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The Sincere Love of Saint Nicholas/The real Santa Claus
written by Richard Thomas / January 02, 2006
St. Nicholas, called "of Bari", Bishop of Myra. Has been honored for many ages. He is said to have been born at Patara in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor. The church at Myra, the capital of Lycia, not far from the sea, was falling vacant. Nicholas of Bari was the chosen bishop, and in that station became famous by his extraordinary piety and zeal and many astonishing miracles.[Mark 16:17-18] [Acts 5:12] [Acts 1:8]
Church tradition states that he, Saint Nicholas, suffered imprisonment for his faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Dioletian, and that he, Saint Nicholas, was present at the Council of Nicaea and there condemned Arianism.
He was exceedingly well brought up by his parents and treading piously in their footsteps. The child, watched over by the church enlightened his mind and encouraged his hunger and thirst for sincere and true religion [James1:27] . His parents died when he was a young man. Thus leaving him well off, he determined to devote his inheritance to works of charity. An opportunity soon arose. A citizen of Patara had lost all his money, and had moreover to support three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty; so the wretched man was going to give them over to prostitution. This came to the ears of Nicholas, who thereupon took a bag of gold and, under cover of darkness threw it in at the open window of the man's house. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl and she was soon duly married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the second and third; at the last time the father was on the watch, recognized his benefactor and overwhelmed him with his gratitude. It would appear that the three purses represented in pictures, came to be mistaken for the heads of three children and so they gave rise to the absurdstory of the children, resuscitated by the saint, who had been killed by an innkeeper and pickled in a brine-tub.
St. Nicholas was appointed Bishop of Myra during the persecutions at the beginning of the fourth century and "As he was the chief priest of the Christians of this town and preached the truths of faith with a holy liberty, the divine Nicholas was seized by the magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown into prison with many other Christians. But when the great and religious Constantine, chosen by God assumed the imperial diadem of the Romans, the prisoners were released from their bonds and with them the illustrious Saint Nicholas, who when he was set at liberty returned to Myra where under the teaching of St. Nicholas the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as death-dealing poison. As against Arianism so against paganism, St. Nicholas was tireless and took strong measures: among other temples he destroyed was that of Artemis, [see Acts chapter 19], the principal in the district, and the evil spirits fled howling before him.
He was the guardian of his people as well in temporal affairs. The governor Eustathius had taken a bribe to condemn to death three innocent men. At the time fixed for their execution Nicholas came to the place, stayed the hands of the executioner, and released the prisoners. Then he turned to Eustathius and did not cease to reproach him until he admitted his crime and expressed his penitence. There were present on this occasion three imperial officers who were on their way to duty in Phrygia. Later, when they were back again in Constantinople, the jealousy of the prefect Ablavius caused them to be imprisoned on false charges and an order for their death was procured from the Emperor Constantine. When the officers heard this they remembered the example they had witnessed of the powerful love of justice of the Bishop of Myra, Saint Nicholas, and they prayed to God that through his merits and by his instrumentality they might yet be saved. That night St. Nicholas appeared in a dream to Constantine, and told him with threats to release the three innocent men, and Ablavius experienced the same thing. In the morning the Emperor and the prefect compared notes, and the condemned men were sent for and questioned. When he heard that they had called on the name of the Nicholas of Myra who had appeared to him, Constantine set them free and sent them to the bishop with a letter asking him not to threaten him any more but to pray for the peace of the world.
It is worldly commercialism that has blinded the true meaning of Christmas and clouded the history of Saint Nicholas. According to worldly commercialism, Santa Claus has become the god of Christmas. It is no longer socially correct to wish someone a Merry Christmas. Happy Holiday is born of a society void of the Spirit of Christmas! The evergreen tree is the symbol of Christmas just as the heart is the symbol of St. Valentine’s day.
St. Nicholas, venerated as the patron saint of several classes of people, gave rise to his patronage of children and various observances, ecclesiastical and secular, connected there with, especially in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, to the giving of presents in his name at Christmas time. Thus the tradition of giving of gifts at Christmas time. Not in celebration of Santa Claus, but remembrance of God’s gift to the world.[John 3:16] The gift of Jesus Christ is a gift that no man, woman, boy or girl in this world can afford, nor can anyone afford not to accept.
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When Your Child Is Ready to Hear ... The Truth About Santa Claus
By Alan Barrington, illustrated by Joe McCormick / Evergreen Press
Baby Jesus. Santa Claus. Jolly old St. Nick. No wonder children get confused about the true meaning of Christmas! When your little ones are ready to hear the truth, this beautifully illustrated storybook explains who the historical St. Nicholas was, and why giving presents reminds us of the greatest gift of all---Jesus. 31 pages, softcover from Companion Press.
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Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend
By Julie Stiegemeyer / Concordia Publishing House
Your 4- to 8-year-olds may think they know all about Santa Claus---now introduce them to the real Saint Nicholas! They'll discover a generous pastor from a seaside village whose acts of kindness changed the lives of many people. But they'll also learn that God is even more generous and gave the greatest gift of all---Jesus. 32 pages, hardcover from Concordia.
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