History Matters
Saint Nicholas & Healing
I want to tell you about the most popular Christian who has ever lived. He is known not only by Christians throughout history, but he is known by Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and even atheists in every country in the world. He is historically celebrated on December 6th, the day he died, and this day is called throughout the world, The Feast of Saint Nicholas. He is important to history, religion, and medicine because he was an advocate of healing poor persons, especially poor children, and was known for healing others.
How many of you have ever told a younger brother or sister or some other younger kid you didn’t really like that “There is no such thing as Santa Claus!” ? I am here this to tell you that you were wrong:
1. Santa Claus was a real person.
2. Santa Claus was a bishop of the ancient Christian Church.
3. Santa Claus’ real story has been replaced by a fairy tale.
Let’s start with the name, Santa Claus. Santa means “Saint”.
And Claus or Klaus is a nickname for “Nicholas”. This is why Santa Claus is referred to as “St. Nick”. Santa Claus is the same name as Saint Nicholas.
Who is the real Saint Nicholas?
・ His name was Nicholas (named after his Uncle)
・ He lived in the 4th century (while Christians were still being persecuted by the Roman government)
・ His parents were wealthy but both died while Nicholas was a boy.
・ Even as a teenager, he was known for his virtuous character by helping the poor.
Most popular story of 3 young girls & 3 bags of gold
・ 3 young daughters, very poor, could be sold into slavery/prostitution.
・ At night, Nicholas secretly put a bag of gold into socks/stockings x 3.
1. Nicholas protected women
2. Nicholas provided for poor (especially children)
3. Nicholas read, taught & lived by the Christian scriptures.
“True religion that God our Father accepts as pure is to look after orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)
Saint Nicholas was in Prison
Nicholas became famous for his love & charity. He became a pastor and then later a bishop of many churches. The Roman Emperor, named Diocletian was well known for his hatred and punishment of Christians. Diocletian had Nicholas thrown into prison for several years because of his religious faith and example.
Saint Nicholas Hit another Bishop at the Council of Nicea
However, a new emperor named Constantine came along and freed the imprisoned Chris-tians, including Nicholas. Constantine proclaimed that all of the empire would become Christian. But there was a controversy among some of the Christian leadership. There was a Bishop named Arius that was spreading a very popular heresy that Jesus was God but not man, that he just had the appearance of a man. At a Church council at Nicea in 325AD, the Christian church leaders got together to discuss this controversy. Nicholas became so angry listening to Arius speak, that Nicholas hit him (“slapped”?) and was removed from the council. But because of Nicholas’ stand, the Church rejected Arius’ false teaching and devel-oped the Nicean Creed as a basic statement of Christian belief. If it were not for this council and creed, and Nicholas’ stand; it is certainly possible that Christianity may not have sur-vived at least as we know it. Saint Nicholas stood his ground.
Saint Nicholas Throughout History
Nicholas’ fame spread far and wide, even after his death on December 6 (when the Church remembers him). His love for God and his love for the poor was an example to the whole world. He became known in almost every country. There were countries like Greece and Russia where Kings and Czars were named after this Christian man.
From Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus
So how did Nicholas, an ascetic holy Christian bishop who fasted and prayed and served the poor; get turned into a fat elf who smokes a pipe and drinks Coca-Cola?
For over 1,500 years Nicholas was known for his Christian faith. But in the early 1900’s an English professor named Clement Moore, made up a poem for his children called “Twas the Night before Christmas” in which St. Nick was a mythical elf. Later, a New York cartoonist , named Thomas Nash, drew cartoons of this mythical elf . And almost overnight, the Saint Nicholas who was a pastor with Bishop’s vestments, a cross on his hat, and a cross around his neck with a shepherd’s staff—had his crosses taken off; the hat and clothes morphed into those clothes of an elf, his staff became a candy cane, and his Bible became a book list-ing naughty and nice children. Saint Nicholas was stripped of all things Christian.
So now you know some of the real story of the real man behind Santa Claus. The holidays of Santa Claus were once the Holy Days of Saint Nicholas. And the day of gifts for ourselves, were once a day of social and personal healing for the poor, the suffering, and children to name a few. December 6th, the day of his death, was has been the “Feast of Saint Nicholas” for 16 centuries—but has become “absorbed” and virtually forgotten in modern Christmas. The Feast of Saint Nicholas was a day of social healing.
Saint Nicholas had 3 bags of gold that he put into the stockings over the fireplace of 3 poor young girls and saved their lives. We have 3 weeks left before Christmas. Pretend that each week, you have a bag of gold that you want to put into the stocking of someone who is poor or in need.
This “bag of gold” you have each week can be:
・ actual money that you carry with you as you look for an opportunity to give it away….to someone who forgot their lunch, to someone collecting money for a charity, for someone on the street…
・ your “bag of gold” could be a gift of time that you spend at a nursing home, or with a shut-in neighbor, or with an organization that helps children or the poor (Operation Christmas Child).
・ your “bag of gold” could be a gift of attitude….someone that gets made fun of or isn’t in-cluded in the same way as more popular students or persons in your social circles…talk to them and be with them and invite them in to your circle at lunch or wherever you are.
・ Like Saint Nicholas, do not let others see as you give your bag of gold away to people in need.
GIVE AWAY THE TREASURES of MONEY, TIME, ATTITUDE AND LIKE THE REAL ST NICHO-LAS USE THIS TIME AS A HOLIDAY TO HEAL OTHERS.