(Disclaimer: Virtually everything here was borrowed, copied, or otherwise taken from here, but mine is shorter and, in my opinion, more fun to read.)
As we prepare for our final approach to Christmas, I thought it appropriate to take a look at the man behind the red parka. In
the grey space between legend and history lives the real life, rotund, sleigh
flyer. Although, his girth is as
questionable as every other characteristic of the man who may, or may not, have
actually lived. While St. Nicholas is
intensely popular in both the Greek and Roman Church, there is not a single
historical document testifying to his existence. Nevertheless, for what it’s worth, here’s
what we can piece together about the real life, legendary, factual, mythical,
historically ambiguous, Santa Claus.
He was born
to a wealthy family around 300 A.D., but after his parents’ deaths he gave away
all of his inheritance. Tales of his
legendary miracle working include resurrecting three girls after an innkeeper
beheaded them and pickled them in a tub of brine. (Put that on your Christmas card!) Such miracles led to him being made bishop of
Myra (in Turkey), but due to early persecution of the Church, he was imprisoned
until Constantine legalized Christianity.
He was released from prison at the height of the Arian controversy, a
teaching that denies the divinity of Christ.
As the story goes, Jolly old St. Nicholas traveled to the Council of Nicaea
and physically slapped Arius in the face.
The lyric comes to mind, “he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be
good for goodness sake!” The other
bishops of the council were shocked by his rude behavior and stripped him of
his bishopness until Jesus and Mary appeared at his side, at which time he was
instantly reinstated. At this point, I’d
like to point out that the Council of Nicaea did in fact excommunicate Arius,
but they kept impeccable notes and Nicholas is nowhere mentioned.
What we
know to be fact is that by the year 565 a church in Constantinople was built to
bear his name. In the 900’s, both the
Eastern and Western churches reverenced his memory (or legend). In medieval times, he was depicted by more
artists than any saint other than Mary, and in the Middle Ages, more than 400
churches in England bore his name. In
the Germanic countries, his legends became so mixed with Norse mythology that
it is impossible to separate him from the pagan god Odin. While his radical stand for dogmatism was
diminished in common memory, the legends of his generosity grew. For example, another version of the pickled
girl story was that the girls were to be sold into prostitution. The man in red purchased their freedom by
throwing bags of gold (most likely from his inheritance) through their windows. Thus, Nick-the-extravagant-gift-giver took
center stage.
When the
Reformation came in the mid 16th century, all protestant countries
squelched the St. Nick legend, save Holland.
There, he was known as Sinterklass.
In Germany, Martin Luther emphasized the ultimate Christmas gift-giver,
the Christ Child, or in German, Christkindl.
Over the years this came to be pronounced, Kris Kringle.
And it came
to pass that in the soup of Christian culture, the story of Jesus, the legend
of an ancient bishop, and the myth of a Viking god, were morphed into a single
household name. From miracles, to
extravagant gift giving, to slapping heretics in the face, this is the legend
of Santa Claus. One Christmas story that
has remained unchanged is that “she will bear a son, and you shall call his
name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Martin Luther was right. Jesus is the ultimate gift-giver!
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