As a German person, I have always found it odd that people in the UK (and in America) celebrate the coming of Santa Clause on Christmas Eve/Day.

In many European (and other) countries, the feast of Saint Nicholas, who turned into the miraculous Santa Clause over the centuries, is celebrated on December 6.

Saint Nicholas was a real person.

He lived in what is now Turkey in the fourth century.

Nicholas was raised in a Christian home and after his parents died, he spent his life (and his inheritance) obeying Jesus’ teaching to ‘sell what you own and give the money to the poor’.

There are many stories of how Nicholas gave gifts (of money or food) to people in need.

His humility and his dedication to serving God led to his true vocation in life and he became a young Bishop in the early Christ-ian church. He never stopped sharing what he had with people who didn’t have much. His life was honoured by the church and he was made a Saint.

So how did he turn into Santa? The name still provides clues: Saint Nicholas, or in Dutch ‘Sinterklaas’, became Santa Clause.

The legendary Santa brings gifts to good people because Saint Nicholas did. In Germany, children are given oranges on St Nicholas Day (December 6, the anniversary of St Nicholas’ death) because they remind us of the lumps of gold St Nicholas gave to the poor.

To find out more about Saint Nicholas, go online: http://www.stnicholascenter.org

Dorothee Büürma, Student minister with the South Lakes Group of United Reformed Churches