By: Devynn Brown
As Christmas is approaching it is only fit to write about the father of Christmas, Santa Claus.
St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century in Turkey. He was very rich after his parents died and left him their fortune when he was young. He was a very generous man and upheld a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it.
As society noticed his acts of kindness he was made a Saint. St. Nicholas is not only the saint of children but also of sailors, “One story tells of him helping some sailors that were caught in a dreadful storm off the coast of Turkey. The storm was raging around them and all the men were terrified that their ship would sink beneath the giant waves. They prayed to St. Nicholas to help them. Suddenly, he was standing on the deck before them. He ordered the sea to be calm, the storm died away, and they were able to sail their ship safely to port.” (whychristmas.com).
St. Nicholas was exiled from Turkey and later put in prison during the persecution by the Emperor Diocletian. No one really knows when he died, but it was on December 6th in either 345 or 352. In 1087, his bones were stolen from Turkey by some Italian merchant sailors. The bones are now kept in the Church named after him in the Italian port of Bari.
In the UK, particularly in England, he became ‘Father Christmas’ or ‘Old Man Christmas’, an old character from stories plays during the Middle Ages.
In the early USA, his name was ‘Kris Kringle’. Later, Dutch settlers in the USA took the old stories of St. Nicholas with them and Kris Kringle and St. Nicholas became ‘Sinterklaas’ or as we now say ‘Santa Claus’.
The UK Father Christmas and the American Santa Claus became more entwined and then the same.
Some people say that Santa lives at the North Pole. In Finland, they say that he lives in the north part of their country called Lapland.
Santa Claus makes his way across the world with his reindeer delivering gifts of joy to good children.
Enjoy your break and thank St. Nicholas who’s generosity inspired many nations!
Sources were: https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml
Devynn Brown
Devynn Brown'22 is a second year Gigantea member. She enjoys writing stories on trendy to serious topics. Uncovering stories and spreading the new found knowledge to the world is her passion.
Tags: christmas, column, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, santaclaus, stnicholas, throwbackthursday
