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Is Santa Claus a Christian symbol?
If so, please break it down for me by showing me how.
As it stands, I don't see how a mythical character is a symbol for Christianity.
In fact, I believe it distorts it, certainly if and/or when it's used as symbol for Christianity.
I look forward to your responses.
He's a major saint of the Eastern Orthodox church, has translated through the years and over the miles into what we now call Santa Claus in the US.
Big whoop. Not a major sticking point for anyone except curmudgeons.
Is Santa Claus a Christian symbol?
If so, please break it down for me by showing me how.
As it stands, I don't see how a mythical character is a symbol for Christianity.
In fact, I believe it distorts it, certainly if and/or when it's used as symbol for Christianity.
I look forward to your responses.
(Also called NICHOLAS OF BARI).
Bishop of Myra in Lycia; died 6 December, 345 or 352. Though he is one of the most popular saints in the Greek as well as the Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was Bishop of Myra in the fourth century.
Some of the main points in his legend are as follows: He was born at Parara, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor; in his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine; shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra; cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian, he was released after the accession of Constantine, and was present at the Council of Nicaea. In 1087 Italian merchants stole his body at Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy.
The numerous miracles St. Nicholas is said to have wrought, both before and after his death, are outgrowths of a long tradition. There is reason to doubt his presence at Nicaea, since his name is not mentioned in any of the old lists of bishops that attended this council. His cult in the Greek Church is old and especially popular in Russia. As early as the sixth century Emperor Justinian I built a church in his honour at Constantinople, and his name occurs in the liturgy ascribed to St. Chrysostom. In Italy his cult seems to have begun with the translation of his relics to Bari, but in Germany it began already under Otto II, probably because his wife Theophano was a Grecian. Bishop Reginald of Eichstaedt (d. 991) is known to have written a metric, "Vita S. Nicholai." The course of centuries has not lessened his popularity. The following places honour him as patron: Greece, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Lorraine, the Diocese of Liège; many cities in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Belgium; Campen in the Netherlands; Corfu in Greece; Freiburg in Switzerland; and Moscow in Russia. He is patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, children, etc. His representations in art are as various as his alleged miracles. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the Church celebrates his feast; in the United States and some other countries St. Nicholas has become identified with Santa Claus who distributes gifts to children on Christmas eve. His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; up to the present day an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.
Sources
The traditional legends of St. Nicholas were first collected and written in Greek by Metaphrastes in the tenth century. They are printed in P.G. 116 sq.
About this page
APA citation. Ott, M. (1911). St. Nicholas of Myra. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 13, 2013 from New Advent: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra
MLA citation. Ott, Michael. "St. Nicholas of Myra." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 Dec. 2013 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11063b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Fr. Rick Losch.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra
He was GREEK you say?Plus he was a really nice Greek dude who did a lot for the poor, and for children.
WoW.....sounds like you're condemning Megyn Kelly for being absolutely wrong for saying that Jesus and Santa were white.
Poor poopoo.
"
Kris Kringle (sometimes given as Kriss Kringle) is a name used in the United States and may refer to:
Kris Kringle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Christkind or Christkindl, the Austrian and German Christmas gift-bringer, the Christ Child
- Santa Claus, by assimilation in the United States of the separate German tradition
- Secret Santa, a gift exchange deriving from the Christkindl tradition
- Kris Kringle, the lead character in Miracle on 34th Street "
Is Santa Claus a Christian symbol?
If so, please break it down for me by showing me how.
As it stands, I don't see how a mythical character is a symbol for Christianity.
In fact, I believe it distorts it, certainly if and/or when it's used as symbol for Christianity.
I look forward to your responses.
(Also called NICHOLAS OF BARI).
Bishop of Myra in Lycia; died 6 December, 345 or 352. Though he is one of the most popular saints in the Greek as well as the Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was Bishop of Myra in the fourth century.
Some of the main points in his legend are as follows: He was born at Parara, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor; in his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine; shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra; cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian, he was released after the accession of Constantine, and was present at the Council of Nicaea. In 1087 Italian merchants stole his body at Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy.
The numerous miracles St. Nicholas is said to have wrought, both before and after his death, are outgrowths of a long tradition. There is reason to doubt his presence at Nicaea, since his name is not mentioned in any of the old lists of bishops that attended this council. His cult in the Greek Church is old and especially popular in Russia. As early as the sixth century Emperor Justinian I built a church in his honour at Constantinople, and his name occurs in the liturgy ascribed to St. Chrysostom. In Italy his cult seems to have begun with the translation of his relics to Bari, but in Germany it began already under Otto II, probably because his wife Theophano was a Grecian. Bishop Reginald of Eichstaedt (d. 991) is known to have written a metric, "Vita S. Nicholai." The course of centuries has not lessened his popularity. The following places honour him as patron: Greece, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Lorraine, the Diocese of Liège; many cities in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Belgium; Campen in the Netherlands; Corfu in Greece; Freiburg in Switzerland; and Moscow in Russia. He is patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, children, etc. His representations in art are as various as his alleged miracles. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the Church celebrates his feast; in the United States and some other countries St. Nicholas has become identified with Santa Claus who distributes gifts to children on Christmas eve. His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; up to the present day an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.
Sources
The traditional legends of St. Nicholas were first collected and written in Greek by Metaphrastes in the tenth century. They are printed in P.G. 116 sq.
About this page
APA citation. Ott, M. (1911). St. Nicholas of Myra. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 13, 2013 from New Advent: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra
MLA citation. Ott, Michael. "St. Nicholas of Myra." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 Dec. 2013 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11063b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Fr. Rick Losch.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra
And the derivations of this rewrite are maybe far more interesting...
Nicholas' name comes from Hold Nikar (Old Nick), a sea god known as "king of the nixies" (sea nymphs) and associated with Woden (whence comes Wednesday, "Woden's Day", which is why we spell it like that in our Germanic-derived English). Indeed, echoes of Old Nick's seafaring past are found in the fake "St. Nicholas'" quieting a storm at sea to save three sailors.
Much of the association murkily filtered down to a conflation with Santa Claus comes from an Italian figure Pasqua Epiphania (a/k/a "The Grandmother") who would fill children's stockings with gifts. Indeed the Grandmother's shrine was at Bari, noted in the accepted "history" of the mythical saint. We could say it was colonized; out with the old god, in with the new.
The Gnostic "Nicolaites" saw Nicholas as a fertility god and "held that the only way to salvation lay through frequent intercourse between the sexes" (Knight). All of this predates the rewrite of the invented "St. Nicholas".
Sources: Zimmer, Heinrich: Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization; Miles, Clement: Christmas Customs and Traditions; Knight, Richard Payne: A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus
This is the real Santa Claus. And Rudolph was an eagle. Eagles fly.
(Also called NICHOLAS OF BARI).
Bishop of Myra in Lycia; died 6 December, 345 or 352. Though he is one of the most popular saints in the Greek as well as the Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was Bishop of Myra in the fourth century.
Some of the main points in his legend are as follows: He was born at Parara, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor; in his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine; shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra; cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian, he was released after the accession of Constantine, and was present at the Council of Nicaea. In 1087 Italian merchants stole his body at Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy.
The numerous miracles St. Nicholas is said to have wrought, both before and after his death, are outgrowths of a long tradition. There is reason to doubt his presence at Nicaea, since his name is not mentioned in any of the old lists of bishops that attended this council. His cult in the Greek Church is old and especially popular in Russia. As early as the sixth century Emperor Justinian I built a church in his honour at Constantinople, and his name occurs in the liturgy ascribed to St. Chrysostom. In Italy his cult seems to have begun with the translation of his relics to Bari, but in Germany it began already under Otto II, probably because his wife Theophano was a Grecian. Bishop Reginald of Eichstaedt (d. 991) is known to have written a metric, "Vita S. Nicholai." The course of centuries has not lessened his popularity. The following places honour him as patron: Greece, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Lorraine, the Diocese of Liège; many cities in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Belgium; Campen in the Netherlands; Corfu in Greece; Freiburg in Switzerland; and Moscow in Russia. He is patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, children, etc. His representations in art are as various as his alleged miracles. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the Church celebrates his feast; in the United States and some other countries St. Nicholas has become identified with Santa Claus who distributes gifts to children on Christmas eve. His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; up to the present day an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.
Sources
The traditional legends of St. Nicholas were first collected and written in Greek by Metaphrastes in the tenth century. They are printed in P.G. 116 sq.
About this page
APA citation. Ott, M. (1911). St. Nicholas of Myra. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 13, 2013 from New Advent: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra
MLA citation. Ott, Michael. "St. Nicholas of Myra." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 Dec. 2013 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11063b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Fr. Rick Losch.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra
And the derivations of this rewrite are maybe far more interesting...
Nicholas' name comes from Hold Nikar (Old Nick), a sea god known as "king of the nixies" (sea nymphs) and associated with Woden (whence comes Wednesday, "Woden's Day", which is why we spell it like that in our Germanic-derived English). Indeed, echoes of Old Nick's seafaring past are found in the fake "St. Nicholas'" quieting a storm at sea to save three sailors.
Much of the association murkily filtered down to a conflation with Santa Claus comes from an Italian figure Pasqua Epiphania (a/k/a "The Grandmother") who would fill children's stockings with gifts. Indeed the Grandmother's shrine was at Bari, noted in the accepted "history" of the mythical saint. We could say it was colonized; out with the old god, in with the new.
The Gnostic "Nicolaites" saw Nicholas as a fertility god and "held that the only way to salvation lay through frequent intercourse between the sexes" (Knight). All of this predates the rewrite of the invented "St. Nicholas".
Sources: Zimmer, Heinrich: Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization; Miles, Clement: Christmas Customs and Traditions; Knight, Richard Payne: A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus
oh, just stop it.
St. Nicholas does not come from any fertility figures.
He was a 4th century Bishop and later a Saint who supplied dowry for three poor girls - and that how the whole business of presents started.
Half of Europe is not getting presents on Christmas, btw, but on St. Nicholas day which is December 6th by Gregorian calendar and December 19 by Julian.
and Johanna (Ἰωάννα according to some accounts[18] and Theophanes (Θεοφάνης and Nonna (Νόννα according to others.[16] He was very religious from an early age[14] and according to legend, Nicholas was said to have rigorously observed the canonical fasts of Wednesdays and Fridays. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he was raised by his uncle—also named Nicholas—who was the bishop of Patara. He tonsured the young Nicholas as a reader and later ordained him a presbyter (priest).
Uh, no.
"
Nicholas was born a Greek[12][13][14] in Asia Minor during the third century in the city of Patara (Lycia et Pamphylia),[15][16] which was a port on the Mediterranean Sea,[16] and lived in Myra, Lycia[17] (part of modern-day Demre, Turkey), at a time when the region was Greek in its heritage,[16] culture, and outlook and politically part of the Roman diocese of Asia.[16] He was the only son of wealthy Christian parents named Epiphanius (Ἐπιφάνιος
In 325, he was one of many bishops to answer the request of Constantine and appear at the First Council of Nicaea. There, Nicolas was a staunch anti-Arian and defender of the Orthodox Christian position, and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed.[19]"
Saint Nicholas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He was a real person. Unlike Poseidon.
-- already proven flatly wrong once in the last few minutes. I'll trust my library, thanks anyway.
Is Santa Claus a Christian symbol?
If so, please break it down for me by showing me how.
As it stands, I don't see how a mythical character is a symbol for Christianity.
In fact, I believe it distorts it, certainly if and/or when it's used as symbol for Christianity.
I look forward to your responses.
What a laughingstock you are.
Anyway, Nicholas really did exist, and was ultimately canonized. He isn't some sort of imaginary reincarnation of Poseidon, or Zeus, or anyone else.
He was a real person. You can go look at his grave if you like.
St. Nick loves you anyway, popo.
