Relevance Essay
As the season of giving approaches it is important to know about who Santa Claus actually was. In case you have been living under a rock, Santa Claus is not real. However, Saint Nicholas (or Bishop Nicholas) was a real person. Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was a wealthy and giving man. He had gotten the money as an inheritance from his deceased parents. There was once a merchant who was broke with three daughters. Due to the fact that he was broke, he could not give the daughters a dowry which means that they could not get married. A dowry is a sum of money given from the bride to the groom in order to get married. If the daughters could not marry, they would have to take a hard route in life such as prostitution or slavery. However Saint Nicholas heard of this and decided to help the family out. Saint Nicholas got three bags filled with gold coins, one for each daughter. This is one example of many selfless acts about how Saint Nicholas followed one of Jesus’ sayings “sell what you own and give the money to the poor.” Also, another story says that there was a horrendous food shortage on the island of Myra. A butcher coaxed three children into his home where the butcher killed the three kids. After killing the children, the butcher intended on selling off the remains of the children as meat from an animal. Saint Nicholas who was helping others on the island heard of this. Before the butcher could sell the children off as meat, Saint Nicholas managed to get the children out. The Bishop constantly gave to others that needed help. Whether it was money, guidance, or something along those lines, Saint Nicholas was always there to help. The correlation between Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas is that they both are giving people. Santa gives toys to children all around the world and Saint Nicholas helps everyone he can. Another correlation is love. Both Santa and St. Nicholas love everyone which can be seen throughout all of their acts of kindness. What makes Bishop Nicholas so relevant is the fact that he was kind to everyone. After all, his kindness made him into a Saint. In addition, Saint Nicholas truly cared for everyone, it did not matter who you were. Due to his selfless acts to help other, Saint Nicholas will always remain relevant.
Works Cited
http://listverse.com/2007/12/14/top-10-facts-about-saint-nicholas/
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=371
http://biblehub.com/luke/18-22.htm
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/churchhistory/vonbuseck_saint_nicholas_santa.aspx
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml
Works Cited
http://listverse.com/2007/12/14/top-10-facts-about-saint-nicholas/
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=371
http://biblehub.com/luke/18-22.htm
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/churchhistory/vonbuseck_saint_nicholas_santa.aspx
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml
End of Project Summary
I love all things Christmas. Whether it be the cookies, the anticipation of Christmas, etc. I thought it would be interesting to do some research on what Santa Claus is all about. As I have stated in the essay above, Saint Nicholas is the foundation for Santa Claus. After doing more and more research it is clear to say that Saint Nicholas is an inspiration. In addition, I have constantly heard stories about Saint Nicholas growing up. I never had a clear understanding on who he was. Of course I had a slight idea on who he was; caring, loving, and understanding. All of these characteristics are shared by both Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas.
After working on this assignment for numerous hours I was bound on learning a few things, which thankfully I did. I learned basic things such as when Saint Nicholas was born, why he became a Saint, and that is inspired the idea for Santa Claus. After looking into more details about his life I discovered more than just basic facts about his life. I learned about his infamous legacy. The legend is about a poor man who needed money to pay for his daughters’ dowries. The only obstacle was that the man was a poor man. Saint Nicholas had heard of this and decided to help him out. After doing extensive research on Saint Nicholas, I am glad that I not only learned a lot about him but about how he impacted modern Christmas.
After working on this assignment for numerous hours I was bound on learning a few things, which thankfully I did. I learned basic things such as when Saint Nicholas was born, why he became a Saint, and that is inspired the idea for Santa Claus. After looking into more details about his life I discovered more than just basic facts about his life. I learned about his infamous legacy. The legend is about a poor man who needed money to pay for his daughters’ dowries. The only obstacle was that the man was a poor man. Saint Nicholas had heard of this and decided to help him out. After doing extensive research on Saint Nicholas, I am glad that I not only learned a lot about him but about how he impacted modern Christmas.