Writer Adam C. English explores the life of the man behind the myth in his book 'The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus.'
The tradition of Santa Claus gained popularity with the Dutch population of New York, says writer Adam C. English. R: Doug Strickland/The Texarkana Gazette/AP
EnlargeSanta Claus. Saint Nick. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. Are they all the same bearded guy with a "little round belly that shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly?"
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Not exactly.
As Catholics and other Christians know well, for his name is on hundreds of their churches, there really was a Saint Nicholas. And he really was a generous gift-giver. But he didn't have all those accoutrements, like the red-and-white outfit, the reindeer and the elves.
So how did Saint Nicholas become Father Christmas?
Adam C. English, associate professor of religion at North Carolina's Campbell University, explores that question and much more in his new book "The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra."
In an interview, we talked about the Saint Nicholas of history, the evolution of Santa Claus, and the reasons why a saint from the fourth century can inspire us today.
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Q: Who was Saint Nicholas in real life?
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A: The historical Saint Nicholas was born around the late third century or early fourth century. He lived his life in what is now the southwest shores of Turkey. He served as a bishop, a Christian pastor of the church in Myra, doing good works of gift-giving and generosity, serving the people as a true civil servant. There are stories of him bartering with grain ships to get grain to save the starving people of Myra, going to the capitol to appeal for lower taxes, interfering in court cases and saving three men from beheading.
As a young man, he inherits gold from his parents, and he hears of a man in town who's become desperately poor and is thinking about selling off his own daughters. Nicholas bags up some of that gold and throws it through his window. It's used as a dowry for one of the daughters. He returns two times so the other daughters might be able to marry.
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Q: What did it mean then to sell off one's daughters?
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A: Prostitution. We have decrees dating back to the early days of the Roman empire trying to curb that activity and try to prevent parents from selling daughters into prostitution and children into slavery.
While it seems inhumane, those options become very live and real when your options are to starve or freeze to death. It gives us a glimpse into some of the hardships of the time.
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Q: Was he martyred like so many other saints?
A: No. He lives to a ripe old age.
Part of what appeals to people about Nicholas is precisely the ordinariness of his story and his life. Going back to that fourth century, most of the stories were about saints [who] died for the faith, were martyred in grisly ways. Or performed supernatural miracles or spent their lives in the desert as hermits.
He is an ordinary guy, doing ordinary acts of charity and working on behalf of the people. He's a saint to whom people can relate. He becomes the patron saint of sailors and children and unwed women, bakers, brewers and apothecaries, perfumers. Everybody loves Saint Nicholas.
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Q: He sounds a bit like the apostle Peter, a man who isn't in a sphere above everyone else. Does that sound right?
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A: Peter is such a relatable saint precisely because he doubts, he denies knowing the Lord, he questions, he has all the failings. He is you and me. We have those same doubts and questions.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/kQiXjedrDss/Who-is-Saint-Nicholas
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