Santa Claus
- 270-346 AD
- Nikolaos of Myra, part of modern-day Turkey.
- Thaumaturge: Îικόλαος ὠΘαυματουÏγός, Nikolaos ho Thaumaturgos
- Latin: Sanctus Nicolaus
- Dutch: Sinterklaas, derived from "Saint Nikolaos," turned into "Santa Claus" in English.
- A beautifully-scented liquid seeps from his tomb and is known as "the Manna of St. Nicholas."
- Gave gifts secretly to people in need, especially providing dowries so that three poor girls could get married.
The "Santa Claus" tradition
- Every December, an envelope from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien's children. Inside would be a letter in strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful color drawing. The letters told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how all the reindeer scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with a troublesome horde of goblins. Sometimes the Polar Bear would scrawl a note, adding yet more humor to the stories. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by the inventiveness of Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters.
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