Sinterklaas, Santeclaus, Santa Claus

by Metropolitan Moses of Toronto

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the familiar name “Santa Claus” one hears everywhere as ‘
an American corruption’ of the Dutch “Sinterklaas”), that is, Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas’ name in Greek signifies “Niko” [victory] and “laos” [of the people]. And he indee
d was and is the victory of the people and a holy wonderworker and swift helper of those in n
eed and intercessor before God. His unique position in the Orthodox Church is witnessed to by
the fact that Saint Nicholas is celebrated every Thursday, along with the Holy Apostles, accordin
g to the weekly liturgical cycle. His parents Theophanes and Nonna were wealthy, but for a tim
e could not have a child. After much fervent prayer, Saint Nicholas was born. When he came of
age, Saint Nicholas was made a priest by his uncle and namesake, Nicholas, the bishop of Pat
ara. Not long thereafter, he was put in charge of the diocese while the bishop made a pilgrima
ge to the Holy Land. During this time, Saint Nicholas’ parents reposed and Saint Nicholas used
his inheritance generously for alms.

The Original Story of Saint Nicholas’

Gift-Giving

There was a man living in Patara who was once wealthy and illustrious and then became impov
erished and scorned by those who had regarded him highly. The man could not cope with his
poverty and planned on turning his home into a house of ill repute, forcing his three young da
ughters into a life of shame.

Saint Nicholas learned of the man’s foul scheme by divine revelation and, inspired by God by ni
ght he secretly threw a purse of gold into the house through a window and fled. The man tha
nked God and used the money to furnish the dowry for the eldest daughter, and she was marr
ied. Saint Nicholas heard of this and decided to provide for his second daughter. The man was
overwhelmed by this benefaction and prayed to God that He show him who his benefactor was.
While Saint Nicholas threw in a third bag the man was waiting and ran after him. Recognizing
the virtuous priest, he fell at his feet and thanked him for delivering him from the plots of the
devil. But the saint told him not to tell anyone of his benefactions as long as he lived.
There are many traditional icons containing events from the life of Saint Nicholas that include th
is scene. This benefaction of Saint Nicholas was a favorite theme for Medieval Italian painters. T
here is one such painting found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. One can see
on one part of the canvass the greatly dejected family and elsewhere Saint Nicholas climbing u
p to throw the bag of gold through a small window.

By a special revelation of God, Saint Nicholas was chosen to become the Archbishop of Myra o
f Lycia (found in present-day Turkey). He confessed Christ and was imprisoned during the perse
cutions of the pagan Emperor Diocletian. The persecutions ended and after being released, his li
fe was filled with efforts to defend the poor and downtrodden, distribute alms and guide his spi
ritual flock in love. In Russia, believers refer to him as “the friend of the people.”

Yet, the love filled Saint Nicholas had a burning love for the truth. (He had already suffered for
the truth during the First Ecumenical Council while Arius was expounding his blasphemous teach
ings, Saint Nicholas was filled with a holy zeal like a second Elias and struck Arius in the mouth
. No one knew exactly what to do with Saint Nicholas, for it was a Roman law that anyone wh
o struck another person in the presence of the Emperor was to be put to death.

Additionally, there were Apostolic Canons that decreed that a hierarch who hit someone was to
be removed from his office. That night some of the worthy bishops saw a vision wherein Saint
Nicholas was handed the gospel by Christ and the bishop’s omophorion by the Holy Theotokos,
thus demonstrating that he struck Arius not from passion, but he was inspired by the Holy Spi
rit. Thus Saint Nicholas was reinstated with honor.

There is an ancient hymn that gives witness to these events:

The truth of things has revealed thee to thy flock* as a rule of faith, an icon of meekness, and
a teacher of temperance; / for this cause thou has achieved the heights by humility,* riches by
poverty./ O Father and hierarch Nicholas,* intercede with Christ our God that our souls be save
d.
During his life, he calmed storms at sea by his prayers and delivered those in danger. For this r
eason he was a patron of seafarers, sailors and merchants. After his repose, the Church set Dec
ember 6th for his feast day. Veneration towards St. Nicholas spread rapidly throughout the Medi
terranean and eventually to coastal towns along the Atlantic and the North Sea. In the 12th and
13th centuries, Holland built no fewer than 23 churches dedicated to Saint Nicholas, many of w
hich are still standing. Amsterdam adopted Saint Nicholas as its patron saint and there are mor
e than four hundred churches dedicated to Saint Nicholas in England.

The Feast of Saint Nicholas is an annual event which has been celebrated by the Dutch, Flemish
and Germans for centuries. Saint Nicholas’ Feast Day is observed in most Roman Catholic coun
tries primarily as a feast for small children. But it is only in the Low Countries--especially in the
Netherlands--that the eve of his feast day (December 5th) is celebrated nationwide by young an
d old, and now, alas, without any particular religious overtones.

How did Americans further transform the bishop saint into a chubby gift-giver from the North P
ole? A Troy, N.Y., newspaper in 1823 published an anonymous poem entitled A Visit From St. N
icholas [T’was the night before Christmas/ when all through the house...]. Twenty-two years later
this poem was attributed to Clement More. The poem depicts the hierarch from Myra not as a
saint, but as a ‘jolly old elf,’ small enough to fit down a chimney. It is thought that More was i
nspired by Washington Irving who, in 1809, wrote a satire of the customs of New York’s Dutch
population titled, Knickerbocker History. Later in 1821 Irving wrote a Christmas poem called The
Children’s Friend. The poem, written for young people, drew from the same Dutch traditions reg
arding Saint Nicholas, but also added some mythologies to the story referring to him as “Santec
laus” and mentioning for the first time a sleigh and reindeer.

Old Santeclaus with much delight.

His reindeer drives this frosty night.

O’er chimney tops, and tracks of snow.

To bring his yearly gifts to you...

Later Thomas Nast in the 1860’s depicted “Santeclaus” as a very large man who could never fit
in a domestic chimney and Coca-Cola imitated this image in the early 1900’s. Next, Montgomery
Ward added Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (an Ugly Duckling story retold for marketing pur
poses) to his sleigh.

Thus even from the 1800’s, the story of Saint Nicholas was distorted and now through commerc
ialism even the “reason for the Christmas Season,” that is, the Birth of Christ, has been set asid
e. When people exchange gifts or show kindness to the poor during this season, most of our s
uperstitious society does not want to understand that it is operating on the fumes of a forgotte
n Christianity. Yet, even when we see the mythical “Santeclaus,” we can call to mind the Christia
n virtues of love, mercy, and generosity that shown forth in Saint Nicholas “the victory of the p
eople.”

* Like Aaron’s miraculous “rod that budded” (Heb. 9:4) was kept inside the Ark of the Covenant
during Old Testament times “as a sign for the children of the disobedient” (Num.17:10 LXX), th
e Holy Icon shown above has been miraculously streaming myrrh since Dec. 19, 1996. It is curre
ntly located in Las Vegas, Nevada at the St. Nicholas Mission of the Genuine Orthodox Church
of Greece, as a New Testament “sign for the children of the disobedient.”

As our Lord Jesus said: “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though
ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me,
and I am in him.” (St. Jn. 10:37-38)