FROM ST. NICHOLAS TO SANTA CLAUS

By Borys Prokopovych

Each year, Ukrainians around the world celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6th. Wide-eyed children eagerly look forward to presents, while harried parents and teachers unite to preserve the traditional commemoration with school plays or visits by St. Nicholas to local churches. In America, however, there has been somewhat of a struggle for Ukrainians between preserving "Sviatyj Mykolai" while trying to adjust to the concept of Santa Claus.

When I was a child, I remember having some confusion with the idea of St. Nicholas arriving in his bishop's attire on December 6th to hand out presents to good children, only to be followed on December 25th by jolly old Santa Claus, who left presents under the Christmas tree. Still, being a child, this momentary confusion was lost while opening the presents.

The giving of gifts and the concept of Santa Claus is attributed to the Legend of Saint Nicholas. Variously known as Sinter Klaas, San Incola, Pelznickel, Clawss, Samiklaus, and other names, he was Nicholas of Myra, a Christian bishop who was thought to have been born in Patras, a district of Southern Turkey, around 280AD.

There are many popular stories concerning miracles attributed to him. Perhaps the most popular one concerns the three unwed daughters of an impoverished nobleman who lived in a small town on the coast of Turkey. The maidens could not attract husbands because their father could not afford to provide dowries for them. So late one night, Nicholas dropped a small bag of gold in the maiden's window so that the eldest girl could be married. Some time later he dropped in a second bag of gold, then a third. The overjoyed nobleman eventually discovered who his benefactor was, and Nicholas was thereafter honored as patron saint of unwed maidens.

Another tale told is that while visiting the Turkish town of Myra, Nicholas walked into a controversy that would change his life. Entering the local church to give thanks for a safe voyage, he did not know that the elders of the church had lost their leader and could not agree on a successor. According to the legend, they had been counselled in a dream to choose the next person named Nicholas (which means "victory" in Greek) who visited the church. So it was that Nicholas became known as Bishop of Myra.

The years from 1200-1600 represent the greatest period of recognition for Saint Nicholas. December 6th was adopted as the date of his birthday. The custom of giving gifts to children in the name of Saint Nicholas became widespread when French nuns began giving gifts to poor families on December 5th, the Eve of Saint Nicholas' Day. These gifts comprised nuts and exotic fruits that during the rest of the year were beyond their means.

After landing in the New World, Dutch explorers led by Henry Hudson, built their first church on the island of Manhattan in 1642, dedicating it to Sinter Klaas. They immediately began celebrating the customs of their forefathers: observing December 6th as Saint Nicholas Day and giving candies and cakes to children.

When the British took control of New Amsterdam after 1664, they adopted the Dutch recognition of Sinter Klaas, changed his name to Santa Claus, and merged it with their own observance of the winter solstice and the birth of Christ, on December 25th.

Since the 12th century, St. Nicholas had been presented as a bishop, both in writing and in characterizations. It was not until 1809 that writer Washington Irving created the first jolly Saint Nicholas character. In 1822, Clement C. Moore wrote a lighthearted poem for his children called "A Visit from Saint Nicholas," which transformed St. Nicholas into a jolly old elf who descends down a chimney on Christmas Eve and added a fantasy sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer. From 1865 to 1885, Thomas Nast created spreads featuring Moore's new Santa Claus for Harper's Magazine. As a sales gimmick, in 1931, Coca-Cola commissioned Haddon Sundblom to illustrate a Santa for their advertisements and Pepsi-Cola responded by hiring Norman Rockwell to do a Santa for their sales promotions. Department stores soon followed in using Santa Claus to sell their products. The transition of St. Nicholas to Santa Claus completely revised the meaning of celebrating St. Nicholas' birthday.

Despite this, many countries still celebrate the Eve of Saint Nicholas by giving presents to children on December 6th and not on the 25th which is reserved for Christmas. It all goes back to the days of the Roman Empire-because the Romans already celebrated the festival of Saturnalia in December. This general holiday gave Christians time for their own celebrations. Then, when St. Augustine came to England to preach the gospel about two hundred years later, Pope Gregory advised him to keep the dates of the pagan feasts but give them new meaning by using them for Christian festivals. So the old Scandinavian midwinter Yuletide festival was transformed into the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christmas literally means "Christ's mass." It is intended for celebrating the birth of Christ.

Many of the Christmas customs we enjoy today are left over from long ago. Giving presents, eating special foods, decorating homes, Christmas trees, all began in the long distant past. The 25th of December was chosen for the birthday of Jesus Christ because no one knew the actual day or date of his birth.

The eastern part of the church celebrates Christ's birthday on January 6th based on the Gregorian calendar instead of the Julian calendar. Christians in these countries still keep Christmas on that day. In Armenia, January 19th is Christmas Day. But in many parts of the world, December 25th is celebrated as Christ's birthday.

All too often, this reason for the season is obscured by the commercialization of a most joyous Christian holy day.