Saint Nicholas giving gifts

Santa Lucia with her saint symbol: her own eyeballs on a platter.

Clay County Histories

Markus Krueger | Program Director HCSCC

Santa Claus can now relax after a very busy day. How does he deliver presents to every good girl and boy on Christmas Eve? I’ll let you in on a secret: he delivers some early on December 6, and his friend Santa Lucia handles the kids in northern Italy.
Nicholas and Lucia go way back. In fact, before they were saints, they lived at the same time and in the same country, though far enough apart that they likely never met during their lifetime. Nicholas was a bishop in Myra, Anatolia, Roman Empire (what is now Demre, Turkey) from about 280-350, and Lucia lived from about 283-304 in Syracuse, Sicily, Roman Empire.
It was a bad time to be Christian. Roman Emperor Diocletian didn’t like Christians, so in 303 he passed some laws to persecute them… throw them in jail, feed them to lions, etc. Nick got thrown in jail. Lucia was killed by Roman soldiers who, according to some stories, gouged her eyes out in the process. Apparently her eyes miraculously grew back by the time she was buried, but she was still dead, so that miracle wasn’t all that helpful. She died on December 14, so that is when we celebrate her saint day.
After Diocletian retired, a bunch of people fought for the throne, and Constatine came out on top. Emperor Constantine was more tolerant toward Christians (he better be, considering his mom is the Christian Saint Helena), and he sprung Nicholas from jail. Nicholas lived a life of kindness, charity, gift giving, and some miracles are associated with him, so he became a saint after he died. His saint day is December 6.
In much of Catholic Central Europe, Saint Nicholas traditionally gives children their presents on St. Nicholas Day: December 6. He is dressed like a bishop with a large hat and fancy vestments. He leaves presents, candy, and oranges in children’s shoes.
In northern Italy, like Milan and Venice, children traditionally get their gifts on Santa Lucia Day: December 14. Santa Lucia rides a flying donkey and gives presents to good girls and boys, and lumps of coal to the naughty kids. In Milan, kids leave out a bowl of milk and carrots for Lucia’s donkey.
So it went for a good long time until, in 1517, a monk named Martin Luther came up with 95 suggestions for reforming the Catholic Church. The leaders of the church were not open to suggestions, so they attempted to fire this problem employee (and by “fire” I mean they tried to light him on fire as a heretic). But Luther got away and started a new flavor of Christianity called Lutheranism.
One of Martin Luther’s complaints about the Catholic Church was he thought they paid way too much attention to saints. While Luther admired the holy people of our past, he believed they were distracting us from the Big Man Himself. And the kids’ favorite saint, of course, was the gift-giving Santa Claus (the Latin name Sanctus Nicholas is pronounced Santa Claus in Dutch and some German dialects). Martin said Lutherans will open presents on Christmas Eve, not December 6 or 14, and the gift giver will be the Chirst Child (or as they say in German, Christkindl, and as we mispronounce in America, Kris Kringle).
Over time, all these traditions and more got jumbled, confused, and embellished in America’s melting pot. So Happy Holidays! All of them!