St. Nicholas, (Santa Claus) has helped many children during times of famine and even paid for dowries of young girls to be able to be married properly. His generosity was well known throughout and a legend was born. He is known by many names throughout the world for his abundance of generosity on Christmas.
Here is a brief list:
- St. Nicholas
- Santa Claus
- Christkind (German for "Christ Child)
- Kris Kringle
- Pere Noel (France)
- Father Christmas (United Kingdom)
- Viejo Pascuero “Old Man Christmas” (Chile)
- Dun Che Lao Ren “Chistmas Old Man” (China)
- Weihnachtsmann “Christmas Man” (Germany)
- Kanakaloka (Hawaii)
- Ded Moroz “Grandfather Frost” (Russia)
- Jultomten “Christmas brownie” (Sweden)
- Julenissen “Christmas gnome” (Norway)
- Kerstman (Netherlands)
- Babbo Natale (Italy)
- Sinterclaas (Dutch)
Early Life
Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words he dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. Many celebrate, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).
Discovering America
When the Dutch settlers came to the Americas, to New York to be more exact, they introduced him to this country and his generosity and good works started to spread to this new and strange world. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Sinterclaas was well established as Santa Clause.
His fame spread even more with one of the most famous poems ever wrote about him The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore in 1822.This poem gave a glimpse on how his deeds were done and how jolly and good he is.
What is most interesting about Santa Clause isn’t even his stories or generosity but his techniques and magic he uses to make his miracles happen. It could even be called Santa physics!
Santa Physics, the delimia..
Santa has been very popular in the 20th and 21st centuries but in the past few years he has had a few detractors. In January of 1990, an article appeared in Spy magazine under the name of Richard Waller that was skeptical of Santa's capability to do what he supposedly does each Christmas Eve.
Among other things Waller calculated that Santa, moving from east to west around the globe, could use the different time zones and the rotation of the Earth to extend his night for as long as 31 hours. Since he needs to visit approximately 92 million households (the number of Christian children divided by the average number of children per household) according to Waller this means he needs to travel approximately 75.5 million miles. The article states that the distance divided by the time means Santa's sleigh must move at a speed of 650 miles per second, 3000 times faster than the speed of sound, to complete its route.
Waller then went on to calculate that if every child gets a two-pound present, Santa's sleigh must weigh about 321,300 tons. He then ups that figure to 353,430 tons to account for some 214,200 reindeer he thinks would be needed to pull that heavy a sleigh.
The article ends by noting that if the sleigh and team attempt to move through the atmosphere at 650 miles per second they would be exposed to enormous air resistance (the same way a spacecraft gets heated upon reentering the atmosphere) and they would explode in flames..
Santa Physics, the answer!
Numerous solutions have been provided to Weller's article. Some point out that there are flaws in Waller's calculations or assumptions. For instance, the payload problem could be handled by making numerous returned trips to the pole. It increases the length of the total trip by a tiny fraction, but divides the weight of the sleigh by the number of return trips.
Other writers note that Christmas does not come on the same day in all countries. Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas a few days after December 25th which means Santa gets at least two shots a year to complete his mission. One writer noted that the number of stops needed in the calculation is incorrect since dividing the total number of children by the average number of children per household to get the number of stops does not consider families where there are no children at all.
Roger Highfield, who wrote the book Can Reindeer Fly? The Science of Christmas, suggests that Wallers has not considered that Santa might have some high tech solutions to his problems. For example, "inertial dampers" - a device that's referred to in the Star Trek movies to keep the crew from getting shmoshed as the Enterprise accelerates to Warp 8 - could be used by Santa to solve his high-acceleration problems. The technology isn't known to our modern day science, but to Santa, well, who knows?
In fact some people have even suggested that Santa has the technology to manipulate time. By creating an artificial time bubble around his sleigh and his person, he could speed himself up as much as he needed. Again, this is far beyond human technology, but...
However Santa does it, he seems to manage each year to delight millions of children on Christmas morning as he has done for over a century. Perhaps it's just magic.
Santa's Extraordinary Character
Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character
- One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.
- One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children takes place long after his birth. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. However, she was persuaded to have a simple observance at home—with quiet prayers for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children.
- Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.
- Several stories tell of Nicholas and the sea. When he was young, Nicholas sought the holy by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There as he walked where Jesus walked, he sought to more deeply experience Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection. Returning by sea, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all. And so St. Nicholas is the patron of sailors and voyagers.
Other stories tell of Nicholas saving his people from famine, sparing the lives of those innocently accused, and much more. He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century he was celebrated as a saint. Today he is venerated in the East as wonder, or miracle worker and in the West as patron of a great variety of persons-children, mariners, bankers, pawn-brokers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, perfumers, even thieves and murderers! He is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need.
Sailors, claiming St. Nicholas as patron, carried stories of his favor and protection far and wide. St. Nicholas chapels were built in many seaports. As his popularity spread during the Middle Ages, he became the patron saint of Apulia (Italy), Sicily, Greece, and Lorraine (France), and many cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and the Netherlands (see list). Following his baptism, Grand Prince Vladimir I brought St. Nicholas' stories and devotion to St. Nicholas to his homeland where Nicholas became the most beloved saint. Nicholas was so widely revered that thousands of churches were named for him, including three hundred in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands and more than four hundred in England.
United States Military and Santa!
With the aid of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), you are able to track Santa as he makes his annual magical journey around Earth from the North Pole. *Please note, exact routes are not shared as parts of his mission plans are top secret!
(Tracking website goes live annually on December 1st.)
Come with us on our journey of the Greater Cincinnati Region as we explore the life, culture, history and arts through Geocaching!
Click Here to View our Profile
Click Here to attempt the AFK Challenge Cache!
Click Here to Visit our Fountain Square Geocache
Message us about ANY cache issues.
On behalf of the AFK to Greater Cincinnati Geocaching Project, I would personally like to say "Thank You" to everyone who has participated in an "AFK" cache. Without the great feedback, favorite points and support we wouldn't be able to continually share!
- Jesse Tuttle (KingAFK)
