<VV> Christmas

[Tony Underwood]

No such thing as Santa?




Ever hear someone say "Oh c'mon, there's no such thing as Santa Claus"?

"Santa is a myth.  He's not real."

"My dad said I'm big now and that it's time I knew there was no Santa 
Claus."

(this is one of my pet peeves, come this time of year and I'll tell you why)


OK...    Let's talk briefly about Santa Claus, or as he's more 
officially known, Saint Nick... or Nicholas.


Nicholas was born in what is now Turkey, but a province of Greece at 
the time, and lived in the town of Myra.   His parents were wealthy 
merchants who raised Nick right, taught him loyalty, faith, duty, and 
honor.   When Nicholas was a young man he wanted to go to sea, loved 
the ocean, ships, and sailing.   His parents wanted more for him than 
that so there was conflict.   Then, his parents were taken ill from 
an epidemic that had come through the town and both perished from the 
infection.  Nicholas inherited their fortune but to honor his parents 
and the Church, he donated all that was of value to the church and 
decided to devote himself to serving the town as its church 
representative and priest, and eventually as the Bishop of 
Myra.  Then political troubles arose, much of it to do with conflicts 
with Christianity and government and an Italian dictator who had 
conquered much of the area decreed that religious icons like priests 
and bishops were to be imprisoned and Nicholas was arrested and spent 
time with other priests and bishops in prison, which left a lasting 
impression on him.

Things got better relatively soon and the priests were released, 
after which Nicholas went about championing the rights those who were 
unjustly persecuted or pressured or imprisoned by government.  This 
included children who had been orphaned by the epidemics which 
sometimes took their parents the way Nicholas had lost his own 
parents... the Bishop went out of his way to watch over and care for 
the needs of such children so they would not be subject to starving 
in the streets or being thrown into orphanages which at the time were 
not nice places to be.    During the Yuletide seasons it was Nicholas 
and the priests who would make toys for the children of the town and 
load them into a large sled pulled by draft animals (usually 
reindeer) into town where the Bishop and the priests would pass them 
out to the children and also give other tokens to the children's 
parents such as fire wood and cakes and bread.

Nicholas was a very small man, barely 5 feet tall, and not what would 
be called robust in health and suffered from the cold winters, so he 
would let his hair and beard grow long to help keep his face and neck 
warm.   He became prematurely gray and eventually white haired, which 
would make a striking contrast against the dark red heavy Bishop's 
cloak he would wear when out collecting fire wood and doing the work 
necessary for the church's operations.   He was always easily 
recognizable when trodding through the heavy snow, the white hair and 
beard showing bright against the deep red cloak and robes of his 
office, his head covered by a thick wool cap to protect his head from 
the cold snow.

His savvy, and generosity, with money helped him provide to the 
welfare of the town in a number of ways, one example of which had a 
long lasting impression... regarding a father whose three daughters 
needed dowrys as was the custom of the times, and each daughter had 
wished for a summer wedding.   Their father, a hard working farmer, 
did not have money to spare since his crops would not be ready for 
harvest so he approached Nicholas and asked him if the church could 
loan him money, for which the farmer would offer a percentage of his 
crops as collateral.   Nicholas told the father not to worry, and 
made sure that the father had a tightly bound gilded bag of gold 
coins to present with his daughters to their new husbands, after 
which the grateful father repaid the church with interest for the 
gifts Nicholas provided, after the successful harvest and sales of 
produce.   The three gilded bags or globes representing the gift of 
promise and trust became a symbol of loaning money for promises of 
repayment and eventually they became the symbol of Pawn, as the three 
gold globes.

Nicholas became known far and wide as a fair, generous, and friendly 
figure of faith and devotion and generosity throughout the land and 
was much loved by the townspeople who regard him as if he were indeed 
a gift from heaven.   He never forgot his dedication to the sea and 
would go to the harbor often to bless the ships of the fisherman and 
merchants who would travel to and from Myra.   Likewise, he never 
forgot his devotion to protect children in need and to provide for 
them, remembering his good fortune to never have wanted as a 
child.   And he never forgot what it was like to have been wrongfully 
imprisoned.   ...he also never forgot that it was his faith that 
allowed him to overcome any and all obstacles during his times as the 
town's Bishop and religious icon.

When Nicholas died at a very old age, the town was heartbroken, 
having lost their Bishop who for most of them had been the only 
Bishop they had ever known their entire lives.    They all remembered 
the sight of the short man in the red robes with the long white beard 
who worked tirelessly to look after the welfare of them all and to 
provide them with a symbol of faith...  thus it took very little time 
for Nicholas to be canonized as a Saint.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children, sailors and those who 
travel the seas, and he is also the patron Saint of those who are 
falsely accused... as well as being the patron Saint of prostitutes, 
to whom he would often provide council and refuge and guidance.




When someone says there is no such thing as Santa Claus... Saint 
Nicholas...  make sure you tell them they are wrong.   Tell your kids 
too.   They of all people need to know that Santa Claus is as REAL AS 
YOU AND ME.

He was a wonderful man whose spirit lives as strongly today as it did 
over a thousand years ago during his times of service as Nicholas, 
the Bishop of Myra, known by the children as "Santaclaus".


Merry Christmas

...and remember St Nicholas's days of December.




tony..