Santa Claus' Christian beginnings

Some people might have a problem acknowledging Jesus during the season that bears His name. Those same folks most likely don’t have a problem with Santa Claus. But would Santa have a problem with leaving Christ out of Christmas?

Santa Claus is based on a real person known as St. Nicholas. The tradition started with Nicholas of Myra, a town in 4th century Greece where he was a bishop in the Christian church. Nicholas was part of the First Council of Nicaea under Constantine. As a strong defender of orthodoxy, he was one of the bishops who put his signature to the Nicene Creed.

Nicholas had a great concern for the poor of his region. One miracle attributed to him involved making a deal with sailors unloading grain from their ships. He told them if they would allot a large portion for the poor, they would still have the exact amount necessary to fulfill their obligation to the emperor. The sailors took Nicholas at his word, provided the poor with a substantial amount of grain (a two-year supply), and found their cargo had not been diminished 1 ounce.

The idea that Nicholas filled stockings with presents seems to be based in fact. The bishop wanted to anonymously help three daughters of a poor man by providing each with a sizable dowry. Back then, if a woman didn’t have money to attract a husband, she might remain single, which could, at the time, have meant destitution.

Late at night and on separate occasions, Nicholas dropped bags of gold coins through an open window of the poor man’s house, and some of the treasure accidentally fell into stockings that were drying as they hung from the windowsill. The last time Nicholas came around for his charity drop, the father caught him in the act. When the dad wanted to thank Nicholas, the bishop told him the thanks belonged to God alone.

Listen to Albin Sadar’s “Offbeat Newsbeat” report on St. Nicholas on The World and Everything in It: