St. Nicholas

 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV) 
¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

A lot of Christians struggle with what to do with Santa Claus.  Is he someone who we should include, or teach our children that he is not part of Christmas at all?  
Let's be aware, there are other aspects of Christmas that don't have any Biblical basis in celebrating Christ's coming:  trees, lights, carols, cookies, etc...all have a place in culture without any place in Scripture.
Symbols are part of our celebrations.  Rings, Candles, Wine & Bread, trees, and So, perhaps there is even a place for Santa Claus...if we do it correctly.
The man connected with bringing Gifts to children was made famous in Clement Moore's "The Night Before Christmas".  And it is this idea of giving of gifts that is true to the legend of St. Nicholas.
When the wise men came to present gifts to Jesus, the idea of gift giving became part of the Christmas story...and that is where Santa Claus emerged.


December 6 marks Saint Nicholas Day; and all around the world, but especially in holland and germany, St. Nicholas Day marks the beginning of Christmas.  

Historically speaking, there's not much we really know about Nicholas. Though he's one of the most popular saints in the Greek and Latin churches, his existence isn't attested by any historical document. All we can say is that he is known as a Saint to the church from the Middle ages, and probably was the bishop of Myra (In modern Turkey) sometime in the 300s.

Supposedly, Nicholas was born to a wealthy family in Patara, Lycia (again, in Turkey). His parents died in a plague and he inherited a considerable sum of money.   Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man.  Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea in AD 325.  He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra. 

The most famous story about his life involves a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry and were often therefore destined to be sold into slavery, which meant prostitution. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.  There are many different stories of Nicholas’ generosity, and miracles done through him to protect and rescue the poor, the innocent (children) and the widows.

By the reign of Justinian (d. 565), Nicholas was famous, and the emperor dedicated a church in Constantinople to him. By the 900s, a Greek wrote, "The West as well as the East acclaims and glorifies him. Wherever there are people, his name is revered and churches are built in his honor. All Christians reverence his memory and call upon his protection." The West became even more interested when his "relics" were taken from Myra to Bari, Italy, on May 9, 1087. He's said to have been represented by medieval artists more frequently than any saint but Mary, and nearly 400 churches were dedicated in his honor in England alone during the late Middle Ages.

With such a popularity, his legends inevitably became intertwined with others. In Germanic countries, it sometimes became hard to tell where the legend of Nicholas began and that of Woden (or Odin) ended. Somewhere along the line, probably tied to the gold-giving story, people began giving presents in his name on his feast day. When the Reformation came along, his following disappeared in all the Protestant countries except Holland, where his legend continued as Sinterklass. Martin Luther  replaced this bearer of gifts with the Christ Child, or, in German, Christkindl. Over the years, that became repronounced Kriss Kringle, and ironically is now considered another name for Santa Claus.

St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, is kept alive by the stories of his goodness and generosity. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving in much of Europe. For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas is celebrated on the 5th, the eve of the day, by sharing candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the saint's horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. Simple gift-giving in early part of Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child.


When our kids were growing up, we included stockings and treats on St Nicholas day...why?  Because they knew that gift giving and gift getting was part of what occurred at Christmas, and so what better way to include that than to make it part of the story of Christmas?