Page 136 - Sarpedon’dan Keykubad’a Bir Zamanlar Antalya

Saint Nicholas

Think of a person that with his good deeds will make him the
most loved and respected character of the Christian world after
the Virgin Mary. So much so that after centuries, an advertising
company used this love of people to introduce this person to the
whole world. Yes, of course we all know him. He is Santa Claus,
the lover of children with a long white beard, chubby, smiling
face, wearing a red outfit and a plush hat, and who can take to
the skies in his reindeer-pulled sleigh. Santa Claus as we know
it. According to the advertisement, Santa Claus is the old chubby
uncle who sneaks into the chimneys of houses and leaves gifts
for the children during the Christian holy days of Christmas. How-
ever, this Santa Claus character, which was revealed for the sake
of an advertisement, has nothing to do with the reality. The real
name of this great saint is Nicholas. He was a Lycian, that is, he
is from Antalya. He was born in Patara and he died in Myra. It is
true, of course, that he secretly helped people as shown in the
advertisements, but he had neither a red outfit nor a sleigh pulled
by reindeer that flew through the sky.

Fig. 92: St. Nicholas. Photo. by S. Pamuk.

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