Do You Believe in Santa Claus?
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 11:31 am
Why am I, a devout Agnostic and non-practicing Jew, asking this question?
Ironically, because I do accept that he was real and not imaginary.
Of course, I'm not speaking of the jolly fat guy in the red suit, who evolved from the Dutch Sinterklaas and English Father Christmas:
Sinterklaas:
Father Christmas:
America's Santa Claus:
But the original Saint Nicholas. (Saint Nicholas ==> Santa Nicklaus ==> Santa 'Klaus ==> Santa Claus) was an early Christian bishop:
Supposedly, at the Council of Nicea, Nicholas attacked either an Arrian or Arrius himself, but the story may be invented. However, Nicholas was a fanatic and was apparently a brawler as his remains have a broken nose.
There are two reconstructions of Nicholas's face from his skull and remains. The first is rather severe and he looks like a fanatic.
The second, done in the UK a few years ago, shows an older and kinder looking man, closer to our mythical "Santa", but both have the broken nose:
However, Byzantine representations of Nicholas appear far more similar to the first image than the 2nd:
I just find the sources of myths and legends from the real events to be fascinating. There's lots more on Nicholas, and the Council of Nicea, and even whether he was there or not--after all, it's 1700 years ago.
(and even if St. Nicholas was White, as Megyn Kelly insisted, which isn't at all determined, he wasn't Nordic White, with rosy cheeks, but, at a minimum an olive-skinned rather swarthy Greek, about 5' 6" tall.)
Ironically, because I do accept that he was real and not imaginary.
Of course, I'm not speaking of the jolly fat guy in the red suit, who evolved from the Dutch Sinterklaas and English Father Christmas:
Sinterklaas:
Father Christmas:
America's Santa Claus:
But the original Saint Nicholas. (Saint Nicholas ==> Santa Nicklaus ==> Santa 'Klaus ==> Santa Claus) was an early Christian bishop:
wikipedia wrote:Saint Nicholas of Myra[a] (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343),[3][4] also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of the ancient Greek city of Myra in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey) during the time of the Roman Empire.[7] He is revered by many Christians as a saint.[8] Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker.[c] Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus ("Saint Nick") through Sinterklaas.
In 1087, after the Byzantine Empire temporarily lost control of the region to the Seljuk Turks, a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus without authorization and brought them to their hometown, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola. The remaining bone fragments from the sarcophagus were later removed by Venetian sailors and taken to Venice during the First Crusade.
Supposedly, at the Council of Nicea, Nicholas attacked either an Arrian or Arrius himself, but the story may be invented. However, Nicholas was a fanatic and was apparently a brawler as his remains have a broken nose.
A later legend, first attested in the fourteenth century, over 1,000 years after Nicholas's death, holds that, during the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas lost his temper and slapped "a certain Arian" across the face.[48] On account of this, Constantine revoked Nicholas's miter and pallium.[48] Stephen D. Greydanus concludes that, because of the story's late attestation, it "has no historical value."[48] Jona Lendering defends the historicity of the incident, arguing that, because it was embarrassing and reflects poorly on Nicholas's reputation, it is inexplicable why later hagiographers would have made it up.[21] Later versions of the legend embellish it,[48] making the heretic Arius himself[48][54] and having Nicholas punch him rather than merely slapping him with his open hand.
There are two reconstructions of Nicholas's face from his skull and remains. The first is rather severe and he looks like a fanatic.
The second, done in the UK a few years ago, shows an older and kinder looking man, closer to our mythical "Santa", but both have the broken nose:
However, Byzantine representations of Nicholas appear far more similar to the first image than the 2nd:
I just find the sources of myths and legends from the real events to be fascinating. There's lots more on Nicholas, and the Council of Nicea, and even whether he was there or not--after all, it's 1700 years ago.
(and even if St. Nicholas was White, as Megyn Kelly insisted, which isn't at all determined, he wasn't Nordic White, with rosy cheeks, but, at a minimum an olive-skinned rather swarthy Greek, about 5' 6" tall.)
)