Who Is Santa Claus?(For Junior Cyberpals)
Who Is Santa Claus?|
Once upon a time, about a thousand years ago in fact, there lived a very, very good man whose name
was Nicholas. He loved Jesus so much that he wanted everyone else to love Him, too. He tried to
follow Christ's example by helping others. He was a Bishop and he told his people, "If you want
to be happy, you must be good, kind and unselfish." Nicholas was especially good to the poor. If he heard tha someone was sick or hungry, someone needed money or clothes, he always managed to get them the things they needed most. But this good man didn't make a big show of his kindness. He didn't want anyone to know about it, so he did all of his good works quietly and in secret. Often he took things to people at night, so that no one would know who had been their kind friend. Sometimes people who needed money very badly would suddenly, just in the nick of time, find it slipped under their door; or it might be lying on the floor right under an open window (just where Nicholas had thrown it); or maybe it would even be stuck in their keyhole. A knock would come on the door of a poor family's home. They'd open the door, and there they would find a basket of food or a bundle of clothes. Just what they neede! But who had left it there? No one knew, for not a soul was ever in sight. This went on, day after day and year after year, until one time Nicholas was found out. Somehow or other, he was caught. Maybe he wasn't quick enough, maybe he stumbled or fell, maybe he accidentally bumped the door. Just how it happened, no one ever realy knew; but people began to realize that it was Nicholas, their Bishop, who had been helping them. The children loved him and he loved them. They followed him wherever he went; they held on to this hands and clung to his bright red cloak. he liked to see people happy, so has was always giving gifts, especially to the children. Christmas was the best time of the year for Nicholas. He honoured the Baby Jesus on his Birthday just as the Wise Men did so many years before. They brought gifts to the Christ Child - Nicholas gave gifts to the children. No wonder the people loved him! One sad day, a dreadful thing happened. Nicholas was martyred! He was killed just because he loved God. His people cried, and now they spoke of their kind friend as St. Nicholas. They missed him very much and often talked about his goodness to them. When they thought about him, they remembered how he had always helped them in their need and, in memory of him, they tried to do something for someone else. When Christmas time came, they said to each other, "If St. Nicholas were here, he'd honour the Christ Child by giving gifts to the children. Let us take his place." Because he did his kind acts so quietly and so secretly, they did this, too. In the dark of the night, they would creep down the stairs and leave gifts under the tree. Often they would put a tag, "From St. Nicholas," on the presents. And they weren't telling a lie, either, for its was the spirit of St. Nicholas that made them do these kind things. All of this happened many, many years ago. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, and the stories of his kindness spread all over the world. Children everywhere heard about this wonderful man who was the special friend of little ones. "What did he look like?" they would ask. And those who had known and seen the good Bishop would smile and say, "Oh, he had the kindest face you ever saw! He always wore a white beard, and his laugh made you laugh, too." "What colour was his robe?" would be their next question, and the answer would always be, "Red! Bright, bright red!" Time went on, and the stories about good St. Nicholas made him dear to the heart of every child. In some countries, they told how he rode through the streets on a mysterious white horse. In the cold countries, where reindeer live, people said that these animals carried the saint through the air and over the house-tops in a wonderful seigh. And, of course, dear, goold old St. Nicholas had to be warm; so in those countries, his bright red suit was trimmed with white fur, and he wore high boots. Now, as the stories of this kind man travelled from country to country, the people who told them spoke different languages; so his name sounded different each time. But no matter what language they used - whether it was in France, whre the man who brought the children gifts was known as Bonhomme Noel; or in England, Father Christmas - it always meant the same: for it was the spirit of St. Nicholas of which they spoke. Before the Pilgrims came to America, they stayed in Holland for a number of years. The Dutch children knew all about St. Nicholas. They called him Sinter Klaas; and when the English children tried to say his name, they said Santa Claus - and he has been known as Santa Claus to children ever since. Yours, Uncle SK Chan |