Mavi Boncuk | When journalist Francis Church replied to 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon in 1897, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus[2],” he could have added: "in Demre[1] Turkey."
[1] Demre is a district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra the original Santa Claus. The district was known as Kale until it was renamed in 2005.
[2] Saint Nicholas (Greek: Άγιος Νικόλαος, Aghios ["holy"] Nicolaos ["victory of the people"]) (270–6 December 343),also called Nikolaos of Myra inspired the popular folk-legend of Santa Claus, but was himself a historic 4th-century saint and Greek[5] Bishop of Myra (Demre, in Lycia, part of modern-day Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker (Greek: Νικόλαος ο Θαυματουργός, Nikolaos o Thaumaturgos). He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas. His reputation evolved among the faithful, as is common for early Christian saints. In 1087, his relics were furtively translated by Italian Pirates who raided Myra to Bari, in southeastern Italy; for this reason, he is also known as Nikolaos of Bari. His feastday is December 6.
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