Saint Nicholas, Biography Of Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus began with a character that not many know: San Nicolás de Bari for the West and San Nicolás de Mira for the East. This was a character who really existed and who, as his name says, was declared a saint because of his life story and because of the miracles attributed to him.

In principle, the Christmas party  began to be associated with the figure of Saint Nicholas. Over time, this figure that gave gifts to children and appeared on Christmas Eve began to be called Santa Claus in some countries. Then, taking his figure and part of his history, the character called Santa Clauss was created, which has little relationship with the commemoration of the birth of Jesus in a manger.

Currently, almost no one relates Saint Nicholas to Christmas, but the figure of Santa Claus is more present. The tradition of giving gifts to children on Christmas Eve, in commemoration of the Christian nativity, ceased to be strictly Catholic and became more commercial.

Who was Saint Nicholas?

It is known that Saint Nicholas was born in the year 280 of our era, in the town of Mira, which is currently part of Turkey.

Those were times when Christians were still persecuted, but their parents professed that religion. The father  was a prosperous merchant who dreamed of his son following in his footsteps. The mother, on the other hand, wanted Nicolás to be a priest like his uncle.

In any case, from a young age he was taught to share everything he had with those most in need. It happened that in that place there was a terrible plague epidemic and the parents, Christians as they were, charitably cared for the sick. Unfortunately, they both caught the disease and died.

When this happened, Nicolás, who was heir to all the assets, distributed everything he had among the poorest. Then he went to find his uncle and became a monk. By then he was only 19 years old. Since then, he devoted himself to religion.

A hunted man

It is said that he made a trip to the Holy Land and then returned to his native Mira. At that time, the bishop, his uncle, had died. The priests argued who should be the prelate’s successor, but could not agree.

To settle the matter, they said that the next priest to enter the temple would be made a bishop . And the next to enter was Saint Nicholas, who was dressed in red.

The new bishop was noted for his enormous kindness and his detachment. However, an imperial decree was issued that again ordered the persecution of Christians and Saint Nicholas had to go through his great vicissitudes. Despite this, it is said that he never lost his sense of humor and laughed loudly frequently.

Finally, Saint Nicholas was arrested and imprisoned for about 30 years, during which time he maintained his joy and goodness. When Emperor Constantine began to rule, he ordered his release. By then he was already an old man with a white beard and when he got out of jail he went immediately to Mira; It arrived just as the community was celebrating Christmas. Everyone celebrated his arrival.

The legend of Santa Claus

It is said that when Saint Nicholas was bishop he learned of a poor man who had three daughters, who could not marry because they did not have a dowry.

To remedy this situation, the saint went at night and without anyone seeing him, he deposited a bag of coins in the girls’ socks, who were lying drying themselves. Thus they all managed to marry.

Legend also says that a group of children were stabbed by criminals. Saint Nicholas witnessed the event and prayed for the boys, who were immediately healed. It is also said that he was able to graze the seas and that he had a special affection for the little ones.

How did Saint Nicholas become Santa Claus or Father Christmas? In Holland the feast of Saint Nicholas was celebrated in December, but its name in Dutch is Sinterklaas . When the Dutch immigrants arrived in the United States, the Americans, following a bad pronunciation, transformed the Sinterklaas into Santa Claus.

Meanwhile, in France, he began to be called Santa Claus because of the physical resemblance he had with a popular culture character named Bonhomme Noël. Thus, various legends emerged from the same character that, in any case, have their kind and joyful presence in common at Christmas.