Story Used Courtesy of Devotions. Thank You!
St Nicholas should be an inspiration to us all for he was a Godly man whose reputation for giving to people less fortunate to himself was a wonderful example of compassion and shows to us all what giving is really about.
He was not a jolly fat man who supposedly climbed down chimneys and didn’t have flying reindeer to pull his sledge along either.
St Nicholas known to many as Santa Claus was a totally different man to the so called Santa Claus we hear of today. St Nicholas was a kind and considerate man who lived a life full of Christian belief and values a man who gave without counting the cost to those who were less fortunate than himself.
The real story of Christmas is the true story of Jesus, God’s one and only and most precious son. The greatest gift anyone could ever receive. Our Heavenly Father is the real giver of gifts and St Nicholas certainly knew the real gift-giver.
The story of St Nicholas starts in Turkey, in the third century and he was a Christian. St Nicholas’ parents had prayed and asked God for a child, much the same as Abraham and Sarah had done. Nicholas was born around 280 A.D. and was considered by his parents to be truly a gift from God. Diligently Nicholas was taught, as all Christians children should be taught the true devotions of God and to be generous and helpful to the poor and those less fortunate than himself.
Nicholas’ parents both died when he was in his teens their heritage of living for God and giving to the poor was continued in Nicholas himself.
Ordained as a teenager Nicholas entered the priesthood at the age of 19. His uncle, the bishop who ordained him prophesied that Nicholas would offer guidance and consolation to many people and that he would eventually become a bishop himself and that he would live a life of enlightenment. Eventually he did become a bishop of a small coastal village and his influence spread into many nations.
Many accounts have been written about the life of Nicholas. It was said that he would spend all night studying God’s Word to bring it to the people. He was known for helping the poor, for praying, fasting, and standing steadfast in faith and goodness. There were many accounts of miracles that were brought about through his faith and prayers. Among the accounts of his ministry is the report of the twin brothers who were raised from the dead. It was written about him that that one could hardly keep count of the virtue and goodness that he spread around him.
One particular story of St Nicholas ‘ goodness is the reason many pictures show him with three golden spheres. These represent three bags of gold that he gave to the poor man so that his three daughters could be married. The man was so poor that his daughters had no dowries, and he was so desperate he was planning to sell them into slavery. To keep this from happening, Nicholas threw a bag of gold pieces through the man’s window at night so no one would know who had done it. He wanted God to get the credit for it. Because of this, the eldest daughter had a dowry. She was no longer an outcast and therefore could be married.
Not long after that, Nicholas did the same thing for the second daughter, saving her from a similar fate. When he did it for the third daughter the father caught him. Nicholas made the father swear an oath that he would never reveal who was responsible for the gifts as long as he was alive.
When Nicholas died on 6 December A.D. 343 he is said to have quoted Psalm 11 with his last breath; “In the Lord I put my truth”
In the Greek language the word Nicholas means “victorious” or “hero of the people” and he certainly did become a very popular figure in the centuries that followed his death.
Story’s of Nicholas spread throughout Greece and into Russia, he became popularly known as the patron saint of the Russians who called him “Nikolai”, the wonder worker.
In 1087, the remains of St Nicholas’ grave were moved and transported to Bari, Italy, where a basilica was built in his honor. Soon after this his popularity spread throughout Italy and across western Europe.
December 6, the day of his death, became St Nicholas Day on the roman catholic calendar, the custom of gift-giving on this date began in France and spread right across Europe.
Similarities between Nicholas’ characteristics can be seen in the Santa Claus character, as he is known worldwide. He gave gifts at night and was not to be seen by anyone. Haven said that one has to ask how did the story of this Godly man get turned into the lie we know it today, the story of elf’s workshops, the North Pole and much, much more.
In the 1500’s, during the Protestant Reformation, the worshiping of Saints was denounced and St Nicholas day was no longer observed in England.
In Holland and Belgium the traditional day of 6 December was still celebrated. There Sinter Klaas rode through the streets on a white horse, rewarding good children with treats and toys and giving rods or switches to bad children.
In Germany, the saint was referred to as “Nicholas dressed in fur” and also left sweets for good children and rods for the bad ones.
Christopher Columbus brought the first celebration of Nicholas Day to the New World when he landed in the West Indies on 6 December 1492, and named the harbor Port of St Nicholas, in honor of the patron saint of sailors.
All of these traditions blended with immigration to the New World. As the English and Dutch came together and intermarried, Father Christmas and Sinter Klaas blended into one figure. Dutch Americans eventually adopted 25 December as their day of celebration and by the end of the Civil War, St Nicholas the bishop was generally known in the United States as Santa Claus.
The Poem “Twas the night before Christmas” further shaped the American Santa. Another popular poem, originally titled, “A visit from St Nicholas” was penned by New York professor Clement Moore
In the 1800’s and created a word picture portraying a round-bellied Santa with a huge pack on his back. Picking up on the image, cartoonist Thomas Nast added a North Pole toy workshop in his cartoons for Harper Weekly magazine. In 1925, a large corporation ran an advertising campaign of Santa Claus further defining him as a large man with a red and white fur suit, black boots, and a long flowing beard, the closest depiction of our present day Santa.
The American Santa Claus came from a melting pot of Old World cultures and characters. He is the Dutch Sinter Klaas and the Lutheran Kris Kringle who bring gifts for children. His red garment is lined with fur like the German version of Nicholas, and he spreads merriment and cheer like Father Christmas. A team of reindeer, borrowed from the Russian legend, accompanies Santa Claus on his journey through the night.
The tragic part in all this is how the devil has twisted and distorted a wonderful story of a man of God into this fantasiful character of nothing but deceit and lies. A man that had such a fullness of faith in God that even the dead were raised and miracles carried out. He was popular because of his reputation of honour, putting others first, caring for those less fortunate, and giving without counting the cost. Again it is clear to see that devil has got in with his devious ways, taking the true story of Godly and caring man and turning into nothing but a fat bellied, pipe smoking, pie eating individual with flying reindeer and elf’s as workers.
The story of the true St Nicholas is a beautiful picture of the caring, loving, humble, devoted man of God who went out of his way to help others without them knowing. Giving and not counting the cost, these are the true values of a true Christian. No fancy coat and boots, no gifts for the good and rods and switches for the bad, no flying reindeer or elf or other tales of fantasy. No lies to the children that Santa gives, gives, gives to those who want, want, want! No fairy stories or lies just good solid Christian values.
Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name….
He is the one that gives us the best gift we could ever hope for.
He is the one that not only gave us a child for Christmas, he gave us baby Jesus.
He gave us a gift for every day of the year, one that would fulfill us beyond all we could ever dream of, one that would provide for us a doorway from the lies and deceit in this world. One that would mean we would never need to worry about how many presents we have to give, one that would mean we would be set free and free indeed.
Free from sin, free from lies, free from the devious and deceitful tricks of the evil one.
One that would provide for all our needs according to His riches and glory in heaven and providing we say with our lips and mean in our heart that ‘ we believe Jesus is the Promised One, the Savior of the world’ and confess our sins to Jesus whom was given all authority by God himself, accepting the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost into our hearts and our lives, then and only then will we have no need to worry in this life and will have received the guaranteed eternal life. We will be born again and will have peace within, the peace of God which passes all understanding.
That my friends is the greatest gift we could ever hope for,
it is free to us all and is a gift from God not just for Christmas Day but for every day of the year. Accept Jesus into your heart today, repent, and be born again.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment