DEFENDER OF THE FAITH

By Peter Vuono

   Although much is said about Santa Claus during Christmas time, very little is said about the origin of St. Nicholas. There is so much about him that it would fill many books. However Nikolaos was born in the year 270 AD in Turkey. His parents were of Greek descent but were Christian. Nikolaos had decided to lead a religious life from the start and to travel and profess the word of God.
   However while traveling in Italy he was arrested and jailed under the reign of Diocletian the very Emperor who  would later execute St. Sebastian, a centurian who would become the patron saint of athletes. Fortunately for Nikolaos, who would later be called Nikolaos the Wonder Maker, he was released after Diocletian was dethroned and replaced by Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman Emperor who would put a stop to Christian persecution.
   Many remarkable deeds are attributed to Saint Nicholas, but his affiliation with children stems from a chilling tale originated in France. Three school children were both working and playing in a field. They wandered into the nearby town and became disoriented and lost. They entered a butcher shop(some versions say it was an inn) and asked for help. The butcher drugged them, killed them and placed them in a salt barrel to preserve the bodies.
   The tale has many versions as to how much time passed. Some say immediately and others say seven years. However Nikolaos , who by this time had become a bishop, was told in a dream about the horrific carnage perpetrated upon the innocents. He immediately went to the butcher shop and ordered that the salt barrels all be opened. The butcher, seeing who it was had no alternative but to comply.
   Nikolaos put his hands over the barrel and enunciated, "Children arise". The three boys came to life and were returned to their families.  Although Nicholas has been called the patron saint of so many causes he is first and foremost the patron saint of all children: the defender of the faith.