San Nicolo
Preparing for the feast of St. Nicholas.
My cousins celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas, putting out their shoes on the night of December 5, to find them filled with candy on the morning of the 6th, the Saint’s feast day. My family did not celebrate St. Nicholas, but I became more enchanted with the tradition very early on while watching a Hallmark Hall of Fame television special, “Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates”. In one scene, Hans happened to be at a wealthy family’s home when the Bishop Nicholas arrived to give sweets to the children assembled. After seeing that, I then set about to read everything I could find about the life and miracles of St. Nicholas, and found in him a lifelong patron - not just for Christmas, but all year long - similar to my veneration of the Child Jesus.
St. Nicholas is a strong, orthodox saint, his patronage is vast and far reaching. He is the patron of Russia and yet was the early American Dutch settlers inspiration for Sinte Klaas, whom we know today as Santa Claus. I’m always amazed at fundamentalists and evangelicals - some of whom are Catholic - who make such a big deal about Santa Claus as having roots in Germanic paganism. In fact, aspects of the legend associated with the life of St. Nicholas appear to have parallels in ancient Greek myth, principally, Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius.
Regardless of these similarities in pagan myth, St. Nicholas has been venerated by the Church for centuries, and innumerable prayers have been answered, as well as miracles wrought though his intercession, even in our day. Catholic parents ought to have a strong enough faith to guide their children in the proper understanding of St. Nicholas, Sinteklaas, or Santa Claus, even though contemporary culture has distorted the image of the saint. As for the consumerism and materialism some “strict” mom and dads believe Santa represents - I think the problem has more to do with contemporary family values than any distortion by popular culture of Christmas or the saints.
It seems to me Catholics should be careful to avoid becoming Puritans.
Art: Ilya Repin: Saint Nicholas
saves three innocents from
death (1888; Russian Museum,
Petersburg)
December 1st, 2007 at 10:56 am
LOVE St. Nicholas - yes I do! As for Hans Brinker - that story is UNKNOWN in Holland!
December 1st, 2007 at 11:00 am
What a great picture!! I love it! St. Nicholas was a wonder-worker long before St Anthony.
December 1st, 2007 at 1:16 pm
“It seems to me Catholics should be careful to avoid becoming Puritans.” I agree with you, Terry.
Angela, probably the reason Hans Brinker is not well known in Holland is that the author, Mary Mapes Dodge, was an American. (Maybe she had Dutch roots?) Interestingly, she was also the editor of an early children’s magazine, called “St. Nicholas”.
December 1st, 2007 at 5:31 pm
speaking of countering consumerism, I found a great place to get religious Christmas cards. They capture the true meaning of Christmas with a Christmas message, a religious image, PLUS a family photo. you can order them here http://www.truechristmascards.com and they ship within 3 days
December 1st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Of course, I too was enchanted by Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. And I too love Saint Nicola of Bari!
December 2nd, 2007 at 4:53 am
I like the last statement, Terry. It’s so true. That doesn’t mean that caution should not be exercised to prevent losing St. Nicholas to the distortion of consumerism.
BTW, there is a monastery (I forgot the location) where the monks instead of wishing each other “Merry Christmas”, say to one another “May Christ be born in you.” Although the first is wonderfully traditional, the latter is a prayer and not just a wish.
May Christ be born in you.
Tom
December 4th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
repin & nesterov are just a few of my favorite russian painters.