Ho Ho Ho!! We all love Santa Claus, don't we? After all, he's the giver of Christmas gifts who distributes them throughout the world from a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. How cool is that? Yes, indeed, a true miracle worker. But he's also a remarkably joyful one. We all remember how Clement Moore described him:
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,Moore, of course, was a product of the 19th century, when a "round belly" and a pipe signaled prosperity and amiability. Since then things have certainly changed. My doctor, for example, a 21st-century man of science, would be all over poor Santa:
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
"You, my not so little friend, are obese. First of all, stop eating all the cookies those enablers leave for you. And cut out that whole milk."No? Well, since you seem to have little self-control, a lifestyle change is in order. Get out of that sleigh and show me 10,000 steps every day. Stop this foolish gift-giving and all your problems will go away.
"And your smoking! Don't you realize it's killing you? If you don't care about your own health, just think of the effects of second-hand smoke on all those children.
"It's really quite simple: diet, exercise, healthy lifestyle choices...the keys to a long life. How old are you, anyway?"
How old? Well, the real St. Nicholas was born in the late third century, which would make him about 1,750 years old. Sadly, though, he died at the age of 73 in the year 343, on December 6, the day we celebrate as St. Nicholas Day.
As the Bishop of Myra (now Demre in modern Turkey), Nicholas was known for his love for the poor and his generosity, particularly his secret gift giving. This is likely the source of the Santa Claus legend with which he is associated. Other Nicholas legends abound. He calmed storms at sea, saved soldiers from unjust execution, and even resurrected three children who had been murdered. There is no evidence, though, that he was either chubby or a smoker. (Indeed, smoking was unknown in Europe at the time and we can thank the tribes of the Americas for passing along that vice to Europeans.)
According to some early writers, Nicholas had been imprisoned during the persecutions under Diocletian but was freed after Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan (313) and allowed Christianity to flourish.
Many of these same sources describe a very un-Santa-like event that apparently took place during the Church's first ecumenical council at Nicaea in 325. Arius, a priest from Alexandria who had been spreading heretical doctrine on the nature of Jesus Christ, was invited to the council to defend his teachings. As Bishop Nicholas listened to Arius, he became increasingly agitated by the heretical attacks on the truth about his Lord and Savior. Unable to stomach it any longer, Nicholas rose to his feeet, approached Arius, and slapped his face.
Personally, I have no problem with this, but the Emperor and Nicholas' fellow bishops thought it was grossly impolite behavior, even though delivered to a heretic. Nicholas was stripped of his bishop's vestments, put in chains, and tossed into prison. The bishops decided they would deal with him when the council concluded.
In his prison cell, Nicholas asked God for forgiveness but didn't waver in his belief about the dangers of Arius' heretical teachings. (He was certainly right about that, since Arianism went on to divide the Christian world for centuries.) That night, Jesus and the Virgin Mary both appeared to Nicholas. They presented him with a bishop's stole and the Book of the Gospels, which he read for the rest of the night. In the morning the jailer found him unchained, dressed as a bishop, and peacefully reading the Gospels. Learning of this, Constantine freed Nicholas and reinstated him as Bishop of Myra. The Council of Nicaea went on to condemn Arius' heretical teachings and gave us the gift of the Nicene Creed, which we confess together every week at Sunday Mass.
How much of the St. Nicholas story is true? We really don't know, but I prefer to believe it all.
Next December, when you and the kids (or grandkids) encounter Santa at the local mall, why not take a moment to thank him for slapping down heresy at Nicaea? Who knows? He just might be the real St. Nicholas.
As the Bishop of Myra (now Demre in modern Turkey), Nicholas was known for his love for the poor and his generosity, particularly his secret gift giving. This is likely the source of the Santa Claus legend with which he is associated. Other Nicholas legends abound. He calmed storms at sea, saved soldiers from unjust execution, and even resurrected three children who had been murdered. There is no evidence, though, that he was either chubby or a smoker. (Indeed, smoking was unknown in Europe at the time and we can thank the tribes of the Americas for passing along that vice to Europeans.)
According to some early writers, Nicholas had been imprisoned during the persecutions under Diocletian but was freed after Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan (313) and allowed Christianity to flourish.
Many of these same sources describe a very un-Santa-like event that apparently took place during the Church's first ecumenical council at Nicaea in 325. Arius, a priest from Alexandria who had been spreading heretical doctrine on the nature of Jesus Christ, was invited to the council to defend his teachings. As Bishop Nicholas listened to Arius, he became increasingly agitated by the heretical attacks on the truth about his Lord and Savior. Unable to stomach it any longer, Nicholas rose to his feeet, approached Arius, and slapped his face.
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| St. Nicholas adds Arius to his Naughty List |
In his prison cell, Nicholas asked God for forgiveness but didn't waver in his belief about the dangers of Arius' heretical teachings. (He was certainly right about that, since Arianism went on to divide the Christian world for centuries.) That night, Jesus and the Virgin Mary both appeared to Nicholas. They presented him with a bishop's stole and the Book of the Gospels, which he read for the rest of the night. In the morning the jailer found him unchained, dressed as a bishop, and peacefully reading the Gospels. Learning of this, Constantine freed Nicholas and reinstated him as Bishop of Myra. The Council of Nicaea went on to condemn Arius' heretical teachings and gave us the gift of the Nicene Creed, which we confess together every week at Sunday Mass.
How much of the St. Nicholas story is true? We really don't know, but I prefer to believe it all.
Next December, when you and the kids (or grandkids) encounter Santa at the local mall, why not take a moment to thank him for slapping down heresy at Nicaea? Who knows? He just might be the real St. Nicholas.
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