The Real Santa
“Nicholas' parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents
left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. He went to live with
his uncle who was a priest.
“Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money. He had
three daughters who were old enough to get married. But in those days young
women had to have money in order to get married. This money was a "dowry" and it was used to help the new family get
started. If you didn't have dowry money, you didn't get married.
“This family was so poor they had nothing left to eat. The
daughters were going to be sold as slaves because they couldn't live at home
any longer. They were very sad. They wouldn't be able to have families of their
own. And they would have to be slaves—no longer able to decide where they would
live or what they would do.
“The night before the oldest daughter was to be sold, she washed
her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then all of them went
to sleep—the father and the three daughters.
“In the morning the daughter saw a lump in her stocking.
Reaching in, she found a small, heavy bag. It had gold inside! Enough to
provide food for the family and money for her dowry. Oh, how happy they were!
“The next morning, another bag with gold was found. Imagine! Two
of the daughters would now be saved. Such joy!
“And the next night, the father planned to stay awake to find
out who was helping his daughters. He dozed off, but heard a small
"clink" as another bag landed in the room. Quickly he jumped up and
ran out the door. Who did he catch ducking around the corner?
“Nicholas, the young man who lived with his uncle.
"Nicholas, it is you! Thank you for helping us—I hardly know what to
say!" Nicholas said, "Please, do not thank me—thank God that your
prayers have been answered. Do not tell others about me."
“Nicholas continued helping people. He always tried to help
secretly. He didn't want any attention or thanks. Years passed and he was
chosen to be a bishop. Bishops look after their people as shepherds look after their
sheep. And that is what Nicholas did. When there wasn't any food, he found
wheat; so no one went hungry. He always helped people in trouble. All his life
Nicholas showed people how to love God and care for each other.
“Everyone loved Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of
the good and kind things Nicholas had done. Sailors took these stories about
Nicholas everywhere they went. Some of the stories were about his special care
for children—helping and protecting them when danger threatened. And so more
and more people learned about good, kind Nicholas. They wanted to be like him.
He is an example of how we should live. And that is why he became a saint.
“This is the story of the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. To
this day people say that St. Nicholas, or Santa, is the special friend of
children.”
(This passages is quoted from http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/real-santa/)
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