifts on Christmas Eve. Considered primarily as the patron saint of children, Nicholas is also invoked by sailors, merchants, bakers, travelers and pawnbrokers, and with Saint Andrew is honored as the co-patron of Russia.

In spite of his widespread fame, Saint Nicholas, from the historian's point of view, is hardly more than a name. He was born in the last years of the third century in Asia Minor. His uncle, the archbishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him and appointed him abbot of a nearby monastery. At the death of the archbishop, Nicholas was chosen to fill the vacancy, and he served in this position until his death. About the time of the persecutions of Diocletian, he was imprisoned for preaching Christianity but was released during the reign of Emperor Constantine.

Popular legends have involved Saint Nicholas in a number of charming stories, one of which relates Nicholas' charity toward the poor. A man of Patara had lost his fortune, and finding himself unable to support his three maiden daughters, was planning to turn them into the streets as prostitutes. Nicholas heard of the man's intentions and secretly threw three bags of gold through a window into the home, thus providing dowries for the daughters. The three bags of gold mentioned in this story are said to be the origin of the three gold balls that form the emblem of pawnbrokers.

After Nicholas' death on December 6 in or around 345, his body was buried in the cathedral at Myra. It remained there until 1087, when seamen of Bari, an Italian coastal town, seized the relics of the saint and transferred them to their own city. Veneration for Nicholas had already spread throughout Europe as well as Asia, but this occurrence led to a renewal of devotion in the West. Countless miracles were attributed to the saint's intercession. His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.
The story of Saint Nicholas came to America in distorted fashion. The Dutch Protestants carried a popularized version of the saint's life to New Amsterdam, portraying Nicholas as nothing more than a Nordic magician and wonder-worker. Our present-day conception of Santa Claus has grown from this version. Catholics should think of Nicholas as a saint, a confessor of the faith and the bishop of Myra — not merely as a jolly man from the North Pole who brings happiness to small children. Many countries and locations honor St. Nicholas as patron: Greece, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Lorraine, and many cities in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Source: CatholicCulture.org Taken in part from Lives of the Saints for every day of the Year, Volume III © 1959, by The Catholic Press, Inc.

Tomorrow : Will be about Santa Claus

Who was Santa Claus?

Who Was Santa Claus?
ZENIT
Still, behind the figure most embodying the commercial nature of Christmas in the minds of the public, we find a humble and saintly Bishop, and a clear Christian message for our times: the need for generosity both towards our neighbors, and towards God.


ROME, DEC 23 (ZENIT).- As Christmas comes closer, children everywhere are eagerly awaiting their Christmas gifts. In most of the English-speaking world, these will be brought on Christmas Eve by a grandfatherly figure in a red suit and a penchant for milk and cookies. Yet “Santa Claus” comes from the Dutch “Sinter Klass,” which in turn means “St. Nicholas.” 

Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is December 6, lived from 280-343. He was a priest and later the Bishop of Myra, in modern Turkey. Unfortunately for the historian, he has been such a popular saint that many legends have sprung up, and it is difficult to separate myth from reality. 

The legends say that Nicholas was a very holy child, some going so far as to say that he refused his mother's milk on Fridays to keep the Church discipline of abstinence. Apparently he came from a rich family and was known for his generosity. He gave gifts to the peasants of Myra, trying to do so in secret by night, out of humility. 

The most famous story about Nicholas comes from his time as a Bishop. It seems a poor man had no money to provide a dowry for his three daughters. Bishop Nicholas climbed onto the roof of the house and dropped three bags of gold down the chimney. These landed in the socks that were hanging by the fire to dry, explaining today's tradition of Christmas stockings. The three bags of gold, incidentally are the origin of the pawnbrokers' symbol of three golden balls, as St. Nicholas is also their patron saint. 

While much of the foregoing is undoubtedly legendary, or at least embellished by the ages, it is a fact that in 303, the Roman Emporer Diocletian demanded that all the citizens of the empire worship him as a god. This order applied to the territories of Asia Minor as well. Many Christians were imprisoned or killed for their refusal to worship the emporer. When he too refused to submit, the Bishop was arrested and held in a small cell for more than 5 years. 

In 313, Constantine came to power and Nicholas was released. Christianity was no longer oppressed, and Nicholas returned to serve Myra as Bishop. He remained in that post until his death, on December 6, 343. 

His fame for sanctity spread rapidly, with the first churches in his name being built around 450. By 800, he was recognized as a saint in the Eastern Church, and by 1200, St. Nicholas' Day was celebrated in Paris. By the 1400s, St. Nicholas was the most popular religious figure, apart from Jesus and Mary, with more than 2,000 chapels built in his honor. 

The Origin of Santa When Dutch settlers came to New Amsterdam in the 1500s, they brought with them their tradition of St. Nicholas (“Sinter Klass”), and this tradition spread more generally, the name being converted in the process to Santa Claus. 

The image of St. Nicholas gradually changed to that “right jolly old elf” described by Clement Clarke Moore in his “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known as “ `Twas the Night Before Christmas.” He traded in his mitre and crozier to dress “all in fur, from his head to his foot.” The illustrations for a series of advertisements for Coca-Cola gave Santa his current “look,” whose red cap and suit are known the world over. 

Still, behind the figure most embodying the commercial nature of Christmas in the minds of the public, we find a humble and saintly Bishop, and a clear Christian message for our times: the need for generosity both towards our neighbors, and towards God. ZE99122324 



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