Cary G Dean.
Dial-the-Truth Ministries
The mysterious St. Nicholas.
The first major problem in the Santa Claus aka ( Satan Lucas ) saga is the person of St. Nicholas. There is very little evidence, if any, that the man St. Nicholas actually existed.
Nicholas existence is not attested by any historical document, so nothing certain is known of his life except that he was probably bishop of Myra in the fourth century.
("Nicholas, Saint" Encyclopaedia Britannica 99)
Nicholas, Saint (lived 4th century), Christian prelate, patron saint of Russia, traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations. The accounts of his life are confused and historically unconfirmed.
("Nicholas, Saint" Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)
Unfortunately, very little is known about the real St. Nicholas. Countless legends have grown up around this very popular saint, but very little historical evidence is available.
(Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 130)
(Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 130)
In 1969, the final nail in the coffin to the feeble fable of St. Nicholas was officially hammered down. Despite the fact, St. Nicholas is among Roman Catholicism's most popular and venerated "Saints," Pope Paul VI officially decreed the feast of Saint Nicholas removed from the Roman Catholic calendar.
UPI Wire Services reported that St. Nicholas and forty other saints were deleted because "of doubt that they ever existed."
("Pope Marches 40 Saints Off Official Church Calendar." UPI Wire Services.)
UPI Wire Services reported that St. Nicholas and forty other saints were deleted because "of doubt that they ever existed."
("Pope Marches 40 Saints Off Official Church Calendar." UPI Wire Services.
One little problem it is historically false.
In fact, Irving, a well known fiction author of such classics as Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, never intended Knickerbocker History as historical fact, but silly satire.
To heighten the satire and humorous effect, Irving even used the comical pen-name of Diedrich Knickerbocker as author.
Jones proved the early New Amsterdam Dutch were Reformation Dutch who believed the veneration of saints as evil heresy, especially St. Nicholas. Jones provided first-hand documents of the early Dutch that decrees "very severe" laws prohibiting any celebration of St. Nicholas.
Jones added that "there is no record of anyone breaking such laws." Jones's convincing analysis should be carefully examined by anyone researching the true origin of Santa.
The following brief cites are from Jones’s convincing work:
(Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362)
(Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362)
The traditional tale that Santa Claus is the anglicized corruption of the Dutch Sinter Klaas is also incorrect. Jones states, "And by the way, Santa Claus is not a characteristically Dutch corruption. The place it has survived from early times in Switzerland and southern Germany."
(Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 366)
We previously established that no historical evidence exists collaborating the person of St. Nicholas, but ignoring that serious blunder for a few minutes, let us investigate the fable that Santa and St. Nicholas are the same.
Santa Claus is an Americanization, all right, but not of a Catholic Saint.
Despite a century of repetition, this story is simply untrue.
(Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, pp. 5,7)
It was not merely a "disguise," but the ancient saint was completely replaced by an entirely different character. With the Christian saint whose name he still bears, however this Santa Claus has really nothing to do with him.
(Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1952, p. 114)
If Nicholas, the ascetic bishop of fourth-century Asia Minor, could see Santa Claus, he would not know who he was.
(Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, pp. 138,141)
The Feast and Visit of St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6 (the fictional date of his death), not December 25. Even today, St. Nicholas Day and Sinter Klaas are still celebrated on December 6.
The date of St. Nicholas Day has never been December 25.
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