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well, FWIW "Catholic Saint Nick" aka St. Nicholas (Dutch: "Sinterklaas" and English:"Santa Claus"), 4'th century Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor is also revered by the Orthodox (his feast day in both churches is Dec. 6). Wikipedia has a good article on "Saint Nicholas" (who interestingly enough is also regarded as the "patron saint" of Russia, REPENTANT thieves, sailors, and pawnbrokers!!!!). he was attended the council of Nicaea and was a staunch defender of the belief in the divinity of Christ against the Arians. allegedly, his association with gift-giving is based in part on a traditional story that he secretly tossed gifts of gold through the windows of the house of three poor woman to provide them dowries so they could marry and avoid having to become prostitutes to support themselves.
Last edited by georgeinbandonoregon; 12-13-2016 at 09:21 PM..
of course, it's your right to say whatever you want----whether God tells you to or not. don't think my response in any way said otherwise. OTOH, it's also not unreasonable for me (whether God told me to or not ) to make the point that St. Nicholas is not somehow "just a Catholic thing" and that there is in fact an interesting "back story" on the increasingly tenuous relationship of that Christian "saint" honored by Catholics, Orthodox, and not a few other Christians of other types to the generally very secularized "Santa Claus" and "Kris Kringle" (let alone "Father Christmas").
for the sake of clarity, it might also be worthwhile noting that "Santa Claus" through "Sinterklaas" came to America via the PROTESTANT Dutch who celebrated the day when they settled "New Amsterdam---can't really "blame" the Catholics for this particular development, LOL..
in the peace of Christ.
Last edited by georgeinbandonoregon; 12-14-2016 at 09:57 AM..
EXACTLY!!! again, to be clear go inside most churches or meeting places Catholic or otherwise and the jolly old elf will be conspicuous by his absence---Santa Claus is NOT part of the religious observance of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior and never has been---no matter how often Santa may show up in other places outside the doors of such places of worship.
at best Santa may be seen to point to the idea of giving and gladness that can be associated in some manner that Christians wish to share their joy in remembering the birth of the Prince of Peace but the connection is ever more tenuous at best.
perhaps the interesting thing for me is that Christ has now been so thoroughly separated from the observance of the season in many places is that in many cases the preferred greeting is "happy holidays" with no mention of the Holy Child of Bethlehem who is indeed the nominal "reason for the season" at all.
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. don't think my response in any way said otherwise. OTOH, it's also not unreasonable for me (whether God told me to or not 
) to make the point that St. Nicholas is not somehow "just a Catholic thing" and that there is in fact an interesting "back story" on the increasingly tenuous relationship of that Christian "saint" honored by Catholics, Orthodox, and not a few other Christians of other types to the generally very secularized "Santa Claus" and "Kris Kringle" (let alone "Father Christmas"). 
