The Everything Family Christmas Book (7 page)

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is one of the most popular songs of all time. The character was created by Robert L. May in 1939 in a free, giveaway poem for Montgomery Ward customers. The story was turned into music and lyrics in 1949 by Johnny Marks and was sung originally by Gene Autry.

Today, the Christmas season in the United States starts unofficially with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, an event watched by millions of Americans both in person and on television. It began in New York City in 1924, welcoming Santa Claus onto Macy’s balcony, although he’s been ending his parades at Herald Square ever since. Balloons made their appearance in 1927, and continue to become more colorful and elaborate.

More officially, the White House leads the country in celebrating Christmas, with its annual lighting of the National Christmas Tree and the beginning of the Christmas Pageant of Peace in Washington, D.C. Both serve to brighten the nation’s capital and, indeed, the nation.

The overwhelming sentiment of the American Christmas matched its Victorian English counterpart in its emphasis on family, peace, and goodwill. The excesses of medieval times were left behind, replaced instead by a sense of charity toward those less fortunate and a coming together of family and friends. Today, it can be argued that the American celebration of Christmas that grew gradually stronger through the nineteenth century has done much to influence celebrations around the world.

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The Life and Times of Santa Claus

H
e’s called Santa Claus, Sinter Klaas, Father Christmas, and Père Noël, among other names, but the title of St. Nicholas comes closest to the historical roots of this giver of gifts. Although modern Santa’s appearance and traditions spring largely from the last two centuries of popular story and art, the legends associated with him begin with a real person on the shores of the fourth-century Mediterranean Sea. Over the years, he’s evolved into an engaging combination of reality and myth whose hearty, “Ho, ho, ho!” proves impossible to resist each Christmas season.

Who Is Santa Claus?

Although his roots reach back into antiquity, the man we know as Santa Claus has been refined and popularized largely through the media of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In fact, two written accounts—Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (see
Chapter 7
) and the
New York Sun’s
famous response to young Virginia O’Hanlon’s 1897 query about him (see
Chapter 6
)—probably did the most to establish Santa as a figure in the popular imagination.

But, even though his most memorable features are relatively recent, Santa Claus evolved from many sources over many years—most notably from the life and deeds associated with St. Nicholas, an early Christian bishop in the land of Asia Minor, in what is now western Turkey.

These days, the Vatican has its doubts about St. Nicholas. A special report penned in 1969 by senior Church officials concluded that many of the recorded deeds of some of the early saints—including the forerunner of Santa—may well be those of legendary heroes rather than historical personages.

The records of Nicholas’s life certainly appear to be a mixture of fact and fantastic myth, but there is no denying the impact that this revered figure had on the development of the Santa Claus tradition. As a saint, he remains immensely popular in Europe, where there are more churches named for him than for any apostle.

Where St. Nicholas Lived

Today, the town of Demre lies on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, where an alluvial plain spreads out from the feet of the Taurus Mountains in the distance to the warm sapphire sea close by. Also known as Kale, Demre was once the location of the ancient city of Myra, and it’s where you can still find the Church of St. Nicholas—a two-story stone-block building with a single bell tower.

The first church built here was destroyed by an earthquake shortly after Nicholas’s death in the fourth century, but some of the existing building’s walls date back as far as the fifth century. Reconstructed after Arab raids in the seventh and eighth centuries, and again by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI in 1043, the building’s current appearance owes much to a renovation in the mid-1800s that gave it a flat-roofed second story and bell tower.

Among the historic elements are arched windows and side-by-side, semicircular chapels within the main building. Worn frescoes show painted medallions of saints, hinting at the deep colors that once decorated the church’s interior walls. On the floor, marble mosaics create starburst and knot-like effects. It’s quiet and cool inside, an escape from the heat of the sun, remaining a fitting resting place for what is said to be the saint’s sarcophagus, a stone casket carved with acanthus leaves.

While St. Nicholas is no longer laid to rest in this church, it remains a tangible link to the man who once preached in Myra and who remains such a well-loved figure around the world.

The Story of St. Nicholas

Before the legend began to take over, St. Nicholas was a figure of historic fact. He became the Bishop of Myra while still in his teens, earning the nickname of Boy Bishop. Through his courage and generosity, he is said to have touched the lives of many people, saving any number from famine and despair. He founded an orphanage and was known for his love of and wonderful relationship with children.

Nicholas also spent some time in captivity, imprisoned by the Roman Empire during a time of religious persecution. He and others were finally reprieved by Emperor Constantine, whose attitude toward Christianity was softening (Constantine eventually adopted Christianity himself).

Nicholas died on December 6 in approximately
A.D.
343, and—as was the church’s custom—the date of his death became recognized as his official saint’s day.

Inspiring tales about Nicholas made him extremely popular throughout Christendom; he was named the patron saint of children, sailors, merchants, bakers, brides, hobos, pawnbrokers, and bankers—as well as of New York, Russia, Greece, and Sicily. It is not surprising, then, that Nicholas was so revered even in death. In later years, his body was stolen from its crypt in Myra by sailors from Bari, Italy, who were seeking to protect his remains from invaders. The sailors brought the remains to Bari and buried them in a basilica there; to this day, St. Nicholas’s Day is celebrated by the people of Bari on May 9, the date of the sailors’ arrival. The theft brought Nicholas the distinction of patron saint of thieves, and added to his already sizeable legend.

The Legends Begin

Beyond evidence that Nicholas was a very good man, there are the rumors and legends that suggest he was nothing short of otherworldly. His birth is said to have been a miraculous one, as his parents, according to legend, had been married thirty years and had long since given up hope of ever conceiving a child. It is said that shortly after his birth, he was able to stand up in his crib, as if praying.

Nicholas appears to have had no doubt about his vocation; he prepared to enter the monastery at a young age. Before devoting his life to his faith, however, he was required to rid himself of all his worldly possessions. The way he accomplished this has helped to establish his reputation as a gift giver.

As the story goes, there was a family in town with three daughters of marriageable age, but they were so poor that they had no dowry—and no dowry meant no marriage. Nicholas, hearing of their plight, disguised himself and went at night to their house, where he threw three bags of gold coins down their chimney, saving the daughters from a life of prostitution. The gold is said to have landed in the girls’ stockings, which were hanging in the fireplace to dry (thus giving us our “stockings by the chimney” tradition). As legend has it, the father of the family caught Nicholas in the act, and though Nicholas tried to swear him to secrecy, the story spread through the town quickly.

The Bishop of Myra

Soon after Nicholas entered the monastery, the church in Myra was having great difficulty replacing its former bishop and the people were at their wits’ end as to a solution. One night, a church official dreamt that the first person to enter the church for Mass the next day should be the new bishop, and that his name would be Nicholas. About that time, Nicholas was traveling on a ship that had encountered rough weather. He prayed for safety, and when he arrived on land he headed immediately for the church, in Myra, to give thanks. The rest is history.

During his lifetime, St. Nicholas would undergo another rough voyage on a ship, a journey that would result in his being named patron saint of sailors. While returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the vessel that carried him ran into a terrible storm. Nicholas began to pray for help; witnesses said the sea calmed the instant Nicholas dropped to his knees. So important did he become to sailors, Greek and Russian seamen always sailed with an icon of St. Nicholas.

A Storied Life

There are many legends surrounding St. Nicholas. One of the more famous legends has Nicholas stopping for rest at an inn during his travels. The innkeeper offered him meat, which turned out to be the flesh of three little boys the innkeeper had killed. Though the stories differ concerning who the boys were, how they were killed, and whether they were stuck in salt or pickle barrels, the result remains the same: Nicholas figured out what the innkeeper was up to and brought the boys back to life. (This act is commemorated in current St. Nicholas’s Day celebrations, particularly in Lorraine, France.)

Nicholas’s status as the patron saint of sailors helped to make him known in other lands. Italian and Dutch sailors introduced St. Nicholas to the West, and by the Middle Ages he was as popular in Europe as he was in his homeland. Vladimir of Russia discovered Nicholas in Constantinople in 1003, and brought his legend home to Russia, where Nicholas later became the patron saint. Nicholas was soon an important part of the Christmas holiday season—and so, not coincidentally, was the idea of giving gifts to children.

Saint’s Day

Beginning in the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation led many parts of Europe to reject the culture of saints and anything associated with them. The legend of St. Nicholas might have died then and there, but it seems his popularity was simply too great. Most countries did change his name slightly, while leaving his background and other characteristics fully intact.