Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - December 10, 2006
This past week we celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas who has become known as Santa Claus. As Christmas draws near, and our children eagerly await that night when Santa Claus comes down the chimney, I thought I would share with you some information about the original Santa Claus. This might be good also to share with your children.

St. Nicholas the Gift Giver
December 6 marks feast day of the original Santa Claus
St. Nicholas lived a life of generosity, kindness and compassion that continues to resonate today – 1,600 years after his death.
He is the patron saint of children, of sailors, bankers, scholars, orphans and laborers, and the protector of people in trouble.
To children, to whom he was unceasingly kind, he is St. Nicholas the Gift Giver – model for modern-day Santa Claus – and still today they set out their freshly shined shoes on December 5, the eve of his feast day, eager for his modest treats of candies and fruits.
Nicholas is second in popularity only to the Blessed Mother as the subject for artists’ depictions of Christian figures.
While Nicholas is popular in the West, in eastern Catholic and Orthodox faiths he is accorded great veneration.
When Russian Czar Vladimir I brought devotion to St. Nicholas to his country, the saint soon became greatly revered, with more than 2,000 churches named after him.
The Orthodox see in him “an authentically holy zeal” and praise Nicholas the Wonderworker for his “extraordinary Christian mercy.”
As a priest, St. Nicholas “added ascetic labors to ascetic labors, keeping vigil and remaining in unceasing prayer and fasting,” as the church teaches.
He remains a model for generosity and caring for the poor.
Nicholas was born in third-century Patara, a Greek community in southern Turkey, to wealthy Christian parents who died young.
He became bishop of Myra, a port on the Mediterranean in Lycia, and quickly gained a reputation for holiness, known in particular for his concern for children and mariners.
Under Emperor Diocletian, Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned. He died on December 6, 343, and was buried in his cathedral church.
His tomb became a popular pilgrimage site, but fears of frequent conflicts led followers to relocate it. In 1087, sailors brought the remains to Bari in southeast Italy, where the Basilica di San Nicola was built over his crypt. It remains a popular pilgrimage site.
Legends have kept St. Nicholas alive through the centuries. The best-known story concerns a poor man with three daughters who could not provide them with dowries.
One night, someone threw a bag filled with gold coins through his window, enabling the oldest daughter to marry. This happened twice more as the younger sisters reached marrying age.
The bags of gold, by tradition, landed in shoes left near the fireplace to dry. This led to the custom of children leaving their shoes to await gifts from Nicholas.
Today, tensions between the modest, spiritual celebration of St. Nicholas’s feast day and the excesses of modern Christmas gift-giving continue to rankle in some areas of the world. And St. Nicholas is losing.
In Slavic Eastern Europe, commercialization surrounding Christmas has been growing since the fall of communism.
Teresa Bogucka, an editor in Poland, told Catholic News Service that St. Nicholas has become associated exclusively with consumer goods.
“This readiness to place ourselves in the universal melange of American-style pop culture suggests a lack of reflection,” she said.
Assen, a town in northern Netherlands, several years ago went so far as to ban Santa Claus in an attempt to preserve the ancient Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas, according to CNS.
Sinterklaas visits on the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas. Traditionally, he rides on a white horse to distribute his gifts.
Dutch children put out their shoes and are told they will be carried off to Spain in Sinterklaas’ sack if they are naughty.
Dutch immigrants took Sinterklaas – later pronounced Santa Claus – with them as they arrived in this country.
But popular culture is transforming Christmas into the Netherlands’ main winter festival, and most Dutch families now get two rounds of presents, December. 25, a public holiday, has begun to eclipse St. Nicholas’s feast.
But the feast day remains popular in Europe.
In Croatia, children clean their shoes and put them on a windowsill. During the night, Svet Nikola fills them with sweets if they have been good. But his companion, Krampus, leaves twigs for bad children.
In Slovakia, Svaty Mikul fills shoes of good children with candy, fruit and gifts on this main day for gift -giving in much of Europe.
In Germany and Poland, boys dress as bishops and beg for alms for the poor. In France and Belgium, Nicholas arrives on a donkey; in Germany and Poland he comes with angels.
A Web site, www.stnicholascenter.org, covers traditions in many countries.

My Christmas Wreath
I made a beautiful Christmas wreath
of the blessings that I share,
wrapped ‘round with love from every friend
and filled with heartfelt care.
My friends have been such gifts to me –
each in a special way –
and I would like to let them know,
in honor of Christmas Day.
Some bring FAITH in times of doubt
and some bring HOPE to me;
some bring LOVE that casts out fear
and sets my spirit free.
With some I’ve laughed, with some I’ve danced,
as JOY is theirs to give.
From some I’ve learned of inner PEACE
and a simpler way to live.
My wreath entwines the gifts
of all the caring folks I know. . .
I weave a ribbon of love around
and tie it in a bow.
I’ll take my wreath to the Little Child
as I speak to Him in prayer,
and ask for Christmas blessings
for my good friends everywhere!
- Camille A. Balla

A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust

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www.sfcabriniparish.org