| Santa Clause and Christmas |
Christmas is coming. Christmas for most of the people is family, warmth and presents.
The legend tells us that the origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, and an area in present day Turkey. By nature St. Nicholas was a generous and honest man, particularly devoted to children. He use to love them a lot. After his death around 340 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas' popularity throughout Europe. His kindness and reputation for generosity and love for children gave raise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased.
During his lifetime, he adored children and often threw gifts anonymously into the windows of their homes. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was famous for his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre. In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors; in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travelers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and some time around the 12th century an official church holiday was created in his honor.
Santa Clause is a symbol of Christmas. Christmas is not real Christmas if there is no Santa Clause and Christmas tree.
Merry Christmas!
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