The Real Story of Saint Nicholas, The Patron Saint of Children

The Origin Story of Ole St Nick

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Was There a Real St. Nick?

Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Ole St. Nick. Regardless of the name you use, children around the world grow up learning that these names all refer to the same jolly old man that wears red and slides down the chimneys of good little boys and girls all across the globe on Christmas eve, giving them toys and presents.

It’s a rite of passage of our childhoods to get our yearly visits from Santa Claus. Then at some point we learn the truth about Santa Claus. Then we learn about the ‘spirit’ of Christmas, and what it means to give to others.

But it turns out, there was a real Saint Nicholas. And while Santa Claus was created as an amalgam of Christmas legends from around the world in order to sell more toys, at least some of the story is rooted in truth.

The real Nicholas was born in the 3rd century in the town of Patara in Asia Minor. In order to understand how Nicholas came to be a Saint, and more importantly the Patron Saint of Children, it’s important to understand his religious background.

Nicholas grew up in a devoutly Christian family. Christian teachings would have a profound impact on Nicholas’ life in two areas: His view toward wealth, and children.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus gave His followers clear instruction on how to handle both matters. First, Christians are encouraged to share what they have with others. And Jesus often warned against the accumulation of wealth, giving a famous teaching that “It will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it will be for a rich man to enter into Heaven”. The point Jesus was making is that we shouldn’t focus on accumulating wealth here on earth, we should focus on accumulating wealth in Heaven.

Nicholas came from a wealthy family, and his parents died unexpectedly when he was young. Nicholas received the family’s wealth, and remembering the teachings of Jesus, he used his family’s wealth as a tool to help the needy, sick and suffering. Yet Nicholas had a special place in his heart for helping children. This was also consistent with the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.

Jesus made it quite clear while on earth that He loves children. This is one story where He is traveling with His disciples when a group of children see Him and rush to Him. His overprotective disciples attempt to prevent the children touching Jesus. Jesus rebukes them, and welcomes the children. He then uses this instance to educate His followers on how much He loves and values children. This passage from Matthew 18:2-6 explains more of His teachings:

“² Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³ and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. ⁶ “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Sidenote: Did you know that the first person on earth to recognize Jesus Christ was an unborn baby? The angel Gabriel (officially God’s messenger of Good News) revealed to Zechariah that he would be given a son, who would be John the Baptist. Gabriel explained to Zechariah that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth.

Zechariah’s wife was Elizabeth, who was the cousin of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus. Early in Mary’s pregnancy, she visited Elizabeth, who was carrying John at the time. When Mary announced her presence to Elizabeth, the book of Luke explains that the unborn John ‘leaped for joy’ in his mother’s womb upon hearing that the unborn Christ had arrived.

This story helps illustrate that Jesus held and taught that children should be revered and protected. Nicholas took the teachings of Jesus toward children to heart. Unfortunately, history hasn’t always recorded many of the finer details of Nicholas’ life, although we do know some things.

First, upon the death of his parents, Nicholas took the family fortune and committed it to helping the sick, needy and children. One of the first acts of kindness attributed to Nicholas was when he is said to have provided the dowry for three young women. A father could not provide a dowry for his three daughters who were to be required to be sold into slavery as a result. Right before this was to happen, three bags of gold were found left in their home, presumably by Nicholas.

It was said that Nicholas did this in the cover of night in order to spare the family the public humiliation of accepting charity. The bags of gold were found in socks that were hanging over the fireplace to dry. This gives way to the tradition of leaving treats, in stockings on Christmas Eve. I had always heard that you should leave coins made of chocolate and covered in gold foil in the stockings. This tradition no doubt goes back to this story of Nicholas’ generosity.

Nicholas is said to have been a priest without being ordained, which was quite rare. At one point early on his priesthood, he asked a sailor for a favor. A ship was taking wheat to Myra as a tax to the emperor. The amount on board the ship was the exact amount of wheat that would cover the taxes. The sailors knew if they didn’t deliver the exact amount on board to the emperor that they would be severely punished on arrival in Myra, if not killed.

Nevertheless, Nicholas asked the sailors to please leave 50 bags behind so the people in that region, who were starving due to famine, could be fed. The sailors sympathized with Nicholas but told him they simply could not leave any wheat behind, that they would be punished.

Nicholas promised them that they would not be punished if they left behind some wheat, and he agreed to make the journey with the ship to see that it was as he said. Reluctantly, the sailors agreed and left behind the wheat. Sure enough, upon arrival in Myra, the emperor’s men counted the wheat on board the ship and found it to be the precise amount necessary to cover the tax due!

Upon arriving in Myra, Nicholas entered the church to pray. Myra’s bishop had recently passed away, and the priests in the city decided among themselves that the next priest to enter the church that morning would be named their new bishop. Shortly after is when Nicholas entered the church to pray, becoming Myra’s bishop in the process.

Another story attributed to Nicholas involved him saving the lives of three innocent men. The three men were chained and about to be executed when Saint Nicholas stopped the execution and revealed that one of their accusers had been bribed to lie against them.

Perhaps the most remarkable story attributed to Saint Nicholas is the resurrection of three dead students. The students were traveling to Athens. Along the way, they stopped at an inn to rest. The innkeeper robbed and then killed the students, hiding their remains. Shortly after, Saint Nicholas arrived at the same inn. While sleeping there, the crime was revealed to him in a dream. He awoke, found where the students were, and prayed to God to resurrect them, which happened.

Pope Eugene IV canonized Nicholas as the Patron Saint of Children and Sailors in 1446. While we may never know if all the incredible stories attributed to Nicholas really happened, we do know that a Pope felt he had lived a life worthy of sainthood.

If you think about it, this truly exemplifies the spirit of the Christmas season. Saint Nicholas took what God had blessed him with, and used it as a tool to help others. These acts also magnified the blessings that were bestowed on Nicholas and his family.

I think we can sometimes lose sight of the fact that gift-giving during Christmas time isn’t always about material things. Often, sharing your attention and affection for someone is the very best gift you can give them. Think back to the last issue of Backstage Pass and the video of how Taylor’s fans reacted to receiving gifts from her. Each fan was happy to receive the present, but they truly became overcome with emotion when they discovered the handwritten note from Taylor. The note itself became the true gift for them.

Perhaps as our children grow up, we can move from telling them about Santa Claus, to teaching them about the real life Saint Nicholas, and how he used his gifts to help others not just at Christmas, but all throughout the year.

On this Christmas Eve, I want to wish you and your family the very Merriest of Christmases. As Tiny Tim said in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, “God bless us, each and every one!”

Mack