St. Nicholas was a historical person! He was a pastor in Turkey in the 4th century. According to legend, there was a poor man in his parish who had three daughters, and he had no money to get them husbands. There was a danger that the girls would be sold into prostitution. Nicholas quietly raised money and divided the coins into bags. He went by the poor man’s house by night and tossed the bags through the window, so the girls could have a dowry, get married and escape slavery.
For his generosity, the church designated him as SAINT Nicholas; the Dutch shortened his name to Santa Claus, who comes around to give gifts to all good children.
St. Nicholas, follower of Christ and a man focused on the desperately needy, not people who already had more stuff than they needed – a fine example to us all this Christmas.
(For more information go to this website. Nicholas was also arrested and tortured for his faith, and was one of the strong proponents of the eternal deity of Christ – for which doctrine he voted in the Council of Nicea in AD 325).
“Will the real Santa Clause please stand up!” by Gary Shogren, PhD in New Testament Exegesis, professor at Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 