11 Dec How Nicholas Became Santa! | The Story of Father Christmas | Santa Claus
How Nicholas Became Santa! | The Story of Father Christmas/Santa Claus
How Nicholas Became Santa! | The Story of Father Christmas/Santa Claus
Christmas has fast crept upon us, wouldn’t you like to enjoy yourself, well before you do, here’s a brief history on how it came to be: how this day it got its name.
St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money. He was also a very kind man and had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it. There are several legends about St. Nicholas, although we don’t know if any of them are true!
The Most Famous Story
The story about St. Nicholas tells how the custom of hanging up stockings to get presents in first started! It goes like this:
There was a poor man who had three daughters. He was so poor, he did not have enough money for a dowry, so his daughters couldn’t get married. (A dowry is a sum of money paid to the bridegroom by the bride’s parents on the wedding day. This still happens in some countries, even today.) One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and into the house (This meant that the oldest daughter was then able to be married.). The bag fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry! This was repeated later with the second daughter.
Santa’s Discovery | The News Got Out
Finally, determined to discover the person who had given him the money, the father secretly hid by the fire every evening until he caught Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not tell anyone what he had done, because he did not want to bring attention to himself. But soon the news got out and when anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that it could have been dropped off by Nicholas.
The Kindness of Nicholas | Unrelenting Sympathy
Because of his unrelenting kindness Nicholas was made a Saint. St. Nicholas was not only a saint to children.
Saint Nicholas Day | What Do People Do?
St. Nicholas Day is a popular occasion for children in many parts of Europe because children usually receive gifts on this day. Some European cities such as Bari, Italy recognize St. Nicholas as the patron saint and celebrate with different activities such as gift-giving, parades, feasts and festivals.
St. Nicholas is referred to by many names throughout Europe such as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands or Nikolausin Germany. In the days leading up to December 6, children throughout Europe put their shoes or a special St. Nicholas boot in front of the fireplace or the front door at night to find them filled with small presents the next morning. A larger amount of gifts is usually brought on the eve of St. Nicholas Day or December 5.
5 Famous Christmas Traditions
Lighting candles
Candle lighting is a famous tradition its done at various ceremonies weddings, birthdays, romantic dinners, and also during Christmas. One of the earliest records of candles being used at Christmas is from the middle ages, where a large candle was used to represent the star of Bethlehem.
Making & Eating Mince Pies
Making & Eating Mince Pies
Just the thought of this makes a watery mouth, home made mince pies made on Christmas, a perfect meal for the day. Pies have been a part of many Christmas treats. The early mince pie was known by several names, including “mutton pie“, “shrid pie” and “Christmas pie“. Typically, its ingredients were a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg
Singing carols
Singing is a fun part of Christmas. Christmas carols have had lots of renditions from rock, classical, jazz, pop, reggae and even oriental music genres to suit a wide variety of listeners, Christmas carols have been around since 12th century, Christmas carols were introduced in to church services by St Francis of Assisi
Presents Under the Tree
Giving is one off the core themes centred around a Christmas mood, presents are boxed placed around a magnificently decorated tree, only to be shared and opened on Christmas day yearly.
Decorations
Christmas is not Christmas without decorations in red, green, white ribbons, trees, wrapped presents in gold silver and printed boxes not to mention balloons in all shapes and size, so be sure to get ready to decorate and create a Christmas atmosphere!