Have you ever wondered where the traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas began? Some of the traditions regarding Christmas are not found in the Scriptures, but come to us from a long history of the Christian faith. One such tradition is the legend of Santa Claus.
In the year 325 a boy was born in what is now the country of Turkey and he was given the name Nicholas. As a young man he became a Christian and devoted himself to a life in the priest-hood and eventually became the Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. As the Bishop he became known for his generosity. Once, there was a man with three daughters. He was too poor to give them a dowry so that they could be married. Their future was to become beggars or streetwalkers. When Bishop Nicholas heard about these poor girls, he took a bag of gold coins late one night and went to their house. The girls had washed their stockings and placed them on the window seal to dry. Nicholas dropped the bag of gold coins into one of the stockings and it was found the next morning. He repeated this until each of the girls had a dowry and could be married. Throughout his life Bishop Nicholas gave to the needy.
Nicholas of Myra lived his life committed to Jesus Christ. He was arrested by Roman authorities and tortured, resulting in a broken nose. In fact, he was known for his fiery temperament. At the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, as Arius was explaining his belief that the Son was created by the Father, Nicholas was enrage and slapped Arius. He was removed from the Council until he publicly apologized for his behavior.
When he died the Church honored him by proclaiming him a saint and began celebrating St. Nicholas Day each year on Dec. 6. Through the years St. Nicholas Day and Christmas were often celebrated together. When the Dutch began to settle in New York, they celebrated the day of Sinter Claus (St. Nicholas’s Day). That is how the legend of Santa Claus began.
As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us be reminded of the generosity of Nicholas. The story of St. Nicholas is a much better Christian story than that of the modern Santa Claus. Like Nicholas, our generosity should not be limited to the Christmas season. Jesus reminds his disciples that we have freely received good gifts from God and commands us to give freely and liberally to those in need. We remember St. Nicholas 1600 years after his death because of his Christ-like generosity. How will we be remembered?
