Santa Claus
Every December 24thmillions of Americans leave out cookies and milk for a bearded, fat man dressed in red. We see him in malls and in parades, who is this man and where did he come from? Some say that the original Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas but the problem is that these two men are completely different people. The idea of Santa Claus may have come from St. Nicholas but they should not be thought of as the same person.
St. Nicholas lived in what is now Turkey in the 4thcentury. He had wealthy parents and was raised a Christian. His parents died while he was still a boy and left him a lot of money. St. Nicholas gave away all the money his parents gave him to the poor, the sick and the needy. He even sold what he had to help those less fortunate than him.
St. Nicholas dedicated his whole life to God while he was still a young man. In this time Christians were heavily persecuted and so Nicholas suffered for his practice of Christianity. St. Nicholas was made Bishop of Myra when he was still a young adult. Because Christians were so persecuted Nicholas was put in prison for his faith. He was later released and died on December 6th, 325 AD.
There are many stories of St. Nicholas that tell of many good deeds he has done. One story helps us understand why he is thought as a gift giver and where the idea of stocking stuffers came from. There was a poor man who had three daughters and the three daughters needed a dowry to offer possible husbands. Without dowries these three daughters were going to become slaves. Mysteriously three different times bags of gold were thrown through their window at night. The bags of gold landed in the stockings hanging on the fireplace to dry.
{draw:frame} For many years after St. Nicholas’ died the day of his death, December 6thwas celebrated as St. Nicolas day. The Protestants that came to America were against saints because they come from the Catholic religion. St. Nicholas day was always practiced in Europe....