The white-bearded Christian saint whose acts of generosity inspired America’s secular Santa Claus figure is known worldwide — but Saint Nicholas’ origin story is not.
The legends surrounding jolly old St. Nicholas — celebrated annually on Dec. 6 in Western Christian countries, and on Dec. 19 in Eastern Christian countries — go way beyond delivering candy and toys to children.
WHO WAS ST. NICHOLAS?
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
St. Nicholas was a fourth century Christian bishop from the Mediterranean port city of Myra (in modern-day Turkey).
“Much of the rest is legend. There’s not really a lot of hard historical evidence about St. Nicholas,” said the Rev. Nicholas Ayo, author of “Saint Nicholas in America: Christmas Holy Day and Holiday.”
But whether the stories are true is not so much the point, said Ayo, an 89-year-old retired Notre Dame University professor named after St. Nicholas.
Photo: AP 照片：美聯社
“There’s no Santa Claus that lands on the roof, but there’s a desire in people’s heart for an unconditional love that doesn’t depend on your behavior, but the fact that you’re somebody’s child.”
Devotion to St. Nicholas — also referred to as St. Nick — spread during the Middle Ages across Europe and he became a favorite subject for medieval artists and liturgical plays, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. He is the patron saint of Greece and Russia, Moscow and New York, as well as charities, children and pawnbrokers.
He also is the patron saint of sailors. In 1807, Italian sailors took the remains of St. Nicholas from Myra to the seaport of Bari, on the southeast coast of the boot of Italy. They built a church in his honor; relics believed to be his are kept in the Bari’s 11th century basilica of San Nicola.
HOW IS ST. NICHOLAS DAY CELEBRATED?
St. Nicholas Day is celebrated typically by filling the stockings and shoes children leave out overnight with sweets and toys. It also is a fitting date for the patron saint of sailors.
“The December feast day of Saint Nicholas coincides with the beginning of the winter storm season on the Mediterranean,” Ayo writes.
WHAT ARE THE LEGENDS OF ST. NICK?
Legends surrounding St. Nicholas’ generosity appear in texts ranging from medieval manuscripts to modern-day poems, including how he interceded on behalf of wrongly condemned prisoners and miraculously saved sailors from storms.
One of the most famous legends, Ayo said, features the aging father of three young women who didn’t have means to pay for their dowry. St. Nicholas is said to have thrown gold pieces into the man’s window.
“It is the quintessential Nicholas,” Ayo writes. “It requires no miracle, no credulity from the hearer, and no superstition at any level. What is needed is only a generous heart ready to give of his wealth in a self-effacing way that others may come to know a deep love in their life.”
HOW DID ST. NICK INSPIRE AMERICA’S SANTA CLAUS FIGURE?
Devotion to St. Nicholas seems to have faded after the 16th century Protestant Reformation, except in the Netherlands where his legend remained as Sinterklaas. In the 17th century, Dutch Protestants who settled in New York brought the Sinterklaas tradition with them.
“The Dutch had St. Nicholas on the bow of the first ship that went into New York harbor,” Ayo said. Eventually, St. Nicholas morphed into the secular Santa Claus.
Artist Thomas Nast, an engraver in Morristown, New Jersey, who illustrated the front cover of Harper’s magazine for many years, played a key role in the transformation, Ayo said.
“He followed the description of Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas — and Clement Clarke Moore’s ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ poem,” Ayo says. “So, that’s how that got changed. But in Europe, the bishop shows up in bishop’s clothing at the door sometimes.”
(AP)
聖尼古拉這位白鬍子基督教聖人，其慷慨啟發了非宗教的美國聖誕老人形象，家喻戶曉，但聖尼古拉的起源故事卻並非世人所熟知。
歡樂的聖尼古拉節——西方基督教〔承續西羅馬帝國，例如天主教〕國家在12月6日，東方基督教〔承續東羅馬帝國，例如希臘正教〕國家則在12月19日——其傳說遠不僅止於發送糖果及玩具給小孩。
聖尼古拉何許人也？
聖尼古拉是西元4世紀一位基督教主教，來自地中海港口城市米拉（今土耳其境內）。
「其餘大部分都是傳說。關於聖尼古拉，並沒有太多確鑿的歷史證據」，《聖尼古拉在美國：聖誕聖日與節日》一書作者尼古拉斯‧艾尤牧師說。
但這些故事是否為真並非重點，89歲的聖母大學退休教授艾尤表示。他的名字便是以自聖尼古拉為名。
「並沒有降落在屋頂上的聖誕老人，但人們內心深處渴望一種無條件的愛，這種愛不是取決於你的行為，而是因為你是某人的孩子」。
根據《大英百科全書》，對聖尼古拉（也稱為聖尼克）的崇拜在中世紀傳到整個歐洲，他成為中世紀藝術家及禮拜戲劇中最偏愛的主題。聖尼古拉是希臘、俄羅斯、莫斯科、紐約，以及慈善機構、兒童與當鋪的守護神。
他也是水手的守護神。1807年，義大利水手將聖尼古拉的遺體從米拉帶到義大利東南岸的巴里海港，建了一座教堂紀念他；據信為其遺物的物件則保存在11世紀所建的巴里聖尼古拉大教堂中。
聖尼古拉節的慶祝方式
過聖尼古拉節的方式，通常是在孩子拿出來放過夜的襪子和鞋子裡塞滿糖果和玩具。這對水手的守護神來說，也是合適的日子。
「12月的聖尼古拉節，正好也是地中海冬季暴風季節的開始」，艾尤寫道。
聖尼克的傳說是什麼？
有關聖尼古拉義行的傳說，出現在從中世紀手稿到現代詩歌的各種文本中，包括他為被冤枉的囚犯求情，並奇蹟般地將水手從風暴中拯救出來。
艾尤表示，最著名的傳說之一，是一位年邁的父親無力為其三個年輕女兒支付嫁妝，據說聖尼古拉把金幣扔進他的窗戶。
「「這就是典型的尼古拉」，艾尤寫道。「不需要奇蹟，不需要聽者的輕信，也不需要任何程度的迷信。所需要的只是一顆慷慨的心，準備好以謙遜的方式奉獻自己的財富，讓別人能夠認識到他們生命中深深的愛」。
聖尼克如何啟發了美國的聖誕老人形象？
16世紀新教宗教改革之後，對聖尼古拉的崇拜似乎逐漸淡化，但在荷蘭，仍有「荷蘭聖誕節」（Sinterklaas）。17世紀，定居紐約的荷蘭新教徒將聖誕老人傳統帶來美國。
「荷蘭人第一艘進入紐約港的船，其船頭上有聖尼古拉」，艾尤說。最後，聖尼古拉變成了非宗教的聖誕老人。
艾尤說，藝術家托馬斯‧納斯特是紐澤西州莫里斯敦的一位雕刻師，多年來為《哈潑雜誌》的封面繪製插圖，他在此轉變中發揮了關鍵作用。
「他遵循對聖誕老人或聖尼古拉的描述，以及克萊門特‧克拉克‧摩爾的詩《這是聖誕節前夕》」，艾尤說。「所以，事情就是這樣改變的。但在歐洲，主教有時會身著主教服出現在門口」。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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