From St. Nicholas to Santa Claus: Connecting the Symbolism

The historic St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, children, students, and pawn brokers. Yes, pawn brokers. The traditional symbols representing St. Nicholas have evolved into some of our basic Christmas traditions and a few other odd tid-bits. Why stockings by the fire? Why the gift giving? The answers become clear when history becomes legend becomes tradition.

Stockings by the Fire
St. Nicholas' generosity is exemplified in the story of the three daughters. The poverty of a local widower meant his three daughters would have no dowries. Without dowries, Byzantine girls could not secure respectable husbands and often ended up being sold as slaves. As each of the girls reached the age of marriage, a bag of gold was mysteriously tossed in their window at night. Tradition adds that the gold landed in the shoes drying beside the fire place. Some counties, like Holland, still place shoes by the fire on Christmas Eve. In other countries, this tradition has evolved into hanging stockings from the mantle.

Patron saint of pawn brokers, really?
From the story of the three girls we get the symbols of three money bags, three gold coins and three gold balls. Though St. Nicholas freely gave the money to the pauper, the three-ball symbol was co-opted by pawn brokers and St. Nicholas was adopted as their patron saint. This probably has to do with the aspect of pawn shops as places where down-on-their-luck people go to raise quick cash.

Oranges in your stocking?
In keeping with the gold-ball symbol, oranges serve as modern substitutes. Many today place oranges in their Christmas stockings and have no idea why, other than it is a family tradition. This practice too, points back to the story of the three poor girls and St. Nicholas' anonymous gifts. The anonymity of the gift giving is a direct correlation to the modern Santa Claus.

Why candy canes?
Candy canes as Christmas symbols are a recent addition to tradition. There are opposing views, but the best connection is that modern stories attribute the shape to the bishop's crosier or shepherd's crook. The symbolism is a modern adaptation and has no anecdotal connection to St. Nicholas. Other symbolisms attributed to the treat are: it is a "J" representing "Jesus," the white symbolizes purity, and the red the blood of Christ. All of these were thought up years after candy canes were common Christmas treats. The symbolism of candy canes was reverse engineered to fit their existing Christmas presence.

Why are children integral to Christmas morning?
Another symbol associated with St. Nicholas is three children in a tub. The story behind this is St. Nicholas' miraculous restoration and rescue of three children butchered for meat by an evil meat-cutter. Roots of the story are from medieval France and can not be traced back as far as the historical St. Nicholas. The story was probably created because St. Nicholas already was the patron saint of children based on his real-life charitable activities. That and it scared medieval French kids into not wandering off in the woods.

Why does Santa Claus keep a list?
St. Nicholas was a vehement defender of his Christian faith. One story has St. Nicholas punching Arius during the Council at Nicaea in AD 325. Another story recounts how, after being released from Diocletian's prison, St. Nicholas returned to Myra to find rampant idol worship. He set about destroying the shrines and reduced the temple of Artemis to rubble.

Icons of St. Nicholas often incorporate a large book, the Gospels, always associated with those who would not wavier in their faith. Combined with St. Nicholas' association with caring for children, it is a short hop from St. Nicholas holding the Gospels to Santa preparing his list of children's deeds.

Why all the gift-giving?
St. Nicholas' greatest contribution to modern Christmas practices is his generosity towards the poor. 80% of all charitable contributions in the United States happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The out-pouring of kindness at Christmas time is the true legacy of St. Nicholas. Whether we chose to celebrate this wrapped in the symbols of Santa Claus, volunteering at a local homeless shelter, donating our prayers and money to church, or teaching our children the invaluable lesson of selfless giving, it all points back to St. Nicholas. He, in turn, a true reflection of Christ's message to care for our fellow man.