Hagios Nikolaos died in 350AD, birth date unknown. Nick and I stayed in Myra and I
can claim to have sat on his tomb! There are no documents in existence but
countless legends abound in both Western and Eastern Churches. He was born in
Patara Anatolia in what is now present day Turkey and became the Greek Bishop of
Myra. His parents died when he was young and he was raised by his uncle the
Bishop of Patara. He was left well-off and devoted himself to charitable acts which
may account for the legend of gift giving, saving three sisters from starvation by
dropping bags of gold through their window one night. He performed many miracles
and became famous far and wide. He was a great traveller visiting Palestine and
Egypt and is reputed to have attended the Council of Nicea in 325 but his name is
not mentioned in later writings on the gathering.
By the tenth century an anonymous Greek proclaimed that the West as well as
the East worshipped and glorified him. His name is revered in villages, towns, churches,
countries and of course children all over the Western world. His greatest popularity is in
Russia and he is also the Patron Saint of Greece, Sicily, the Loraine and Apulia. He
became a Saint long before the Catholic Church canonized people in the tenth century.

When the Saracens took over Myra several Italian cities saw the opportunity of acquiring
relics from his Myra tomb and his bones were divided between Bari and Venice to be
venerated today in their two cathedrals. His heart is reputed to have remained in his
Myra tomb so I guess I sat on it!
In the late Middle Ages four hundred churches in England were dedicated to him and
Christian artists have painted him more frequently than any other saint except for Mary.
The giving of presents in his name grew up in Germany, Switzerland and the
Netherlands on his Saint’s Day 6th December and also Christmas Eve obviously as the
Magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus. He was popularized in America by the Dutch
Protestants of New Amsterdam who converted the popish name of Nicholas to Sint
Klaes = Santa Claus. The name Santa Claus, Father Christmas, St Nicholas
incorporates many Christian and pagan traditions so let’s look at him today. He is no
longer the face and figure of the marvellous Greek Orthodox Saint seen in medieval
paintings and icons.

  • His beard – Orthodox Church – Persian Priests (Maji) – white shows he is aged
  • Costume – Mitred hat and robes-Orthodox and Maji – Fur- from the North in
    Finland he wears a full fur coat down to his ankles
  • Gifts – Saturnalia – the Maji -St Nicholas either brought down the chimney, left
    under the tree, in shoes, or in person in Finland and not forgetting the stockings
    hung with care over the fireplace – pagan
  • Reindeer – Scandinavian myths – the magic is an American add on!
  • North Pole – He lives in the North – Scandinavian folklore and pagan
  • Celebrations on December 6th (his Saint’s Day), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,
    New Years Eve and January 6th.

Clement Moore popularized him in America in 1822 with a ‘Visit from St. Nicholas’
(note not Santa Claus or Sint Klaes). The famous illustrator, Thomas Nast, a Bavarian
illustrator drew him for Harper’s Weekly well into the 20 th century when Haddon
Sundblom the illustrator for Coca Cola dressed him in red, holding a Coke bottle! He has appeared over the last few centuries in costumes of white, red, yellow, green, blue,
purple, pink, brown (rare) and even rarer still in black. All types of material from the
19th century were used to model him from papier-mâché, chenelle, mica, composition,
bisque, celluloid, cotton batting, cardboard, etc., etc. and then came plastic. Publications like Raymond Briggs’ ‘Father Christmas’ and Tolkien’s ‘Letters from Father Christmas’ were popular books in the 20 th century. .
All a far cry from the Orthodox St Nicholas, the father figure of Santa Claus.