In church this past Sunday, as he does each year, our rector handed out a card with\u00a0an icon\u00a0of St. Nicholas, similar to the one to the left.<\/p>\n On the back of the card we read the following:<\/p>\n Nicholas was born in the 3rd century in Asia Minor.\u00a0He used his entire inheritance to help the poor, sick, and\u00a0children\u00a0in need. He gave in secret,\u00a0expecting\u00a0nothing in return. He attended the Council of Nicea in AD 325. Greatly loved for his faith,\u00a0compassion, and care, he is venerated in both East and West.<\/em><\/p>\n O.K. That\u2019s pretty cool. You have my attention.<\/p>\n I never knew that. I thought he had elves doing that for him,\u00a0but it seems I was mistaken.<\/p>\n The rest of the card really hit me and made me feel\u00a0stupid\u00a0and cheated for never having been told any of\u00a0this as a child\u2014even sprinkling it in between Rudolph and Frosty now and then.<\/p>\n Nicholas saved young women from slavery, protected sailors, spared innocents from execution, provided grain in a famine, and rescued a kidnapped boy.<\/em><\/p>\n Nicholas was a beast. Mother Teresa<\/a>, Oskar Schindler, and Samuel L. Jackson all rolled into one. What an absolute crushing beast.<\/p>\n I like the icon\u2014his eyes. He is\u00a0looking\u00a0off to\u00a0the\u00a0side,\u00a0like he\u2019s annoyed about having to sit there for a stupid portrait because\u00a0he\u2019s got better things to do.<\/p>\n Can you imagine how he would react to what has become of him over the centuries<\/a>?<\/p>\n [Say in Samuel L. Jackson voice,\u00a0preferably\u00a0the diner scene from Pulp Fiction]\u00a0\u201cLet me get this straight. You want me to gain 150lbs, wear a red suit and mittens, fly through the air, slide down your chimney and give you stuff? How about I kick down your door and take all your money and give it people who need it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n So, to review:<\/p>\n OK, I\u2019m exaggerating and \u201ctotally\u00a0misunderstanding\u00a0Samuel L. Jackson\u201d (to anticipate some humorless comments). But still.<\/p>\n For \u201cJolly Old St. Nick\u201d to have pulled off things like standing between a slave owner and his property, or an\u00a0executioner\u00a0and his victim, or go about\u00a0unkidnapping\u00a0a boy,<\/p>\n Yes, I know, St. Nick\u00a0also beat up people he had theological disagreements with, which makes him a bit too much like\u00a0Samuel L. Jackson\u2014and perhaps the first neo-Calvinist\u2014but I\u2019m willing to roll with that for the time being, seeing that it\u2019s Christmas and all.<\/p>\n I feel better now. Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n [This post first appeared in 2012. I understand some of\u00a0the stories\u00a0about\u00a0St. Nick might be of questionable historical value, but I don\u2019t really care. Besides, they\u2019re still a lot closer to reality than, say, \u201cHe-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n [Please be patient as your comment is in moderation. Comments are normally posted within 6 hours but may take as long as 24\u2014longer if you\u2019re annoying.]<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Icon](\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/St_Nicholas_Icon_Sinai_13th_century-179x300.jpg\"){kind=icon}
<\/a><\/p>\nHe used his entire\u00a0inheritance for those in need.<\/h2>\n
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he was probably a very brave man indeed with better things on\u00a0his\u00a0mind than making sure suburban kids\u00a0get everything they want so they can have a \u201cmagical Christmas.\u201d<\/h2>\n