Happy St. Nicholas Day.
Stories of St. Nicholas laid the foundation for tales of Santa Claus
by Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
The Grand Rapids Press www.mlive.com/
Today, Dec. 6, is the Feast of St. Nicholas, according to the liturgical church calendar.
Nikolaos of Myra was a bishop in Asia Minor in the early fourth century who become known for secret gift giving, and over the centuries the stories of “Good St. Nick” became the model for Santa Claus.
According to one of the most-told tales about about St. Nicholas, there was a poor man with three daughters of marriageable age, but the father could not afford a dowry to give each away in marriage. In those days, there was the danger that an unmarried woman might end up as a prostitute in order to survive.
St. Nicholas, wishing to help the man without embarrassing him publicly, went to his house during the night and threw three purses of gold through a window.
In some variations of the tale, St. Nicholas climbed on the roof and dropped the small sack of gold down a chimney where it landed inside a newly washed stocking, hung over the embers to dry.
In other versions, St. Nicholas went over three separate evenings, and after two nights of mysterious gifts, the father stayed awake on the third night in hopes of discovering the identity of the secret gift giver.
That was the beginning of the story of Santa Claus, Sinterklaas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and all other names by which he's known.
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