by: Adam C. English
With his rosy cheeks and matching red suit--and ever-present elf and
reindeer companions--Santa Claus may be the most identifiable of
fantastical characters. But what do we really know of jolly old Saint
Nicholas, "patron saint" of Christmastime? Ask about the human behind
the suit, and the tale we know so well quickly fades into myth and
folklore.
In The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus, religious
historian Adam English tells the true and compelling tale of Saint
Nicholas, bishop of Myra. Around the fourth century in what is now
Turkey, a boy of humble circumstance became a man revered for his many
virtues. Chief among them was dealing generously with his possessions,
once lifting an entire family out of poverty with a single--and
secret--gift of gold, so legend tells. Yet he was much more than
virtuous. As English reveals, Saint Nicholas was of integral influence
in events that would significantly impact the history and development of
the Christian church, including the Council of Nicaea, the destruction
of the temple to Artemis in Myra, and a miraculous rescue of three
falsely accused military officers. And Nicholas became the patron saint
of children and sailors, merchants and thieves, as well as France,
Russia, Greece, and myriad others.
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