{"id":4273,"date":"2005-12-14T19:13:06","date_gmt":"2005-12-14T23:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/12\/14\/st-nicholas-v-santa-claus\/"},"modified":"2011-12-25T08:21:28","modified_gmt":"2011-12-25T13:21:28","slug":"st-nicholas-v-santa-claus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/12\/14\/st-nicholas-v-santa-claus\/","title":{"rendered":"st. nicholas v. santa claus"},"content":{"rendered":"

– use the short URL<\/em>\u00a0http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/Santa-StNick<\/a> to share this posting –<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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I<\/em>f Saint Nicholas had had a good team of lawyers, his morphing<\/span><\/span> into the Americanized-commercialized figure of\u00a0Santa Claus might<\/span> never have happened.\u00a0\u00a0 The frenzied November-through-January<\/span> “season” of\u00a0constant shopping, consumption and greed might have<\/span> been avoided.\u00a0 Perhaps, even the non-religious (like myself) might be<\/span> gladly sharing in the spiritual dimension of a holiday season focused on selfless giving and sacrifice for others.\u00a0 Such a season would desrve<\/span> to be named for the Baby Jesus, whose followers could\u00a0then be nurturing <\/span> goodwill towards all<\/em>, rather than fomenting culture war and nomenclature <\/span> indignation<\/span>. [see our prior <\/span>post<\/span><\/a>; Newsday<\/em>, “<\/span>Christmas Clashes<\/span><\/a>“]<\/span><\/div>\n

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\"\" If St. Nicholas did sue Santa, he’d have a sleigh-full of amici<\/em> and character <\/span>witnesses in the battle against commericializing the holiday season:
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Pope Benedict XVI<\/span><\/a>: (Washington Post<\/em>, “Pope: Christmas Polluted<\/span><\/span><\/span> by <\/span><\/span>Consumerism,” Dec. 11, 2005): “In today’s consumer society,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> this time <\/span><\/span>(of the year) is unfortunately subjected to a sort of commer<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>cial ‘pollution’ <\/span><\/span>that is in danger of altering its true spirit, which is characterized by meditation, sobriety and a joy that is not exterior but intimate.”\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\"tiny “Assembling the Nativity scene in the home<\/em> can<\/span><\/span><\/span> turn out to be a simple but effective way of presenting<\/span><\/span><\/span> the faith to pass it on to one’s children. . . The Nativity<\/span><\/span><\/span> scene <\/span><\/span><\/span>helps us contemplate the mystery of the love of<\/span><\/span><\/span> God, which <\/span><\/span><\/span>is revealed to us in the poverty and simplicity<\/span><\/span><\/span> of the grotto <\/span><\/span><\/span>in Bethlehem.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Adam Cohen<\/span><\/a> (NYT<\/em>, “This Season’s War Cry: Commercialize<\/span> Christmas, or Else,” Dec. 4, 2005): “A 1931 Times roundup of<\/span> Christmas sermons reported a common theme: ‘the suggestion<\/span> that Christmas could not survive if Christ were thrust into the back<\/span>ground by materialism’.\u00a0. . . \u00a0This year’s Christmas ‘defenders’ are not just tolerating commercialization – they’re insisting on it” [by insisting that stores use the word Christmas] <\/span><\/p>\n


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\"StNickDonkey\"<\/span>original<\/em><\/span><\/a> Prof. Amy Uelman<\/a> (Mirror of Justice<\/em>,<\/span><\/a> Chiming in on the “Christmas Wars,”<\/span> Dec. 13, 2005): “It seems to me that it might be helpful to clarify that<\/span><\/span><\/span> the ‘unwanted influence’ that ‘pollutes’ Christmas is not the diversity<\/span><\/span> of faith traditions in our culture, but excessive consumerism and commercialism that distracts Christians from focusing\u2014and perhaps even communicating to others — the poverty and simplicity at the heart of the message of Christmas.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Ellen Goodman<\/span><\/a> (NYT\/SeattleTimes<\/em>, “O Durid tree, O Druid tree,” Dec. 9,<\/span><\/span><\/span> 2005): “On the one hand, they want more Christ in Christmas; on the other hand, they want more Christmas in the marketplace. It makes one long<\/span><\/span><\/span> for the screeds against commercialism. . . . But this year’s blow-up over church and store? A battle between Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays?<\/span><\/span><\/span> I thought religion was supposed to remind us that there’s a separation between pew and marketplace.”
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\"\"<\/a> How did a nice ex-Catholic like I get on this St. Nicholas theme? As often<\/span> happens, a visit\u00a0last week to see the Riskprof<\/span><\/a><\/em>, started me on a wide-ranging\u00a0tangent — this time, concerning <\/span>St. Nicholas of Myra<\/span><\/a>, whose feast day, December 6,\u00a0is still<\/span> quite important in many European countries, but passes quite unnoticed in most American homes. <\/span><\/div>\n

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Thanks to <\/span>Wikipedia<\/span><\/a>, to a <\/span>Chronology of Santa Clause<\/span><\/a> at the Christmas\u00a0Archives,<\/span> and especially to the extensive materials at the <\/span>St. Nicholas Center<\/span><\/a>, I learned (or re-learned) a lot about the historical Bishop Nicholas, and the myths and customs<\/span> that grew around his legend, and that eventually led to the contemporary Santa Claus personage (and excesses).\u00a0\u00a0 This St. Nicholas <\/span>Timeline<\/span><\/a> is a useful place to\u00a0(re)acquaint<\/span> yourself\u00a0with his legend. <\/span><\/div>\n

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The historical Nicholas was born around 270 AD, and became Bishop of<\/span> Myra<\/span><\/a> (in modern-day Turkey) at an early age.\u00a0 He was credited with making many anonymous gifts from his personal fortune\u00a0for those in need.\u00a0 According<\/span> to The Christmas Archive, Nicholas “spent his life helping the poor and under-priviledged. He loved children and often went out at night disguised in a hooded<\/span> cloak, to leave necessary gifts of money, clothing or food at the windows of unfortunate families.”\u00a0 (more info on his life <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/div>\n

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\"StNickIT\"<\/span> He is also known for his fervent defense of his Faith — most notably for punch<\/span>ing the heretic <\/span>Arius<\/span><\/a> in the face at the first Council of Nicaea in 325.\u00a0 He was ejected from the Council for his offense and jailed, but was reportedly allowed<\/span> back in after the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to many of the Bishops, asking them to forgive Nicholas’ act, as it was done out\u00a0of love for<\/span> her Son. (Of course, a good defense lawyer could easily have gotten Nicholas an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, despite his prison <\/span>record<\/span><\/a> under<\/span> the former emperor.) <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"tiny No, Arius\u00a0— whose followers believed Jesus<\/span> was\u00a0merely a man\u00a0— had not<\/em> wished Nicholas a<\/span> “Happy Holiday!” prior to the punch.\u00a0 So, don’t <\/span>get any ideas, <\/span>Bill O’Reilly<\/span><\/a>, or <\/span>Steve Bainbridge<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"BariNick\" <\/span>orig.<\/em><\/span><\/a> How’d He Get to Bari? <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n

For centuries after his death, many pilgrims went to Nicholas’ burial place\u00a0at<\/span> the Cathedral in Myra.\u00a0 However, his remains have been in situ<\/em> at Bari, Italy<\/span> [the ancestral home of my mother’s family], for almost a thousand years.\u00a0 How did that happen?\u00a0 Well, pilgrimage tourism was big business in the first millen<\/span>nium (especially with the related basilica construction projects!), and poor St. Nicholas became involved in commercialization even back then.\u00a0As the Saint<\/span> Nicholas Center <\/span>explains<\/span><\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n

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“How did the Bishop of Myra become ‘Saint in Bari’? It’s a long way from Lycia to the eastern coast of Italy. “St. Nicholas’ tomb in Myra was a popular place of pilgrimage. . .\u00a0 If a town were fortunate enough to host such a significant religious site, it enjoyed considerable commercial benefit because pilgrims needed to be housed, fed, and otherwise provided for.\u00a0\u00a0 After Myra fell under the control of the Seljuks, who were not sympathetic to Christian faith, Italian merchants in both Venice and Bari, saw an opportunity to bring such advantage to their cities . Their motives were opportunistic, but also spiritual, as there was real fear that pilgrimage could become difficult and dangerous or that the shrine might even be desecrated. . . . <\/span><\/div>\n

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“[The Barians broke open Nicolas’] tomb with an iron bar. The sailors spirited the bones away to the ship, escaping just ahead of the townspeople coming in hot pursuit. . . . When they arrived in Bari, May 9, 1087, the townspeople thronged to the harbor to welcome the saint’s remains. The returning men made a solemn vow to build a magnificent church to honor St. Nicholas. The crypt was completed by October 1089 and Pope Urban II laid the relics of St. Nicholas beneath the crypt’s altar, consecrating a shrine that became one of medieval Europe’s great pilgrimage centers.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\"NoSantaGS\"<\/span> The St. Nicholas Center also has a detailed discussion on The Origin of Santa Claus<\/a>, asking “How did the kindly Christian saint, good Bishop Nicholas, become a roly-poly red-suited American symbol for merry holiday festivity and commercial activity?”\u00a0 After it explains the seminal role of the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” [a\/k\/a “The Night Before Christmas”], and many other developments, we learn:<\/span><\/div>\n
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by Renee Graef <\/span>\"\"<\/div>\n

\n“Dozens of artists portrayed Santa in a wide range of styles, sizes, and colors, including Norman Rockwell on Saturday Evening Post covers. But it was in the 1930s that the now-familiar American Santa image solidified.\u00a0 Haddon Sundblom began thirty-five years of Coca-Cola Santa advertisements which finally established Santa as an icon of contemporary commercial culture. This Santa was life-sized, jolly, and wearing the now familiar red suit. He appeared in magazines, on billboards, and shop counters encouraging Americans to see Coke as the solution to’ “a thirst for all seasons.’ <\/span><\/div>\n

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“By the 1950s Santa was turning up everywhere as a benign source of beneficence. This commercial success has led to the North American Santa Claus being exported around the world where he threatens to overcome the European St. Nicholas, who has retained his identity as a Christian bishop and saint.<\/span><\/div>\n

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. . . . “It’s\u00a0 been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St. Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity, to America’s jolly Santa Claus. However, if you peel back the accretions he is still Nicholas,\u00a0 Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness. <\/span><\/div>\n

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\"StNickBE\"<\/span> “In the United States there is growing interest in the original saint to help recover the spiritual dimension of this festive time. For indeed, St. Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live. A priest, a bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true center of Christmas\u2014the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
See Chronology of Santa Clause<\/span><\/a> at the Christmas Archives, for a timeline showing the <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
evolution from St. Nicholas to Mr. Claus. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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H<\/em>ere’s a comparison of <\/span>Santa Claus and St. Nicholas<\/span><\/a>, by J. Rosenthal & C. Myers:\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\"candyCaneGV\" Santa Claus and St. Nicholas <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
Everybody loves Santa Claus. He embodies holiday cheer, happiness, fun, and gifts\u2014 warm happy aspects of the Christmas season. How do Santa Claus and St. Nicholas differ?<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
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Rev. Tom St. Pierre<\/span><\/a>: (Newsday<\/em>, L.I., NY):\u00a0“The materialism, consumerism <\/span><\/span><\/span> and the pressure to buy is annoying.\u00a0 When I turn on the radio before <\/span><\/span><\/span>Thanksgiving and hear Christmas carols, I know it’s not for people to <\/span><\/span><\/span>celebrate Christ, it’s for them to run up credit card debt.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n