“Old Saint Nick. What are we to do with him?”

It was an issue I first considered at Christmas, 1986, when the birth of our first child begged the question.

If we, as a Christian family, intended to celebrate the purest meaning of Christmas, which is to honor the birth of Christ, was Santa Claus to be a leading man, a supporting actor, or a symbol of runaway consumption that deserved to be tossed out?

I realized I could better answer the question for myself with some investigation and I began by taking a look at the origins of Santa Claus. Interestingly enough, Santa Claus is rooted in reality. During the third century, in the region of modern-day Turkey, there was born to an aristocratic family a cherished son they named Nicholas. Sadly, Nicholas’ parents perished in a regional epidemic, but they left him comfortably taken care of and strongly rooted in his faith.

Nicholas grew in stature and devotion to Christ, becoming a priest and eventually the Bishop of Myra. And while not one of his fellow priests can be identified, Nicholas became famous for his unending string of saintly deeds that included giving away his entire fortune to the sick, the poor and the suffering. He lived his life in stark contrast to his contemporaries who chose privileged aristocratic lifestyles in the name of God — in spite of the terrible poverty surrounding them.

His eventual torture, imprisonment and exile under the Roman emperor Diocletian, who felt threatened by Christianity and persecuted believers in response, added to his notoriety. But it was Nicholas’ participation in the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., following his prison release, that insures his place in history. Area people cherished his goodness and over time celebrated his life and all that it stood for on the anniversary of his death, every Dec. 6.

It is the stuff from which legends are born and indeed Nicholas, who was eventually sainted by the Catholic Church, became known throughout much of the world as Saint Nicholas, the symbol of unending generosity.

It is not difficult to understand how Santa Claus originated. Most of the Dutch who settled in the New World brought along their treasured traditions that included a yearly nod to “Saint Nikolaas of Sinterklaas” who became known to the new Americans as “Santa Klaas.” Widely published American Christmas art and Clement Moore’s famous poem, “The Night Before Christmas,” all worked to transform St. Nicholas from a religious bishop into the pop cultural figure of the Christmas season we know today.

So there we have it; the story of a real man whose life serves as an international history lesson, rich in goodness, politics and human relevance. Way back when, Santa became a non-issue for me and my family. Telling our children about Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, became a fine way to enrich the understanding of Santa Claus and gave some backbone to the traditions of gift giving during the Christmas season we so enjoy.

Reach Joan Bay Klope, faithfulliving@hotmail.com.