It's that time of year: Christmas. We trim our trees and hang the lights, knowing that soon St. Nick will arrive, fat and jolly. But who is this cookie-eating, reindeer-driving breaker-and-enterer? How did he become such a cultural institution, while St. Augustine has never visited my house?
Let's look at who St. Nicholas was. He was born in 270AD in Greece, modern day Turkey. His parents died when he was young, so he was taken in by his uncle, himself a bishop. When Nicholas came of age his uncle ordained him as a priest because of upstanding character.
Nicholas was born into a rich family, but his parents associated frequently with the commoners as opposed to the wealthy and bourgeois. By virtue of growing up rich but being among the commoners, Nicholas learned the importance of generosity, earning him a reputation that followed him for his entire life and well beyond.
The most famous tale of his generosity involves three young ladies and their father. He was a single father and poor. He could not afford to pay the dowries for his three daughters. As such, he would have to sell them into prostitution so that they could provide for their own needs. Two consecutive nights Nicholas threw money through the open windows of their house sufficient to cover the dowry of the older two sisters. The father, wanting to know who did this, waited in hiding by the window on the third night. Suspecting this, Nicholas climbed up onto the roof and dropped the money down the chimney.
There are numerous variants of this tale, though it is unlikely that this exact situation occurred more than once. This is to be expected with oral tradition. There is debate about whether he threw purses of currency or lumps of gold. Further, some say he left the money in recently laundered socks hung to dry. Still others say he did this over the course of three years, not days. Whatever the case, it's a beautiful example of Nicholas' generosity, not to mention the generosity of God.
Another story, this one of miraculous nature, involves three children who stayed a night at a butcher's house during a famine. The butcher killed the boys and prepared them to use in a dish. Nicholas showed up and resurrected the boys. It is not uncommon to see these kinds of miraculous deeds accredited to the saints.
This season Nicholas has been gaining a lot of attention for his participation in the council of Nicaea and particularly his opposition to Arius. Arius was teaching that Christ was not divine but instead a created being who became a god. This heresy became known as Arianism (for obvious reasons), the primary proponents of which today are Jehovah's Witnesses. At one point Nicholas became so frustrated with Arius and his ignoring of scripture that he stood up, walked across the room, and slapped Arius in the face. The other attendees persuaded him to apologize, but he certainly made an impact (both literally and physically).
So this leaves one question: where do we get Santa Claus? Well, his name is derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas. The highest rank Saint Nicholas reached was bishop, for which he wore red. He was known for giving gifts, and in the tale of the three women he even gave a gift through he chimney. I do find it funny that the patron saint of thieves becomes the man who breaks in to your house, albeit to leave things behind. And the reindeer and all the fat? It just makes for a good story.
It's that time of year: Christmas. We trim our trees and hang the lights, knowing that soon St. Nick will arrive, fat and jolly. But who is this cookie-eating, reindeer-driving breaker-and-enterer? How did he become such a cultural institution, while St. Augustine has never visited my house?
Let's look at who St. Nicholas was. He was born in 270AD in Greece, modern day Turkey. His parents died when he was young, so he was taken in by his uncle, himself a bishop. When Nicholas came of age his uncle ordained him as a priest because of upstanding character.
Nicholas was born into a rich family, but his parents associated frequently with the commoners as opposed to the wealthy and bourgeois. By virtue of growing up rich but being among the commoners, Nicholas learned the importance of generosity, earning him a reputation that followed him for his entire life and well beyond.
The most famous tale of his generosity involves three young ladies and their father. He was a single father and poor. He could not afford to pay the dowries for his three daughters. As such, he would have to sell them into prostitution so that they could provide for their own needs. Two consecutive nights Nicholas threw money through the open windows of their house sufficient to cover the dowry of the older two sisters. The father, wanting to know who did this, waited in hiding by the window on the third night. Suspecting this, Nicholas climbed up onto the roof and dropped the money down the chimney.
There are numerous variants of this tale, though it is unlikely that this exact situation occurred more than once. This is to be expected with oral tradition. There is debate about whether he threw purses of currency or lumps of gold. Further, some say he left the money in recently laundered socks hung to dry. Still others say he did this over the course of three years, not days. Whatever the case, it's a beautiful example of Nicholas' generosity, not to mention the generosity of God.
Another story, this one of miraculous nature, involves three children who stayed a night at a butcher's house during a famine. The butcher killed the boys and prepared them to use in a dish. Nicholas showed up and resurrected the boys. It is not uncommon to see these kinds of miraculous deeds accredited to the saints.
This season Nicholas has been gaining a lot of attention for his participation in the council of Nicaea and particularly his opposition to Arius. Arius was teaching that Christ was not divine but instead a created being who became a god. This heresy became known as Arianism (for obvious reasons), the primary proponents of which today are Jehovah's Witnesses. At one point Nicholas became so frustrated with Arius and his ignoring of scripture that he stood up, walked across the room, and slapped Arius in the face. The other attendees persuaded him to apologize, but he certainly made an impact (both literally and physically).
So this leaves one question: where do we get Santa Claus? Well, his name is derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas. The highest rank Saint Nicholas reached was bishop, for which he wore red. He was known for giving gifts, and in the tale of the three women he even gave a gift through he chimney. I do find it funny that the patron saint of thieves becomes the man who breaks in to your house, albeit to leave things behind. And the reindeer and all the fat? It just makes for a good story.
I Don't Even Have a Chimney, or An Historic Account of St. Nick
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