St. Nicholasthe Original Santa Claus

The Man, the Myth, the Saint…

Some say St. Nicholas existed only in legend, without any reliable historical record. Many of the St. Nicholas’ stories seem to be truth interwoven with imagination. However, the following facts of the life of St. Nicholas contain a fair amount of historical truth.

Prayer card from St Nicholas ChurchNorth Walsham, Norfolk, UK

In the Beginning…

Nicholas' birth In Patara or Patra Though the exact date is not known, it is believed to have been born between AD 260 and 280. The place, Patara, can be historically grounded.

Where He Lived

Where He Lived

Facts about St. Nicholas

Dowries for the poor girlsThis story, distinct to Nicholas, can be regarded as historical in its essence. This story is not found in  accounts of other saints' lives.

Illus. by Elisabeth Jvanovsky from Saint Nicholas by Henri Gheon, Sheed and Ward, 1936

Facts about St. Nicholas

Popular election as Bishop of Myra… Unusual though it was for a layman to be nominated to the position of Bishop, two sources corroborate the story.

Paolo VeroneseConsecration of Saint NicholasNational GalleryLondon, England UK

Facts about St. Nicholas

Fresco, Sistine Chapel, The Vatican Photo: St Nicholas Society/Rosenthal

Participation in the Council of Nicea

Bishop Nicholas, defender of the faith, forcefully argued for the doctrine of the Holy Trinity at the Council of Nicea. He even spent a night in jail!

Facts about St. Nicholas

Saving three condemned innocentsThis story is the oldest and most genuine recorded episode from the life of St. Nicholas. Historical documentation confirms the many references to place names and people.

Charterhouse of Louvain, NLSt. Nicholas Preventing an ExecutionThe Burrell Collection

Glasgow, Scotland UK

Facts about St. Nicholas

Intervention in favor of the unjustly jailedThe outstanding figures in this story are well known in other contemporary historical accounts.

Paul TrogerHl. Nikolaus

Melk Abbey, Melk, Austria

Facts about St. Nicholas

Temple of Artemis This account reveals knowledge of detail concerning the temple which would have been unknown to a writer several centuries later had it not been based on an account coming out of the people and traditions of that city.

From Saint Nicolas, by Pierre & Germaine Noury, Paris, 1928

Facts about St. Nicholas

Mariners saved during a tempestThe episode is important to explain the origin of his wide-spread patronage to sailors and other sea voyagers.

Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duke of BerrySaint Nicholas Rescues a Ship at SeaThe Cloisters CollectionMetropolitan Museum of ArtNew York, New York, USA

Facts about St. Nicholas

Death of Bishop Nicholas

Bishop Nicholas died on December 6, 343 AD, and was buried in the cathedral in Myra, now Demre, Turkey.

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Then

St. Nicholas Church

Fresco showing St. Nicholas, Church of St. Nicholas, Myra (Demre, Turkey) Photo: St Nicholas Society/JMR

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

His relics were translated to Basilica in Bari, Italy. To this day, he is interred there. Miraculously, the canons collect a gallon of chrism a day that continues to flow from his bones.

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

Where in the World is St. Nicholas…Now

St. Nicholas, Patron of…Apothecaries (pharmacists)Armed forces policeBakersBankersBargemenBarrel makersBoatmenBoot blacks & shoe shinersBottlersBoysBridesBrewersBusinessmen

ButchersButton makersCandle makersCaptivesChandlers (suppliers of ships)ChildrenChoristersCitizensClergyClerksCloth trade & merchantsCoopers (barrel makers)Corn measurers & merchantsCourt recorders, registrars, clerksDock workers, longshoremenDrapersEmbalmersFerrymen

FirefightersFishermenFloristsGrain dealers & merchantsGrocersGroomsHaberdashersInfantsInfertileJudgesLace makers & sellersLawsuits lost unjustlyLawyersLemko people, UkraineLinen merchantsLongshoremenLoversMaidensMarinersMerchants

St. Nicholas, Patron of…TannersTeachersThievesTimber merchantsTravelersUnjustly condemnedUnmarried menUnmarried womenVirginsWatermenWeaversWine porters, merchants & vendorsWomen, desirous of marryingWood turners

Military intelligenceMillersMurderersNavigatorsNewlywedsNotariesOil merchantsOrphansPackersParish clerksPaupersPawnbrokers

PeddlersPerfumeries, perfumersPharmacistsPiratesPoetsPoor peoplePreachersPrisonersProstitutesPupilsRibbon weaversRobbers & thievesSchoolchildrenSailors & marinersScholars & studentsSeed merchantsShearmenShipwreck victimsShipwrights and gaugersShips carpentersShoemakersShopkeepersSkippersSoldiersSpice-dealersSpinsters

Sources about St. Nicholas

St Nicholas Crozierwith scenes from the life of NicholasVictoria & Albert MuseumLondon, England UK

The ancient sources cited to substantiate this information are Michael the Archimandrite, Sinaitic and Ethiopian manuscripts, Gratianus' Decretum, Theodore the Lector, Andrew of Crete, Eustratios of Constantinople, AD 583; Passionarium Romanum, 650 AD; and Praxis de tributo.

What Does our Culture Say?

1. Lives at the North Pole

2. There’s a Mrs. Claus

3. Elves to help him

4. Comes down the chimney

5. Rides a sleigh pulled by a team of reindeer (by canoe in Hawai’i)

6. Goes around the world to all houses in one night

7. Wish lists from Children

8. Jolly Ole St. Nick

What are We Suppose to Believe?

1. Job 37:22 & Isaiah 41:252. His Mom?3. We call them angels4. When we join Jesus in heaven we too will have the gift

of agility

5. Why not? Sts. Francis of Assisi, Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Joseph Cupertino all levitated along with their tools.

6. Gift of agility7. We call it the intercession

of the saints8. He was an ascetic…of

course so was St. Thomas Aquinas

The Catholic Proof!!

• To be Catholic we must believe in the Communion of Saints– Oh, and their intercession

• Therefore, we believe in Santa Clause!