Saint Nicholas approves your punching heretics. He punched out Arius at the Council of Nicea.
He was the inspiration for secret gift giving.
His most iconic story sees Nicholas as the secret benefactor of a poor man who could not provide for his daughters. He secretly visited their home at night to give purses of gold coins. It's the legacy of secret gift giving that inspired the legend of Sinterklaas, who became Santa Claus, the generous gift giver now known to many as Father Christmas.
Another famous story tells of a feisty interaction between Nicholas and the heretic Arius at the historic Council of Nicea in AD 325 – the very first ecumenical council. In this decisive council, Arius taught that Jesus was not co-equal to God the Father, but was created by him. Unable to restrain his dispute with Arius, Nicholas approached Arius and slapped – or punched – him in the face.
Washington Irving is credited with introducing St. Nicholas to Americans and helping to create the figure of Santa Claus:
St. Nicholas in A History of New York
In his 1809 book A History of New York, Irving featured St. Nicholas in a vision to Olof Van Cortlandt, the first Van Cortlandt to settle on Manhattan Island. Irving described St. Nicholas flying over Manhattan in a wagon, descending to smoke a pipe, and then returning over the treetops.
Saint Nicholas approves your punching heretics. He punched out Arius at the Council of Nicea.
He was the inspiration for secret gift giving.
His most iconic story sees Nicholas as the secret benefactor of a poor man who could not provide for his daughters. He secretly visited their home at night to give purses of gold coins. It's the legacy of secret gift giving that inspired the legend of Sinterklaas, who became Santa Claus, the generous gift giver now known to many as Father Christmas.
Another famous story tells of a feisty interaction between Nicholas and the heretic Arius at the historic Council of Nicea in AD 325 – the very first ecumenical council. In this decisive council, Arius taught that Jesus was not co-equal to God the Father, but was created by him. Unable to restrain his dispute with Arius, Nicholas approached Arius and slapped – or punched – him in the face.
Washington Irving is credited with introducing St. Nicholas to Americans and helping to create the figure of Santa Claus:
St. Nicholas in A History of New York
In his 1809 book A History of New York, Irving featured St. Nicholas in a vision to Olof Van Cortlandt, the first Van Cortlandt to settle on Manhattan Island. Irving described St. Nicholas flying over Manhattan in a wagon, descending to smoke a pipe, and then returning over the treetops.
The crass commercialism… meh 😑
I will just throw this out there. Maybe, just maybe, it reminds us that once a year we could TRY to be nice to one another.