Saint Nicholas of Myre, Constantinople (now Demre, Turkey)
Say it five times Fast-Saint Nicholas- do you hear Santa Claus? That is who it is. This French postcard shows a popular conception of this Bishop from the fourth century in Constantinople, whose Feast day in the church is actually December 6th. In more modern times people have conflated the Christmas Santa Claus with Saint Nicholas Day so Santa Claus visits giving gifts like the Magi on Christmas for many Western believers. The Orthodox Christian world often separated this day from the day of visitation of the Magi (Wise Men) and thus Celebrate the birth of Christ in January near or on what others call Epiphany.
The fact that 'Santa Claus' was actually a real Bishop in the early fourth century church, living in and around year 333 AD is a little known fact to many. Why did his fame spread so far and wide that when after Constantinople fell, italian sailors secreted his remains to Bari, Italy whereafter a Basillica was erected to protect his relics? [Yes, you can really personally visit the real Santa Claus' remains in a Basillica on the Adriatic side in Italy.]
If you look at the Bishop's attire from the postcard above you will note a few interesting features that have been translated into modern lore in cartoonish fashion. The red Bishop's Mitre (cone head hat) has been translated as the triangle red Santa hat that we are all familiar with- people in Northern European and nordic countries no doubt appended the white snow ball on top because it is very snowy there! After enough statues of Saint Nicholas' with his red mitre were left out in the snow someone permanently affixed a snow ball, and later cockishly tipped the hat over into a fold. You get the picture. The Shepherd's staff is something that symbolizes Christ the Good Shepherd and is carried ceremonially by Bishops even to this day, and has been translated as a candy cane which you might find decorating Christmas trees in abundance or in the mouth of your three year old even if you tell him no candy until after dinner!!
The Gold Balls are a little different to explain- but have been translated as gold round ornaments on Christmas trees and sometimes as oranges or apples (any round reddish fruit-mangos) found in Christmas stockings. The Gold Balls and the Stockings go together.
Here's why: This real guy- let's call him little Nicky- lost his parents when he was rather young and came from wealthy parentage. He decided to become a priest and was determined to give away his inheritance out of the extreme generosity of his heart after Christ who gave everything-even his earthly life-to save others. He found a family of three sisters whose father was unable to pay their dowry for marriage. That meant horrendous heart ache for any family then because it meant that these girls would be sold into prostitution or 'slavery' as history has retold it. Sexual slavery- childhood sexual slavery in our modern day terms. Nicholas- being so appalled at that in the middle of the night went to their house and found as usual their washed stockings stuck hung under the window to dry as was the washing custom of the day. He threw solid gold balls and/or coins of such value in the stockings for each of them such that they had sufficient dowries to marry.
If he isn't already he should be the Patron Saint of Marriage. We think of him now as the patron saint of tacky toy sales. He is the Marriage Saint.
Now you know why there are Christmas trees decorated with gold ball ornaments.
And why people put up stockings that 'santa' stuffs with goodies on the mantle. And why Christmas Day is the best day to get engaged!
He is not just known to those in the know however, as the mysterious robin hoodish night prowler. He should also be the Patron Saint of the Hungry. At that time in Constantinople there was a major famine. Think of it as a stockmarket melt down recession of unheard of magnitude.
He convinced a ship that if they unloaded a huge amount of cargo in his town when it arrived at it's destination it would be as though none disappeared and they would meet their shipping manifold obligations. This occurred apparently-and he was able to feed far and wide for two years with what the ship left him. He was also able to stop a fiendish butcher from filling in the sparsity of the butcher's meat cabinet with the flesh and blood of a few kiddies he planned on boiling alive. This fiendish butcher assaulted three children, and threw them in a pot, heavily salted them unconscious apparently and was ready to boil them down to meat he could sell. The brave Bishop of Myre found them, prayed to God for their breath back, they came back to life and lived to tell about him far and wide.
He is the patron saint of Children for that reason. He is the Patron Saint of all those working against Child Abuse, Childhood exploitation and Childhood sexual slavery everywhere. If he isn't already, I just made him so. Like Jesus- he loves kids.
The Bishop of Myre, Saint Nicholas is apparently the gift that keeps on giving. His remains after he passed exuded some liquified form so regularly and strongly that it was termed "Saint Nicholas Manna" and was heavily sought after as a cure for diseases. When his remains were translated to Italy it kept on doing this. To this day I believe they are able to extract whatever this liquid is. To this day, it is said to cure diseases.
His remains are guarded by the Dominican order. The Dominicans guard Santa Claus.
Perhaps reason enough to rethink all the dogging of Dominicans so easy and popular to do these days. Perhaps after all they may be for Marriage. I shall say a prayer to Santa Claus. Perhaps I ought to write a letter to the North Pole care of Citta Vaticani.
Postscript afterthought:
More on Good Saint Nick: He should also be considered the Patron Saint of all political prisoners
of conscience because he was one and the patron saint of those who believe in Separation of Church and State-thus Patron Saint of American Constitutionalists, Particularly First Amendment scholars and proponents. This gets into a bit of doctrinal church history that may bore you, but here it is. During the first four centuries of the church there was a disagreement regarding the ontological nature of Jesus Christ, with a school of thought from Alexandria, Egypt and elsewhere which maintained that Jesus was not on any equal par with God the Father in any respect, while the Trinitarians, of which Saint Nick was a champion believed that Jesus was and is "one in being with the father" following the gospel of John in which it is stated that all things were created with him and through him from the very beginning. Ultimately it was decided as by a convention in Nicea that the Trinitarian view is the right one. the Nicene Creed said by christians everywhere affirms it. This battle was not an easily won battle and like all doctrinal purists, where religious doctrine becomes a matter of state importance when political power plays into it- there are people who want to throw the 'heretics' in jail. For his beliefs Saint Nicholas was thrown in prison over espousal of this Trinitarian Doctrine against the powerful interests of those who sought to diminish the ontological significance of Jesus. He did jail time, chained and bound, for nothing but his religious convictions.
Think about it. Google It. Because I think we need a statue of the good Bishop of Myre in the middle of the front steps of Saint Matthews- and elsewhere.
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