OCR Text |
Show St. Nicholas So Called By American Tots Only American children are the only ones who call the patron saint of Christmas St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas is, of course, a slurring slur-ring of the Dutch word San Nicholass, but the name has different dif-ferent forms around the world. Father Christmas is indigenous to Britain; Santa Claus to Germany; Kris Kringle to Holland. All, however, how-ever, are but variants of St. Nick, who was an actual person. Nicholas was a bishop, one of the youngest in the history of the church, at Lycia, Asia Minor, and he was renowned for his piety and grace. But it was his generosity that really made him remembered. Born of wealthy parents, he was a dispenser of the good things of life and one of the greatest givers of gifts in the history of the world. |