I believe in Jesus Christ and that Christmas is the day that we celebrate his birth. I also let my nieces, nephews and great nieces believe in St. Nicholas but they also know the true meaning of Christmas.
CHRIST M.A.S. CHRIST is the
M.magic A.ll S.eason! Santa is in us all!
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I know St. Nicholas existed he was a bishop.
St. Nicholas (270 - 343) is popularly known as Santa Claus but he was an actual Bishop from Asia Minor (in modern day Turkey)! Although his family was wealthy, he was kind and generous. Once, he secretly threw bags of gold into a poor man's house, helping the man’s daughters get married. This is why children still wait for St. Nicholas' secret gifts today. Remember that ‘Santa Claus’ loved Jesus very much and was a faithful servant of God! St. Nicholas’s feast day is on 6 December.
*****************
A couple of years ago, a friend came to me with a problem. The problem had to do with her son.
My friend: "Catherine, my son is going to ask the question this year. What am I going to tell him?"
Me: "Which question?"
My friend: "The question. About Santa Claus. He's going to point-blank ask me if Santa is real. I don't want to dash his hopes. But I can't lie to him."
Me: "No, you cannot lie. But, perhaps you can soften the blow by telling him about St. Nicholas. He isn't living at the North Pole, or even still alive for that matter… but he was a real person and he did inspire the legend of Santa Claus."
My friend: "St. Nicholas?"
So I educated my friend about St. Nicholas, hoping to help her bridge the gap in her son's life between the North Pole and the cold, hard truth.
Who was St. Nicholas?
He was in fact, a real person. St. Nicholas was born in or around 270 in the city of Patara, Lycia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He was the only child of a wealthy couple who both died of an epidemic when Nicholas was young. He inherited his parents' wealth and was raised by his uncle, a bishop. This uncle put a great deal of effort into educating the young Nicholas, who followed in his uncles footsteps becoming a priest and later the Bishop of Myra. Many legends surround St. Nicholas which highlight his generosity and willingness to share his wealth among those who needed it the most. In the coldest part of winter he was said to have walked the streets at night under cloak of darkness, dropping gold coins into the socks which peasants had hung out to dry. This is where we get our modern-day tradition of hanging stockings by the hearth on Christmas Eve.
St. Nicholas is one of the earliest and best-known Saints and one of the most prolific to be pictured in works of art. Even after the Protestant Reformation when the veneration of Saints was discouraged among protestant Christians, St. Nicholas maintained his popularity. He died on Dec. 6, which subsequently became his feast day. Thus, Dec. 6 was considered a day of good fortune for gift purchasing, giving or for marriages. Many countries around the world still commemorate this feast day bygiving small gifts or treats, especially for children.
St. Nicholas made his appearance in the United States in 1773 when a New York newspaper reported Dutch families gathered to celebrate his feast day. In Dutch, St. Nicholas is Sint Nikolass – nickname Sinterklaas – which became Santa Claus in English. From there, the legend goes off the rails and somehow St. Nicholas morphed into a jolly, portly fellow living in the North Pole, working with elves and driving a sleigh guided by magical, flying reindeer, one of whom has a supernatural glowing nose.
So, I explained to my friend, St. Nicholas was indeed a real person whose life has inspired generation after generation to give generously and plot secretly to surprise others. In a way, everyone who draws out a plan to surprise or delight another is a Santa Claus. You could say that all of us together make up Santa Claus. While the individual might not be real, the sentiment is very real.
My friend, however, still wasn't thrilled about breaking the news to her son. I shrugged, and told her, "If he's still upset, then you'll just have to make him laugh."
"How?" she replied.
"By telling him he's a boy, one day he will be a man and isn't he lucky? Because there are four stages in a man's life:
1: You believe in Santa Claus.
2: You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3: You are Santa Claus
And finally:
4: You look like Santa Claus."
By Catherine Viola
****************
I know St. Nicholas existed he was a bishop.
St. Nicholas (270 - 343) is popularly known as Santa Claus but he was an actual Bishop from Asia Minor (in modern day Turkey)! Although his family was wealthy, he was kind and generous. Once, he secretly threw bags of gold into a poor man's house, helping the man’s daughters get married. This is why children still wait for St. Nicholas' secret gifts today. Remember that ‘Santa Claus’ loved Jesus very much and was a faithful servant of God! St. Nicholas’s feast day is on 6 December.
*****************
A couple of years ago, a friend came to me with a problem. The problem had to do with her son.
My friend: "Catherine, my son is going to ask the question this year. What am I going to tell him?"
Me: "Which question?"
My friend: "The question. About Santa Claus. He's going to point-blank ask me if Santa is real. I don't want to dash his hopes. But I can't lie to him."
Me: "No, you cannot lie. But, perhaps you can soften the blow by telling him about St. Nicholas. He isn't living at the North Pole, or even still alive for that matter… but he was a real person and he did inspire the legend of Santa Claus."
My friend: "St. Nicholas?"
So I educated my friend about St. Nicholas, hoping to help her bridge the gap in her son's life between the North Pole and the cold, hard truth.
Who was St. Nicholas?
He was in fact, a real person. St. Nicholas was born in or around 270 in the city of Patara, Lycia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He was the only child of a wealthy couple who both died of an epidemic when Nicholas was young. He inherited his parents' wealth and was raised by his uncle, a bishop. This uncle put a great deal of effort into educating the young Nicholas, who followed in his uncles footsteps becoming a priest and later the Bishop of Myra. Many legends surround St. Nicholas which highlight his generosity and willingness to share his wealth among those who needed it the most. In the coldest part of winter he was said to have walked the streets at night under cloak of darkness, dropping gold coins into the socks which peasants had hung out to dry. This is where we get our modern-day tradition of hanging stockings by the hearth on Christmas Eve.
St. Nicholas is one of the earliest and best-known Saints and one of the most prolific to be pictured in works of art. Even after the Protestant Reformation when the veneration of Saints was discouraged among protestant Christians, St. Nicholas maintained his popularity. He died on Dec. 6, which subsequently became his feast day. Thus, Dec. 6 was considered a day of good fortune for gift purchasing, giving or for marriages. Many countries around the world still commemorate this feast day bygiving small gifts or treats, especially for children.
St. Nicholas made his appearance in the United States in 1773 when a New York newspaper reported Dutch families gathered to celebrate his feast day. In Dutch, St. Nicholas is Sint Nikolass – nickname Sinterklaas – which became Santa Claus in English. From there, the legend goes off the rails and somehow St. Nicholas morphed into a jolly, portly fellow living in the North Pole, working with elves and driving a sleigh guided by magical, flying reindeer, one of whom has a supernatural glowing nose.
So, I explained to my friend, St. Nicholas was indeed a real person whose life has inspired generation after generation to give generously and plot secretly to surprise others. In a way, everyone who draws out a plan to surprise or delight another is a Santa Claus. You could say that all of us together make up Santa Claus. While the individual might not be real, the sentiment is very real.
My friend, however, still wasn't thrilled about breaking the news to her son. I shrugged, and told her, "If he's still upset, then you'll just have to make him laugh."
"How?" she replied.
"By telling him he's a boy, one day he will be a man and isn't he lucky? Because there are four stages in a man's life:
1: You believe in Santa Claus.
2: You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3: You are Santa Claus
And finally:
4: You look like Santa Claus."
By Catherine Viola
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