Saint Nicholas, biography of Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus began with a character that not many know: San Nicolás de Bari for the West and San Nicolás de Mira for the East. This was a character who really existed and who, as his name suggests, was declared a saint for his life story and for the miracles attributed to him.

In principle, the Christmas party began to be associated with the figure of Saint Nicholas. Over time, this figure who gave gifts to children and appeared on Christmas Eve began to be called Santa Claus in some countries. Then, taking his figure and part of his history, the character called Santa Claus was created, which has little relationship with the commemoration of the birth of Jesus in a manger.

Nowadays, almost no one associates Saint Nicholas with Christmas., but the figure of Santa Claus is more present. The tradition of giving gifts to children on Christmas Eve, in commemoration of the Christian nativity, ceased to be strictly Catholic and became more commercial.

Saint Nicholas of Bari

Who was Saint Nicholas?

It is known that Saint Nicholas was born in the year 280 AD, in the town of Mira, which is currently part of Turkey.

Those were times when Christians were still persecuted, but their parents professed that religion. The father He was a prosperous merchant who dreamed of his son following in his footsteps. The mother, on the other hand, wanted Nicolás to be a priest like his uncle.

In any case, from a young age he was taught to share everything he had with those most in need. It happened that in that place there was a terrible plague epidemic and the parents, Christians as they were, charitably cared for the sick. Unfortunately, both contracted the disease and died.

When this happened, Nicolás, who was heir to all the property, distributed everything he had among the poorest. He then went to find his uncle and became a monk. At that time he was only 19 years old. Since then, he devoted himself to religion.

A persecuted man

It is said that he made a trip to the Holy Land and then returned to his native Mira. At that time, the bishop, his uncle, had died. The priests discussed who should be the prelate’s successor, but they could not agree.

To settle the issue, they said that the next priest to enter the temple would be named bishop. . And the next to enter was Saint Nicholas, who was dressed in red.

The new bishop stood out for his enormous kindness and selflessness. However, An imperial decree was issued that once again ordered the persecution of Christians and Saint Nicholas had to go through his great vicissitudes.. It is said that, despite this, she never lost her sense of humor and laughed loudly frequently.

Finally, Saint Nicholas was captured and imprisoned for nearly 30 years, during which time he maintained his joy and goodness. When Emperor Constantine began to rule, he ordered that he be released. By then He was already an old man with a white beard and when he left prison he immediately went to Mira; He arrived just as the community was celebrating Christmas. Everyone celebrated his arrival.

The legend of Santa Claus

It is said that when Saint Nicholas was bishop he learned of a poor man who had three daughters, who could not marry because they did not have a dowry.

To remedy this situation, The saint went at night and without anyone seeing him, he placed a bag of coins in the girls’ socks., which were lying drying. So they all managed to get married.

Legend also says that a group of children were stabbed by some thugs. Saint Nicholas witnessed the event and prayed for the boys, who immediately healed.. It is also said that he was capable of grazing the seas and that he felt a special affection for the little ones.

How did Saint Nicholas become Santa Claus or Father Christmas? In Holland the feast of Saint Nicholas was celebrated in December, but his name in Dutch is called Sinterklaas. When Dutch immigrants came to the United States, The Americans, as a result of a bad pronunciation, transformed the Sinterklaas in Santa Claus.

Meanwhile, In France, he began to be called Santa Claus because of the physical resemblance he had to a popular culture character called Bonhomme Noël. Thus, several legends emerged from the same character who, in any case, have in common his kind and joyful presence at Christmas.

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