On Tuesday, April 2, 2002, at 02:29 PM, Eric L. Strobel wrote:
>> Santa Claus is obviously not a
>> biblical character, but has pagan roots, as is the case with many or
>> most
>> customs connected with Christmas.
>
> Actually, St. Nicholas was a (IIRC) 4th Century Christian in what is
> modern
> day Turkey. So, no, he's not Biblical, but no "pagan roots" either.
> You're
> correct as to the origins of the timing of Christmas, though. Call it
> an
> early example of marketing? ;-)
This is true... there is a St. Nicholas, a bishop. And, according to the
(probably apocryphal) story, he put money in the shoes two young women
had left outside. This helped them pay for their weddings. This is, some
say, the source of the "stocking" tradition at Christmas time. However,
IIRC, St. Nicholas was later blended with pagan elements to form "Santa
Claus." So, what I am trying to say, based on what I remember, you're
both right. :)
sj
http://homepage.mac.com/stevehj
-- Read the List FAQ/Etiquette: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Read the Newton FAQ: http://www.guns-media.com/mirrors/newton/faq/ This is the NewtonTalk mailing list - http://www.newtontalk.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Sun May 05 2002 - 14:02:13 EDT