Behind today's mythical story Santa Claus from the North Pole is a real St Nicholas. How he came to be today's gift-goving jolly figure is a fascinating story all by itself.
Santa Claus will soon be coming bringing gifts for the children. Santa has several alliances depending on what part of the world you live. The English call him Father Christrmas. the French Pere Noel and Kristkind is the version of German Lutherans.
In the Netherlands he arrives on a steamboat. On the 5th of December Dutch children put their shoes on the hearth, these days near the central heating hoping that Santa will fill them with sweet treats rather than reprimand them for bad behaviour.
The Dutch call him Sinter Klaus which has become the English Santa Claus short for Saint Nicholas. He is hisrorically the same man. But unlike the jolly figure who flies in a sleigh, from the North Pole the Saint came from the Medditerranian coast.
As a historian who has written books about ancient saints it is recommended against reading accounts anbout saints' lives as factual history. However. the earliest stories of Saint Nicholas seem to coencide with the hisrory and church documents of the period.
According to these early medeval texts Nicholas was born around 260 AD into a Chrisrian family. His birthplace was the town of Myris now called Demre in modern Turkey. At the time Chrisranity was illegal under the Roman Empire.
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He studied to be a priest and spent time in prison for his beliefs. After Emperor Constantine came into power and legalized Christianity Nicholas was credited Bishop of Myra. During his lifetime he defended people from imperial taxes and other offences. According to the earliest documents about Nicholas he savcd three loyal generals for unjust execution for treason. A 9th century Greek legend claimes he saved three scholars and also saved four girls whose poverty-stricken father wanted to sell them into prostitution.
After his death, people believed that Nicholas continued to work miracles. His burial place, below the flour of the church, became a popular destination for pilgrims who begged Nicholas to relay their petitions to God.
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