Today Is the Feast of St. Nicholas, the Real 'Santa Claus' Still Inspiring Charity Today
Today is the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra, one of the most important saints in the Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox churches and the real Santa Claus (“Sinter Klaas” is Dutch for “St. Nicholas”).
It is sad to me that adults and children alike now take a pride in scoffing at Santa Claus. True, the fat, jolly elf handing out candy canes is a far cry from the holy bishop handing out alms to the poor, but for Christians, at least, the idea that God could in fact send a saint (who is alive in Heaven, and not bound by an earthly body) around the world in a single night to distribute presents is not, in and of itself, theologically impossible. And the idea that it is inherently nonsense has led adults to ruin the magic of childhood for many a small mind starving for wonder and imagination in a utilitarian, ugly world. Perhaps it would help to tell the story of the real “Santa Claus,” because Nicholas of Myra was a man as heroic for his unbending resolve in fighting for truth as he was in his immense generosity to the poor.
Nicholas lived in the fourth century, at a time when Christianity was just emerging from the age of state persecution. As a young man, he gave his entire large fortune away to the poor, and was eventually made bishop of Myra in modern Turkey. One famous story of his generosity concerned a family with several daughters, so poor that the daughters were in danger of being sold into slavery. They couldn’t get married without dowries. So, on three different nights, Nicholas tossed bags of gold through the window of the girls’ house for dowries, hoping to keep his kindness a humble secret (eventually the father caught him!). One night, the bag of gold landed in stockings drying before the fire, and accidentally started the Christmas practice of putting up stockings for Santa Claus to fill!
Nicholas was also instrumental in formulating the Nicene Creed, which remains the standard creed of the Catholic Church and Christianity even today. The creed was the product of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), and it is said that every single member of the clergy and even the lay people attending the council bore the marks of the persecution they had suffered for their faith before Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity. Nicholas and his fellow clergy knew that to be Christian meant to suffer.
Perhaps it was those scars that made Nicholas as rough to heretics as he was kind to the poor. After three bloody centuries of martyrdom for the truth, when Arius arrogantly taught irreverent and blasphemous heresy at Nicaea, it is little wonder that Nicholas—finding Arius would not respond to reason—punched the heretic in the face. Most Christians now would be horrified. But Jesus Christ, who cast the profaning money-changers from the Temple with a whip, came to Nicholas’s defense.
“The Emperor Constantine and the bishops present at the Council were alarmed by Nicholas’ act of violence against Arius. They immediately stripped Nicholas of his office as a bishop by confiscating the two items that marked out a man as a Christian bishop: Nicholas’ personal copy of the Gospels and his pallium (the vestment worn by all bishops in the East)… after Nicholas was deposed, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Nicholas who was being held in a prison cell for his fist-fight with the heretic.
Our Lord Jesus Christ asked Saint Nicholas, ‘Why are you here?’ Nicholas responded, ‘Because I love you, my Lord and my God.’
Christ then presented Nicholas with his copy of the Gospels. Next, the Blessed Virgin vested Nicholas with his episcopal pallium, thus restoring him to his rank as a bishop…When the Emperor Constantine heard of this miracle, he immediately ordered that Nicholas be reinstated as a bishop in good standing for the Council of Nicaea.”
But Nicholas, of course, was most famous for his great charity. Besides the stocking story related above, here are a few fascinating stories:
“[CatholicSaints.info] He raised to life three young boys who had been murdered and pickled in a barrel of brine to hide the crime. Th[is] led to his patronage of children in general, and of barrel-makers besides.
Induced some thieves to return their plunder. This explains his protection against theft and robbery, and his patronage of them - he's not helping them steal, but to repent and change. In the past, thieves have been known as Saint Nicholas' clerks or Knights of Saint Nicholas.
During a voyage to the Holy Lands, a fierce storm blew up, threatening the ship. He prayed about it, and the storm calmed - hence the patronage of sailors and those like dockworkers who work on the sea.”
“[Michael the Archimandrite, Life of St. Nicholas, via Wikipedia] [The] consul Ablabius accepted a bribe to put three famous generals to death, in spite of their actual innocence. Saint Nicholas appeared to [Emperor] Constantine and Ablabius in dreams, informing Constantine of the truth and frightening Ablabius into releasing the generals, for fear of Hell.”
Whether Santa Claus flies around the world with a team of magical reindeer, I don’t know, but one truth is undeniable—he certainly is still inspiring charity, generosity, and love for children among people in our own day.