Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - What does Santa have to do with Christmas?

~springrain · 12-19-2003, 04:12 PM

Here's another one I found...

- NERONE NEWSLETTER 2003 -

Saint Nicholaus... Santa Claus!

by Sergio Caggia - © Nerone The Insider's Guide to Rome

The 6th December is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Regarded by historians as a purely legenday character, Nicholas is supposed to have lived in the fourth century AD. Born in Patara (Turky) from a welthy family Nicholas was made priest by his uncle the Archbishop of Myra. At the death of his parents Nicholas gaved all his havings to the poor and went to Palestine. Returning to Myra was made Bishop. According to legend the Archbishop of that seaport had just died and the local clergy had decided that the firs priest entering the chuech on the following morning would be made bishop. That was Nicholas who then became the Bishop of Myra.

Many are the stories around the figure of St. Nicholas, indeed made saint because of his generousity, modesty and miracles...

A famous story tells that visiting a certain inn Nicholas descovered that the innkeeper had the habit of stealing small children, kill them and serve them to his guests. Finally Nicholas found a case containing the bodies of three kids and on the sign of the cross rescued them back to life. In honour of this story Nicholas became the patron saint of small children.

The reason why Nicholas became patron saint of sailors and travellers is that on a voyage to the Holy Land the boat on which Nicholas was sailing was about to be wreck by the violent waves of a sea storm. Nicholas made the storm calm down, saving the boat.

But the most famous story is the one that generate the legend of Santa Claus! Having heard about a nobleman who had lost all his havings, Nicholas decided to provide a dowry for his three daughters. He secretly threw, through a window of the man house, a bag full of gold for each girl . Nicholas was descovered while throwing the third bag, but begged the nobleman not to reveal the thrut. For this story Nicholas became also the patron saint of girls without dowry.

Being St. Nicholas day on th 6th of December, close to Christmas day, his story was compared to the one of the Magi. Gradually Nicholas merged with the Christmas story and became familiar with the name of Santa Claus. Indeed is on his feast day that, in many countries, little presents and candies are given to children. In the Republic of Slovacchia for example on the night of the 5th Dec children polish their shoes to find filled of presents and candies on the following morning. Very symilar is the Italian tradition of the Epiphany, on 6th January... a kind old woman who flyes her brume and from chimney to chimney brings presents and candies to the children. Instead of the shoes in Italy we traditionally use sox.

On the 9 May In 1087, some Italian merchant steal the body of St. Nicholas in Myra and brought it to Bari, in Puglia (southern Italy) when on the 22 June 1197 a great Basilica was consecrated to the saint.

In Rome, in past times, there were 34 churches dedicated to St. Nicholas (the total number of churches is of nearly 400) of which only three survive today. The most ancient is the one of St. Nicola in Carcere (on Via del Mare), another is on Via dei Prefetti and a third on Largo Febo, near Piazza Navona with fine frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto (beginning of 18th century). Various is his iconography... always represented holding three bags or balls (recalling the story of the three girls) often is portrayed with children, a anchor or with a seaport on the background (again to recall his patronages). Saint Nicholas is also patron saint of loyers, traders, spice-dealers, perfumery-dealers and victims of judicial mistakes.

12-19-2003, 04:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
~springrain Banned Location: central USA	Here's another one I found... - NERONE NEWSLETTER 2003 - Saint Nicholaus... Santa Claus! by Sergio Caggia - © Nerone The Insider's Guide to Rome The 6th December is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Regarded by historians as a purely legenday character, Nicholas is supposed to have lived in the fourth century AD. Born in Patara (Turky) from a welthy family Nicholas was made priest by his uncle the Archbishop of Myra. At the death of his parents Nicholas gaved all his havings to the poor and went to Palestine. Returning to Myra was made Bishop. According to legend the Archbishop of that seaport had just died and the local clergy had decided that the firs priest entering the chuech on the following morning would be made bishop. That was Nicholas who then became the Bishop of Myra. Many are the stories around the figure of St. Nicholas, indeed made saint because of his generousity, modesty and miracles... A famous story tells that visiting a certain inn Nicholas descovered that the innkeeper had the habit of stealing small children, kill them and serve them to his guests. Finally Nicholas found a case containing the bodies of three kids and on the sign of the cross rescued them back to life. In honour of this story Nicholas became the patron saint of small children. The reason why Nicholas became patron saint of sailors and travellers is that on a voyage to the Holy Land the boat on which Nicholas was sailing was about to be wreck by the violent waves of a sea storm. Nicholas made the storm calm down, saving the boat. But the most famous story is the one that generate the legend of Santa Claus! Having heard about a nobleman who had lost all his havings, Nicholas decided to provide a dowry for his three daughters. He secretly threw, through a window of the man house, a bag full of gold for each girl . Nicholas was descovered while throwing the third bag, but begged the nobleman not to reveal the thrut. For this story Nicholas became also the patron saint of girls without dowry. Being St. Nicholas day on th 6th of December, close to Christmas day, his story was compared to the one of the Magi. Gradually Nicholas merged with the Christmas story and became familiar with the name of Santa Claus. Indeed is on his feast day that, in many countries, little presents and candies are given to children. In the Republic of Slovacchia for example on the night of the 5th Dec children polish their shoes to find filled of presents and candies on the following morning. Very symilar is the Italian tradition of the Epiphany, on 6th January... a kind old woman who flyes her brume and from chimney to chimney brings presents and candies to the children. Instead of the shoes in Italy we traditionally use sox. On the 9 May In 1087, some Italian merchant steal the body of St. Nicholas in Myra and brought it to Bari, in Puglia (southern Italy) when on the 22 June 1197 a great Basilica was consecrated to the saint. In Rome, in past times, there were 34 churches dedicated to St. Nicholas (the total number of churches is of nearly 400) of which only three survive today. The most ancient is the one of St. Nicola in Carcere (on Via del Mare), another is on Via dei Prefetti and a third on Largo Febo, near Piazza Navona with fine frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto (beginning of 18th century). Various is his iconography... always represented holding three bags or balls (recalling the story of the three girls) often is portrayed with children, a anchor or with a seaport on the background (again to recall his patronages). Saint Nicholas is also patron saint of loyers, traders, spice-dealers, perfumery-dealers and victims of judicial mistakes.