Lucknow Sentinel, 2009-12-16, Page 15•
Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - Page 15
True meaning of Christmas is a journey
BY PASTOR
PERRY
CHUIPKA
St. Peter's
Anglican Church
As 1 look out my
window I see just a
light dusting of
snow which makes
everything so
bright and clean. It
is hard to believe
that the Christmas
season is upon us
again. As we
approach this
beautiful time of
the year I hear
some say, "each
Christmas we see
more and more ele-
ments of commer-
cialism and less
and less of the true
meaning • of
Christmas." Now
that may be true,'
but I think the true
meaning of any-
thing always needs
a deeper look to
see beyond the
superficial image.
Take for instance,
Santa Claus. At
this time of year,
he is often seen
everywhere as the
man in red with a
sack of goods over
his back some-
times with 'a bottle
of cote in his
hand. But is this
the real Santa
Claus?
Although hi
roots reach bac
into antiquity, th
man we think of a
Christmas has been
refined and popu
larized largely
through the media
of the nineteenth
and twentieth cen
turies. Even
though his mos
memorable fea-
tures are relatively
recent, our Santa
Claus evolved
from many sources
over many years;
most notably from
the life and deeds
ascribed to St.
Nicholas, an early
Christian. Bishop in
the land of Asia
Minor, now West-
ern Turkey.
The records of
Nicholas's life cer-
tainly appear to be,
at best, a mixture
of fact 'and myth,
but there is no
denying the impact
this reveled figure
had on the devel-
opment of the
Santa Claus tradi-
tion. He remains
;quite popular in
Europe, where
there are more
churches Caned
after him than for
.any apostle..
Looking at the
_facts, St ; Nicholas
was a young man
when ` he became
s Bishop of Myra
k while still in his
e teens, earning him
s the nickname of
Boy . Bishop.
- Through his
courage and gen-
erosity, this bishop,
Nicholas, is said to
- have touched the
lives of many peo-
t ple, saving any
number from
famine and
despair. He found-
ed an orphanage
and was known for
his love and won-
derful relationship
with children.
Nicholas also spent
some time in cap-
tivity, imprisoned
by the Roman
Empire during a
time of religious
persecution. He
and others were
finally reprieved
by the emperor
Constantine,
whose attitude
to wards
Christianity was
softening.
Nicholas died on
December 6 in
approximately
A.D. 343; the day
is celebrated as St
Nicholas Day in
many European
countries.
St. Nicholas was.
quite the saint. No
wonder he is still
thought of today. I
still remember the
first Christmas sea-
son after my wife
and I were mar-
ried. On the morn-
ing of December 6,
I got out of bed
looking to step into
my soft bed slip-
pers. As I put my
first foot into the
slipper, .I felt some
hard things in it
which felt like
rocks. Boy, was I
pleasantly. sur-
prised to find sev-
eral chocolates
which my wife
later told me were
put their by St.
Nicholas. Lore had
grown up with this
custom of ending
treats in her bed
slippers every Dec
6 Growing up in
North -America I
had never heard of
this tradition but as
you can well imag-
ine, L leat-ned to
love it. It wasn't
till much later
when Lore and. I
started collecting
Christmas books,
one each year,
from money given
tous by parish-
ioners that I found
a history of the true
story about St.
Nicholas. Now
each Dec. 6th, " `I
remember
Nicholas as • the
saint who made a
difference in the
lives of many.
Today, there may
be many who are
using him for their
own commercial
gains, but it does
not take away from
the fact that he
changed the world
around him with
the help of his
maker. So, too, we
are called to look
beyond all the frills
and wrappings I of
this season to find
the deeper mean-
ing of Christmas.
Next time someone
says, "there is too
much Santa Claus
in. ` Christmas," we
should encourage
them to take a
deeper look at St.
Nicholas. Have . a
wonderful
Christmas filled
with the spirit and
energy of St
Nicholas ! ! 1
My family, the
people of, St
Peter's Anglican
Church and I wish
you and your fami-
ly the true meaning
of Christmas so
that its beauty and
purpose will
change the 'world.
May . your New
Year continue with
all the joy and
peace that you
experience this
Christmas.
•
fi
HIIed with
Best Wishes
May you and your family enjoy a Christmas stuffed with
Tots of magic, merriment and delight. We know we're filled.
with appreciation when we think of the many good folk
we've had the pleasure to serve this year.
Happy Holidays!
Danielle Sutton Russell Sutton
Onstruction
LTD.