If Saint Nicholas had had a good team of lawyers, his morphing
into the Americanized-commercialized figure of Santa Clause might
never have happened. The frenzied November-through-January
“season” of constant shopping, consumption and greed might have
been avoided. Perhaps, even the non-religious (like myself) might be
gladly sharing in the spiritual dimension of a holiday season focused on
selfless giving and sacrifice for others. Such a season would deserve
to be named for the Baby Jesus, whose followers could then be nurturing
goodwill towards all, rather than fomenting culture war and nomenclature
If St. Nicholas did sue Santa, he’d have a sleigh-full of amici and character
witnesses in the battle against commericializing the holiday season:
by Consumerism,” Dec. 11, 2005): “In today’s consumer society,
this time (of the year) is unfortunately subjected to a sort of commer-
cial ‘pollution’ that is in danger of altering its true spirit, which is
characterized by meditation, sobriety and by a joy that is not
exterior but intimate.”
“Assembling the Nativity scene in the home can
turn out to be a simple but effective way of presenting
the faith to pass it on to one’s children. . . The Nativity
scene helps us contemplate the mystery of the love of
God, which is revealed to us in the poverty and simplicity
of the grotto in Bethlehem.”
Adam Cohen (NYT, “This Season’s War Cry: Commercialize
Christmas, or Else,” Dec. 4, 2005): “A 1931 Times roundup of
Christmas sermons reported a common theme: ‘the suggestion
that Christmas could not survive if Christ were thrust into the back-
ground by materialism’. . . . This year’s Christmas ‘defenders’ are
not just tolerating commercialization - they’re insisting on it” [by
insisting that stores use the word Christmas]
Dec. 13, 2005): “It seems to me that it might be helpful to clarify that
the ‘unwanted influence’ that ‘pollutes’ Christmas is not the diversity
of faith traditions in our culture, but excessive consumerism and
commercialism that distracts Christians from focusing—and perhaps
even communicating to others—the poverty and simplicity at the heart
of the message of Christmas.”
Ellen Goodman (NYT/SeattleTimes, “O Durid tree, O Druid tree,” Dec. 9,
2005): “On the one hand, they want more Christ in Christmas; on the other
hand, they want more Christmas in the marketplace. It makes one long
for the screeds against commercialism. . . . But this year’s blow-up over
church and store? A battle between Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays?
I thought religion was supposed to remind us that there’s a separation
between pew and marketplace.”
and the pressure to buy is annoying. When I turn on the radio before
Thanksgiving and hear Christmas carols, I know it’s not for people to
celebrate Christ, it’s for them to run up credit card debt.”
How did a nice ex-Catholic like I get on this St. Nicholas theme? As often
happens, a visit last week to see the Riskprof, started me on a wide-ranging tangent
quite important in many European countries, but passes quite unnoticed in most
American homes.
re-learned) a lot about the historical Bishop Nicholas, and the myths and customs
that grew around his legend, and that eventually led to the contemporary Santa Claus
personage (and excesses). This St. Nicholas Timeline is a useful place to (re)acquaint
yourself with his legend.
The historical Nicholas was born around 270 AD, and became Bishop of
Myra (in modern-day Turkey) at an early age. He was credited with making
many anonymous gifts from his personal fortune for those in need. According
to The Christmas Archive, Nicholas “spent his life helping the poor and under-
priviledged. He loved children and often went out at night disguised in a hooded
cloak, to leave necessary gifts of money, clothing or food at the windows of
unfortunate families.” (more info on his life here)
He is also known for his fervent defense of his Faith — most notably for punch-
ing the heretic Arius in the face at the first Council of Nicaea in 325. He was
ejected from the Council for his offense and jailed, but was reportedly allowed
back in after the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to many of the
Bishops, asking them to forgive Nicholas’ act, as it was done out of love for
her Son. (Of course, a good defense lawyer could easily have gotten Nicholas
an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, despite his prison record under
the former emperor.)
No, Arius – whose followers believed Jesus
was merely a man – had not wished Nicholas a
“Happy Holiday!” prior to the punch. So, don’t
How’d He Get to Bari?
For centuries after his death, many pilgrims went to Nicholas’ burial place at
the Cathedral in Myra. However, his remains have been in situ at Bari, Italy
[the ancestral home of my mother’s family], for almost a thousand years. How
did that happen? Well, pilgrimage tourism was big business in the first millen-
nium (especially with the related basilica construction projects!), and poor St.
Nicholas became involved in commercialization even back then. As the Saint
“How did the Bishop of Myra become ‘Saint in Bari’? It’s a long way
from Lycia to the eastern coast of Italy.
“St. Nicholas’ tomb in Myra was a popular place of pilgrimage. . . If a town
were fortunate enough to host such a significant religious site, it enjoyed
considerable commercial benefit because pilgrims needed to be housed,
fed, and otherwise provided for. After Myra fell under the control of the
Seljuks, who were not sympathetic to Christian faith, Italian merchants in
both Venice and Bari, saw an opportunity to bring such advantage to their
cities . Their motives were opportunistic, but also spiritual, as there was real
fear that pilgrimage could become difficult and dangerous or that the shrine
might even be desecrated. . . .
“[The Barians broke open Nicolas’] tomb with an iron bar. The sailors spirited
the bones away to the ship, escaping just ahead of the townspeople coming
in hot pursuit. . . . When they arrived in Bari, May 9, 1087, the townspeople
thronged to the harbor to welcome the saint’s remains. The returning men
made a solemn vow to build a magnificent church to honor St. Nicholas.
The crypt was completed by October 1089 and Pope Urban II laid the relics of
St. Nicholas beneath the crypt’s altar, consecrating a shrine that became one
of medieval Europe’s great pilgrimage centers.”
The St. Nicholas Center also has a detailed discussion on The Origin of Santa Claus,
asking “How did the kindly Christian saint, good Bishop Nicholas, become a roly-poly
red-suited American symbol for merry holiday festivity and commercial activity?” After
it explains the seminal role of the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” [a/k/a “The Night
Before Christmas”], and many other developments, we learn:
by Renee Graef
“Dozens of artists portrayed Santa in a wide range of styles, sizes, and
colors, including Norman Rockwell on Saturday Evening Post covers. But
it was in the 1930s that the now-familiar American Santa image solidified.
Haddon Sundblom began thirty-five years of Coca-Cola Santa advertisements
which finally established Santa as an icon of contemporary commercial culture.
This Santa was life-sized, jolly, and wearing the now familiar red suit. He
appeared in magazines, on billboards, and shop counters encouraging
Americans to see Coke as the solution to’”a thirst for all seasons.’
“By the 1950s Santa was turning up everywhere as a benign source of
beneficence. This commercial success has led to the North American Santa
Claus being exported around the world where he threatens to overcome the
European St. Nicholas, who has retained his identity as a Christian bishop
and saint.
. . . . “It’s been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St.
Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and
generosity, to America’s jolly Santa Claus. However, if you peel back the
accretions he is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises
continue to model true giving and faithfulness.
“In the United States there is growing interest in the original saint to help
recover the spiritual dimension of this festive time. For indeed, St. Nicholas,
lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are
meant to live. A priest, a bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his
life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are
embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true center of
Christmas—the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increas-
ingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.”
evolution from St. Nicholas to Mr. Claus.
Myers:
Santa Claus and St. Nicholas
Everybody loves Santa Claus. He embodies holiday cheer, happiness, fun, and gifts—
warm happy aspects of the Christmas season. How do Santa Claus and St. Nicholas
differ?
Santa Claus belongs to childhood;
St. Nicholas models for all of life.
Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales
—the commercial Christmas message;
St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all
—the hope-filled Christmas message.
Santa Claus encourages consumption;
St. Nicholas encourages compassion.
Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;
St. Nicholas is part of the communion of saints, surrounding us always
with prayer and example.
Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;
St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.
Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;
St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.
Santa Claus isn’t bad;
St. Nicholas is just better.
—J. Rosenthal & C. Myers
Prof. Yabut adds:
Santa Claus is flashy and out of shape, lets little
people do his work for substandard wages, and
uses credit cards extensively to buy popularity
with expensive gifts.
St. Nicholas is low-keyed and humble, and gives modest
tokens of love and affection, paying cash.
committees in the Netherlands to tell Santa Claus to stay away until after St.
Nicholas Day, December 6th. Even after December 6, I wish that Santa could
be more like Nicholas. We are never going to separate Christmas or the other
December “holidays” from the notion of gift-giving. We can, nevertheless, strive
for the spirit of the original Nicholas and not his flashy-trashy-cashy alter ego.
Our society, our children, and our sanity would all improve.
Go here to read the influence of St. Nicholas on many American
Christmas Customs — from candy canes, and fireplace stockings, to secret
giving at night. Remember: “St. Nicholas gave gifts to those in greatest need - -
the young and the most vulnerable. . . . He never wanted or expected anything
in return.” [click here to see how St. Nicholas is celebrated around the world]
Here’s a short summary of St. Nicholas’ story. And, find
St. Nicholas Clip Art here.
Have we gone too far with this Santa thing? The grow-who even swings his hips, suggest we just might have.
One final note about St. Nicholas: Patron saints are seen as special
intercessors with God in Catholicism and other Faiths. St. Nicholas
appears to be the patron saint of more causes than any other saint.
He is “revered by many as the patron saint of seamen, merchants,
archers, children, prostitutes, pharmacists, lawyers, pawnbrokers,
prisoners, the city of Amsterdam and of Russia.” Indeed:
“In the West, Nicholas is most widely known as the patron saint of
children. . . In other parts of the world, however, St. Nicholas’ chief
patronage is that of sailors and ships—offering safe voyage and protection
from storms. Prisoners and others wrongly condemned are St. Nicholas’
third major category of patronage. It reveals his strong concern for justice,
especially for innocent victims.”
In addition, there are a great number of conditions and maladies associated with
the protection of St. Nicholas: ”Danger from water, Fire, Gales, Hospitals ,Inns,
Marriages, Misunderstandings, Property, Rheumatism, Sea, Ships, Thunderstorms,
Water, Protection from wolves and wildbeasts, Patron of cattle, horses, and sheep in
Poland , Against imprisonment, Against robberies.” I’m not a believer in needing
intercession between oneself and God (If God answers prayers on the “retail” level,
He/She already knows all your facts, equities, and circumstances, and that is what
should matter, not “who you know” in heaven, or who is serving as your mouthpiece).
Nonetheless, a lot of people seem to turn to St. Nicholas to help solve and avoid a lot
of problems. And, don’t forget, dear skeptical reader, he’s the Patron Saint of Lawyers
and Misunderstandings. Keep him on your Rolodex.
“candycaneRV”
“tinyredcheck” Earlier today, I posted a number of
haiku and senryu that seem pertinent to this posting.
Here are a few more:
Christmas dinner —
the handle broken off
a tradition
stockings on the mantel . . .
the child’s eyes follow sparks
up the chimney
week after Christmas
an empty throne
in the mall
christmas shopping
i work up
a s
w
e
a
t
laid off
she asks the mall santa to
bring dad a job
Christmas Eve –
bits of a price sticker
stuck on my finger
update (Dec. 19, 2005): We at f/k/a hate to look a Gift Plug
in the mouth, and we’re certainly not adverse to verse, but we
do believe St. Nicholas — whether his bones are in Bari or not —
is spinning in his crypt, after seeing what the Wired GC has
done to “A Visit from St. Nicholas” [a/k/a “The Night Before
or license — that comes with anonymity.
update (Dec. 20, 2005): Someone Googled timeline of Santa
Clause> tonight and this post came in as the 2nd result. That’s
not so bad for a grinchy little weblog.
“noSantaGSF”
Here’s a comparison of Santa Claus and St. Nicholas, by J. Rosenthal & C.
