Grandpa and Santa Claus

“Grandpa, do you believe in Santa Claus?”
“Do I believe in Santa? Of course. I even played Santa in a department store once.”
“You did? Wow. Man, I sure would have like to have seen that.”
“That was before your time, my boy. Many years ago.”
“Was Santa fat and jolly back then?”
“Well, now that is a personal question, isn't it?
“Maybe. But the Santas I've seen are jolly and some are pretty ample.”
“Pretty ample? That's rather creative.”
“Don't worry, Grandpa. That isn't original. I heard that from a lady in the store.”
“Was there a Santa somewhere?”
“Yep. He was jolly and fat.”
“You mean pleasingly plump?
“Yeah. That's better. Hmm. Pleasingly plump. Jolly ol' Saint Nick . . .”
“St. Nick? You know St. Nick?”
“Of course. He's rumored to be Santa Claus. Did you know that?”
“Bobby Boy. I . . .”
“Bobby Boy? I hate that. Almost as bad as Roberto.”
“Let's get back to St. Nick. OK?”
“OK. What about ol' Saint Nick?”
“Once upon a time . . .”
“Oh oh, this won't be too long, will it?”
“Whats the matter, Bobby. Don't you like long stories. I'll try to keep it. short. Once upon a time . . .”
“Come on, Gramps.”
“OK. A long time ago there was a man . . .”
“Was he an old man or a young one?”
“He didn't quite make it to be an old man so let's say he was young and middle aged.”
“Fair enough. Go on, please.”
“He was born to wealthy . . .”
“You mean rich??”
“Yes. But his parents died way too young but left a lot of money for young Nicholas.”
“Really. That was both good and bad for Nicholas, wasn't it?”
“Yes, it was. But Nicholas was a good man and gave his inheritance to needy people.”
“You mean poor people?”
“Yes. Plus children and orphans and crippled people. And sailors.The emperor at that time was a wicked, evil ruler.”
“Do you mean Diocletian? We studied him in our history class.”
“Really? You must have a good memory.”
“And a good teacher, too.”
“Back to Nicholas. Because he was such a Godly man, he was made Bishop but Diocletian put him in prison with other Priests and Bishops.”
“He could do that?”
“Yes. He was powerful but a terrible, ruthless ruler.
“Did Nicholas die in prison?”
“No. He was released but died shortly after.”
“How sad. Is that the end of the story?”

“No. There's more. Nicholas was loved by many. His fame spread near and far. Many churches were named after him.”
“Because of his generosity?”
“Yes. He was very highly regarded . . .”
“You mean revered?”
“Both. He was so well loved that he was called Saint Nicholas and a special day was set aside to honor him.”
“So people wouldn't forget him?”
“Exactly. But something else happened. When the Europeans discovered the new world . . .”
“You mean the Americas?”
“Precisely. The Viking named a chapel after him in Greenland. Columbus named a Haitian Port for him. The Spaniards named an early settlement St. Nicholas Ferry now called
Jacksonville.”
“Really? I didn't know that.”
“The Orthodox and Catholic Christians venerated saints . . .”
“Venerated? What does that mean?”
“They, let's say, held him in such high esteem that they actually worshiped him.”
“Like the Shepherds and Baby Jesus?”
“Pretty much so. When the Reformation occurred, Protestants took a dim view . . .”
“Dim view? What's that?”
“It means that the Reformers felt only God and His Son Jesus Christ should be worshiped but special people could be recognized but not worshiped. After he was declared Saint Nicholas, the honor grew and grew and spread all through Europe and into the Americas. . .”
“And now it has spread all over the world, right?”
“That's true, my boy. All over the world. St. Nicholas is honored on his Feast Day, December
sixth.”
“That's pretty close to Christmas Day, isn't it?”
“That it is. In 1821, the first lithographed book, The Children's Friend, told the story of a Sante Claus arriving from the North in a sleigh pulled by a reindeer. On Christmas Eve.”
“Really?”
“Two years later, a poem became very popular called A Visit from St. Nicholas. You probably know some of the words:
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack."
“Of course I know that. It's the famous poem The Night Before Christmas.
That's so cool Grandpa. So St. Nicholas and Santa Claus are the same person. Wow! Good ol' Saint Nick. I knew it. I just knew it had to be so, Gramps.”
“Listen, my boy: He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. . .
From then on Santa Claus and St. Nicholas spread like wildfire through art, poetry, music and in pageants in Sunday Schools and on street corners. It was amazing.”

“Santa Claus. St. Nicholas. One and the same. Now, Grandpa, that really makes sense.
Let's see. In about ten years Santa will be, um, two hundred years old but St.
Nicholas will be, um, ah . . ."
" About 1700 years old. Now you know the rest of the story, don't you?”
“Thank you, thank you, Gramps. That's a wonderful story. I can't wait to tell it to my Sunday School classmates. Do you think our teacher will be surprised?”
“Well, I just don't know. I really don't know. We'll have to wait 'n see, right?
“Right!” I can hardly wait until Sunday."