Ho, Ho, Ho………

                 
Santa Claus… Kris Kringle...Old Saint Nick.  

Who is this guy?
Well, the original St. Nicholas was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey
- He was made the bishop of Myra and was credited with doing a number of miracles involving sailors and children.
- After his death, as a saint he was given his own "feast day" that was celebrated on December 6th.

- At about the same time Nicholas lived, Pope Julius I decided to establish a date for the celebration of the birth of Jesus
- As the actual time of year for this event was unknown, the Pope decided to assign the holiday to December 25th.
- There had long been a pagan midwinter festival at this time of year and the Pope hoped to use the holiday to Christianise the celebrations.

- Eventually, Saint Nicholas's feast day also became associated with December 25th and his connection with Christmas was established.
- As the reformation took a hold of much of Europe, however, the popularity of St. Nicholas dropped in most Protestant countries, with the exception of Holland where he was referred to as "Sinter Klaas



18th/SP/2pm/10th