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December 22, 2011
The Real St. Nick: Big Money, Good Works, No Fanfare.
The Bishop of Myra--Santa Claus to most of the world--lived perhaps 270-343 AD in what is now the Lycian region of Turkey. Legend has it that Nicholas was a Byzantine trust-fund baby, a rich kid orphan with lots of spare cash. And one with a huge yen for secret, anonymous gift-giving. Which, of course, is the best kind. I like to believe that the life of St. Nicholas was a major inspiration for Magnificent Obsession, the acclaimed 1929 novel by Lloyd C. Douglas, which twice was made into a movie. One theme of Douglas's book is the importance of giving, and other acts of kindness, without wanting or expecting any type of private or public recognition.
Old Saint Nick. If he gave you gave something, he just didn't want you to make a fuss--at least not about him. He wouldn't let you. Believe it or not, there's a special website for him: The Saint Nicholas Center.
Happy Holidays--our best wishes for whatever celebrations or rites you find time for this week--from the mixed bag of humanity that writes and reads this blog.
Posted by JD Hull at December 22, 2011 03:58 PM