The Real St. Nick (Santa Claus)

c. 1862 by German-American illustrator Thomas Nast (1840-1902)

The Real St. Nick
(Santa Claus)

                              by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

"A vast multitude was imprisoned in every place," wrote an eyewitness. "The prisons — prepared for murderers and robbers — were filled with bishops, priests, and deacons ... so there was no longer room for those condemned of crimes."[1]

You'd hardly expect to find old St. Nick in jail. But St. Nicholas is more than a children's Christmas legend. He was flesh and blood, a prisoner for Christ, bishop of the Mediterranean city of Myra.

What do we know about the real St. Nicholas? He was born, ancient biographers tell us, to wealthy parents in the city of Patara about 270 A.D. He was still young when his mother and father died and left him a fortune.

As a teen-ager, Nicholas' humility was already evident. He had heard about a family destitute and starving. The father had no money for food, much less the dowry needed to marry off his three daughters. He was ready to send his oldest girl into the streets to earn a living as a prostitute.

Under the cover of night, Nicholas threw a bag of gold coins through the window of their humble dwelling. In the morning the father discovered the gold. How he rejoiced: his family was saved, his daughter's honor preserved, and a dowry for her marriage secured. Some time after, Nicholas secretly provided a dowry for the second daughter. Still later for the third.

But on the third occasion, the girls' father stood watching. As soon as the bag of gold thudded on the floor, he chased after the lad till he caught him. Nicholas was mortified to be discovered in this act of charity. He made the father promise not to tell anyone who had helped his family. Then Nicholas forsook his wealth to answer a call to the ministry.

At the nearby city of Myra a bishop supervised all the churches of the region. When the bishop died, the bishops and ministers from other cities and villages — Nicholas among them — gathered to choose a successor.

Nicholas was in the habit of rising very early and going to the church to pray. This morning an aged minister awaited him in the sanctuary. "Who are you, my son?" he asked.

"Nicholas the sinner," the young minister replied. "And I am your servant."

"Come with me," the old priest directed. Nicholas followed him to a room where the bishops had assembled. The elderly minister addressed the gathering. "I had a vision that the first one to enter the church in the morning should be the new bishop of Myra. Here is that man: Nicholas."

Indeed they did choose him as bishop. Nicholas was destined to lead his congregation through the worst tribulation in history.

In A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered a brutal persecution of all Christians. Those suspected of following the Lord were ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods. Nicholas and thousands of others refused.

Ministers, bishops, and lay people were dragged to prison. Savage tortures were unleashed on Christians all over the empire. Believers were fed to wild animals. Some were forced to fight gladiators for their lives while bloodthirsty crowds screamed for their death. Women suffered dehumanizing torment. Saints were beaten senseless, others set aflame while still alive.

Yet persecution couldn't stamp out Christianity. Rather it spread. Third Century leader Tertullian observed, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

Those who survived Diocletian's torture chambers were called "saints" or "confessors" by the people, because they didn't forsake their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. Nicholas was one of these.

Finally, after years of imprisonment, the iron doors swung open and Bishop Nicholas walked out, freed by decree of the new Emperor Constantine. As he entered his city once more, his people flocked about him. "Nicholas! Confessor!" they shouted. "Saint Nicholas has come home."

The bishop was beaten but not broken. He served Christ's people in Myra for another thirty years. Through the prayers of this tried and tested soldier of faith, many found salvation and healing. Nicholas participated in the famous Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. He died on December 6, about 343, a living legend, beloved by his whole city.

St. Nick of yuletide fame still carries faint reminders of this ancient man of God. The color of his outfit recollects the red of bishop's robes. "Making a list, checking it twice," probably recalls the old saint's lectures to children about good behavior. Gifts secretly brought on Christmas eve bring to mind his humble generosity to the three daughters.

Yet if he were alive today, this saint would humbly deflect attention from himself. No fur-trimmed hat and coat, no reindeer and sleigh or North Pole workshop. As he did in life centuries ago, Bishop Nicholas would point people to his Master.

"I am Nicholas, a sinner," the old saint would say. "Nicholas, servant of Christ Jesus."

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[1] Eusebius, Church History, VIII, 6, 9.

NOTES: A great deal of legend has built up around St. Nicholas. The author has carefully selected material which he deemed to be the most credible accounts based on those found in Life of Nicholas by tenth century biographer Symeon Logotheta the Metaphrast, quoted by Charles W. Jones in Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978).

Even adults will want to believe in this version of Santa Claus

Recently, in Toronto, a surprisingly modern and stylish Santa Claus appeared in one of the city’s shopping centers. All the visitors immediately took a fancy to him. And it’s not hard to see why — just look how awesome he is! Paul Mason, a model with 30 years of experience, is taking part in a charitable campaign: the money earned from each photo taken with him is transferred directly to a foundation which supports sick children.

Paul says that he’s only targeting the attention of adults. He doesn’t want kids to confuse him with the traditional Santa, therefore he tries not to draw their attention.

Well, we don’t know precisely what many children think of him, but he sure knows how to attract our attention! Bright Side suggests you take a look at these photos — you’ll gain a whole new perspective on a familiar symbol of Christmas.

© Chris Nicholls

© Chris Nicholls

© Chris Nicholls

© Chris Nicholls

© Chris Nicholls

© Chris Nicholls

Trendy Santa is happy to have his picture taken with everyone!

evelynhannon

annaseverina

commy_li / saba.oromcheyan

janie.bowen

He made a promise to a girl with Down syndrome. Seven years later, he kept his word!

Ben Moser and Mary Lapkowicz have been friends since elementary school. They have always had a very special and unique bond.

Mary has Down syndrome, but this has never affected their friendship at all.

“Many of Mary’s peers avoided her; because of her Down syndrome they thought she was weird. But Ben wasn’t one of those people,“ says Mary’s brother, Tom Lapkowicz.

Ben and Mary studied at the same primary school.

Ben was always a very enthusiastic child. He always looked after Mary and tried to involve her in all kinds of different school activities. When he saw that Mary was bored, he immediately took her with him to play soccer. She really enjoyed the game.

When they were in the fourth grade, Ben promised Mary that he would take her to their end-of-school prom.

However, soon Mary changed school. Ben continued to play soccer. Luckily, they reunited when their school soccer teams took part in the same competition.

When the time came, Ben remembered the promise he had made to Mary, and decided to surprise his close friend.

He stayed true to his word, and took her to the prom.

On that day, Mary had never felt so happy.

Ben kept an eye on her and looked after her for the whole evening.

”Ben restored my faith in humanity“, said Mary’s brother.

Ben’s mother said that she has always taught her children to “put others before themselves, to love with all their heart and fight for what they believe in”.

Today, she has every reason to be really proud of her amazing son.

Preview photo credit:: Lisa Moser

Source: buzzfeed

I took an auto from the town,to the medical college where my friend’s mother is admitted. As I was suffering from back pain,I asked the auto rickshaw driver,who was a pretty young boy to ride it smoothly as I am suffering from back pain.

Though I was expecting some rude reply (like how it usually is),he replied “okay sir” in a gentle voice and kept his word.

Upon reaching destination, I asked him “how much” and in return he pointed to a box kept near to his seat & replied “Put anything that you think is satisfactory for this ride”.

I got confused for a minute and then I saw a label over the box. It read “Donation for the poor and needy patients”.

Meanwhile,the security personnel rushed to us asking us to move the vehicle from the front side. But upon seeing the auto rickshaw driver,the watchman smiled and said “Namaskar Sir”. Both of them smiled at each other and the auto driver left.

Upon anxiety, I asked the security personnel more about him,to which his reply was this.

“He is 2nd to the 4 children of his parents. His dad expired earlier,and has elder brother paralysed. He got two younger sisters.

The superintendent of our hospital,gave him this auto as a gift,for passing the exams with good marks. He came up with half of his earning in first month itself to repay for the auto,to which superintendent said NO with a smile.

He then started offering rides to medical college for free,or asks people to put the money in box. At the end of every month,he uses it for the treatment of needy people in our hospital.”

I was stunned, I didn’t know what to say,or what to reply. I find myself very much fortunate to have a ride with this 3rd yr MBBS student who is actually a super human being.

Every common man we see is in turn a reflection of an extraordinary super human being inside. I hope,he comes out in flying colours and may god bless him in looking after his family.

Source: rediff thehindu | Image Courtesy: prabumj silcharchronicle

Uddhab Bharali is a resident of North Lakhimpur, Assam. His job title is ‘innovator’. It is a fitting title for a man who has developed no less than 118 innovations since the 1980s.

In the year 1988, his family was in debt. Uddhab wished to start a business of polythene making. He did so but through his own wit. Instead of buying a machine from the market which would have cost him more than one lakh, he built his own for Rs. 67,000.

It was then that he realised the power of innovation. This instance opened the gates to many more innovations to come. He has made many more machines since then and some of them have been commercialized as well. Most of his inventions pertain to agriculture and small-scale industries. From fruit de-seeders to juice extractors, trench diggers to bamboo processors, the list of innovations under his name is noteworthy. For example, the Areca nut peeler machine mitigates the chances of finger cuts, something common when nuts are peeled manually. It has improved output to about 100-120 nuts per minute.

He came into the media spotlight in 1995 and since then he has seen global outreach. He has received the ‘Shristi Samman Award’ in 2007 and ‘President’s Grassroots Innovation Award’ in 2009. He also won NASA Tech’s ‘Create the Future Design Contest’ in 2012 and 2013. Finally he has also won the ‘Rashtriya Ekta Samman Award’ in 2013. He works as a research scholar for Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship and as a Technical Consultant to Rural Technology Action Group (RUTAG) for developing technology at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.