Who Was St. Nicholas?

 By Jennifer Uhlarik

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you for carving out a few minutes from family, cooking, gifts, and whatever else your Christmas Day may hold to stop by and visit with us here at Heroes, Heroines, and History. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we wish you the best holiday possible!

 

A few days ago, my husband stumbled across an article that said that archaeologists and researchers have found what they hope to be the real sarcophagus of Saint Nicholas in Demre, Antalya, Turkey. This might be a surprising development to you (just as it was to me), since his bones are thought to be held in the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari, Italy—but they were originally buried in his hometown of Myra and later stolen by Italian sailors and moved to the Bari location. Supposedly, this find in Turkey is thought to be the original sarcophagus he was buried in before his bones were moved. Those connected to the find hope they will see his name written or engraved in the sarcophagus to prove that it was, in fact, his.

 

Anyway, all this got me thinking, and I realized that I’ve long known Saint Nicholas was the inspiration for our modern-day Santa Claus, but I don’t know much about the historical figure of St. Nicholas. So…in case you’re like me, I thought I’d share a few details on this Christmas day. 

Victorian image of Santa Claus,
(Found on: Graphics Fairy)

 

Accounts of Saint Nicholas’s life were not recorded for centuries after his death (thought to be on December 6, 343 A.D.), so most of what we know may be embellishments of the truth. Traditionally, Nicholas was said to have been born on March 15, 270 A.D., in what we know today as the Antalya Province of Turkey. His parents, Theophanes and Nonna, were devout Christians who yearned for a child. One source says they prayed and wept for thirty years before Nicholas was born to them. His parents raised him well and set the example of charitable giving to those in need.

 

His early life, in my findings, is mostly lost to history, although it is known that he had an uncle, also named Nicholas, who was an abbot for the local monastery. Young Nicholas looked up to his uncle and spent much time with him and the monastery monks as they did their daily chants and other religious tasks. It is thought that his parents died of some sort of plague, and upon their deaths (when Nicholas was a young teen), he went to live with his uncle. His parents had apparently left him a good inheritance.

 

Nicholas followed in his uncle’s footsteps by taking a pilgrimage to The Holy Land. He supposedly boarded a ship, and quickly, he had a dream of a storm befalling their ship. He told the sailors of his dream, but they dismissed his concerns. Almost immediately, a storm did arise, and as the sailors fought to keep the ship from ruin, Nicholas prayed for the tempest to be calmed. Miraculously, it did grow calm, but not before one sailor fell to the deck from a mast and died. Again, taking to prayer, Nicholas stormed heaven until the sailor was raised from the dead. They made it to their destination, Nicholas walked the Holy Land, and visited many sites where Christ had been in the gospel accounts, including Golgotha—where Jesus was crucified.

Portrait of Bishop Nicholas,
painted by Jaroslav Čermák

 

Upon his return home, Nicholas became the bishop of Myra, supposedly in a rather miraculous way. The old bishop had died, and the others were seeking God for who should replace him. God spoke to one man and said that the first young man to enter the door for the sunrise service the following morning was the one to replace the deceased bishop. The word of God was even so specific as to include the name of the young man. As it turns out, it was Nicholas. The following day, Nicholas, son of Theophanes and Nonna was the first to arrive and was promptly told that he was to become the next bishop. He insisted he was not worthy of such a position, but the men of God at Myra would hear none of it, and Nicholas became the bishop at a young age.

 

He is best known as the patron saint of children and sailors, but he also was known for secret gift-giving and for miracles that came from his intercession, so much so that he became known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. So what sorts of secret gift-giving or miracles was he known for? Again, these stories may very well be embellishments of true happenings, but they make great stories, even if they aren’t completely accurate.

 

In one instance, Nicholas learned of a man with three daughters. The man had once been rich but had fallen on hard times. So hard, in fact, that he would not be able to pay the dowries expected for his daughter to marry well, leaving the three young women uncertain lives of prostitution or other slavery. Nicholas took some of his own inheritance and threw it into the window of the impoverished family’s home. As chance would have it, the money landed in a damp sock that had been left near the fire to dry. Come morning, the father found enough money to marry off his oldest daughter. Not long after, Nicholas returned to the house and again pitched a sizeable bag of money into the window, affording the middle daughter a dowry and assuring her a good marriage. By this time, the father was determined to know who this secret supporter was and waited days until a third bag of money was tossed through the home’s open window. The father rushed out to find Nicholas and thank him, though Nicholas asked the man to keep the secret of his unexpected provision. (Of course, with the first money landing in the sock put near the fire, it is thought this was the basis for our Christmas tradition of leaving gifts inside of stockings hung near the fire).

St. Nicholas at Greek Orthodox
Church (Photo by Petr Kratochvil)

A second incident tells of a time of famine, when Nicholas was greatly concerned for the people of Myra. In one version of the story, Nicholas was praying for grain for his people, and he appeared to a ship captain’s dream, promising him three gold coins if he would bring his shipment of grain to Myra. When the man awoke, he found the three promised coins already in his hand, and went to provide what was requested in the dream. In another version of the same miracle, Nicholas went to a merchant, asking for grain from each of his ships—but the merchant refused because his grain was already weighed, and he would be held accountable for any shortfall. Nicholas assured him there would be no shortfall if he provided grain for the people of Myra. Finally, Nicholas prevailed. The merchant sold him the grain—a hundred bushels from each ship—and went on to report to the buyer. Upon weighing the shipments, there was no shortfall whatsoever, and the grain sold to Nicholas for Myra lasted the full length of the famine, as well as provided enough to plant a good crop.

 

Nicholas’s life is marked by other such stories of justice, faith, and miraculous happenings, making him a beloved figure in the history of the world—and because of them, it is easy to see how he could have become the model, despite the over-commercialized version of our modern-day Santa Claus figure. No matter what, Nicholas was a man of God we can look up to for his love and giving nature.

 

I hope you enjoyed learning a few small facts about this historical man who became legend. And I hope you will have a blessed and merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! 

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has finaled and won in numerous writing competitions, and been on the ECPA best-seller list several times. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers, Women Writing the West, and is a lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband and fur children.

 

Available for Pre-Order (Coming April 1, 2025):

 

Love and Order by Jennifer Uhlarik

 

Separated as children when they were adopted out to different families from an orphan train, the Braddock siblings of Callie, Andie, and Rion have each grown up and taken on various jobs within law enforcement and criminal justice. When the hunt for a serial killer with a long history of murders reunites the brother and sisters in Cambria Springs, Colorado, they find themselves not only in a fight for justice, but also a fight to keep their newly reunited family intact. How will they navigate these challenges when further complicated by unexpected romances?

 

 

Carousels and Their Little Wars + Giveaway

 By Tiffany Amber Stockton

In January, we took a stroll down the language lane of history with some common catch phrases used today and how they got started. You can read last month's post if you missed it.

Today, we're exploring the world of the always delightful ride called the Carousel. Anita Mae Draper did two posts for this blog several years ago on merry-go-rounds and derby race rides, and the post today fills in more historical gaps.

CAROUSEL ORIGINS

The concept of circular motion in the movement of goods, water, or in producing force dates back to B.C. times. Carousels using horses got a bit later start.

What would you say if I told you the carousel has actually been around since the 12th century? Your jaw probably just dropped, or your mouth has formed a small "o." Surprising, right? I thought the same thing when I discovered this fact. The 1100's are considered Medieval times. I don't recall seeing a carousel in any of those stories of King Arthur or Robin Hood or any castle settings. How in the world could such a quaint little carnival ride be this old?

That's easy. The carousel first made its appearance in Turkey and the Arabic region over in the Middle East. It started as a game--albeit a serious one--where horseman tossed clay balls doused in an enormous amount of perfume at each other. Whoever didn't catch the ball had to live with that strong smell until the next time they took a bath. For most of us today, that would be immediately. However, this is medieval times, when bathing wasn't exactly common. :) I would venture to guess that perfume was a rather precious commodity, and this "Little War" as it was called might have been designed intentionally.

Crusaders from Italy and Spain stumbled upon this game and decided to carry the tradition back to their home countries in Europe. The Italians dubbed it "Carosella," which directly translates the original name. Spain referred to it as "Guerrasilla," but when it spread to France, it received the name by which we call it today: Carrousel (only minus one 'r').

In France, the game took on a rather extravagant indulgence. French nobility quickly adapted this clay ball game to their existing war games on horses--including a ring-lancing game--where both riders were dressed to the nines while on horseback. I don't know about you, but riding a horse is challenging enough, let alone dressed in full formal attire. Have you seen the aristocratic fashions of those centuries? I'll take my jeans, plaid shirt and boots over all those fabrics and layers. :)

Anyway, play continued like this for the next 500 years until the 1600s, when they experimented with mechanical or wooden models of horses mounted on spokes originating from a centralized post. They used these models to practice as a way to reduce injury and still enjoy the game. The circular movement was achieved through the use of mules, real horses, and sometimes human labor. Some models were even elaborately designed or custom crafted. That's frivolous aristocracy for you! Luxurious diversions solely for the purpose of entertainment and often at the expense of someone else.

Eventually, the craftsmanship and intricate detailing attracted visitors simply coming to view the artisan's work. In 1729, a British poet added the name "merry-go-round" to the entertaining display, as viewers took pure pleasure and delight in coming to see them. Their popularity spread throughout Europe, and before long, people were wanting to ride the horses themselves.

With the invention of the steam engine around 1870, the availability of more elaborate decorations increased the attraction. Factory manufacturing made them easier to assemble, and their placement as a feature in carnivals or festivals led to widespread popularity all around the world.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What is your favorite carousel and where is it located? It could be one you've ridden in another state that left a lasting impression.

* Do you know the name of the British poet who coined the "merry-go-round" name? Who is it?

* If you had to be hit with a perfumed clay ball, what would your preferred scent be?

** Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Leave answers to these questions or any comments you might have on this post in the comment box below. For those of you who have stuck around this far, I'm sending a FREE autographed book to one person every month from the comments left on each of my blog posts. You never know when your comment will be a winner! Subscribe to comments so you'll know if you've won and need to get me your mailing information.

Come back on the 9th of March for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

For those interested in my "fictional" life as an author and industry news about other authors, subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. Receive a FREE omitted chapter from my book, A Grand Design, just for subscribing!

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and four cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20 years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Mashed Potatoes: Creamy Deliciousness or A Taste of History?

 

Basket of Potatoes
Free Image by Christos Giakkas from Pixabay

  

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez

Hello Friends!

Thank you for joining us once again as we delve into the history of this great state we call home, Oklahoma.

First allow us to say: we wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, first responders and police and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families.

Last month, we covered the differences between costuming, garb and cosplay. This month, given the tradition of Thanksgiving, we decided to discuss something of a more—flavorful?—nature. While we were discussing the content of one of the books we are collaborating on, the subject of potatoes came up.

After a minor amount of discussion, it was decided to go ahead and write about one of the more talked about topics during the month of November, traditional foods. You see, most of the foods we Americans normally consume during Thanksgiving are not natively European.

 

Turkey leg drumsticks
Public domain photo

Wait, what? You mean the turkey legs at our local medieval/renaissance fair aren't historical medieval England food? Fair from it! Actually, across the ocean from it. Turkeys, along with corn and potatoes, are New World--or North American--food.

In this article, we will focus primarily on the potatoes, or "tubers".

When most people think of Ireland, they think two things, potatoes and potato whiskey. In particular, the Irish Potato Blight of the 19th century. Did you know that potatoes weren’t in Europe, England, or Ireland until the Spaniards led by Columbus brought them over?

So, potatoes as we know them of the species Solanum brevicaule were domesticated between 5,000 – 8,000 BCE in Peru and Bolivia. It is in the nightshade family, much like that of tomato, belladonna, eggplant and hemlock.

It was the Columbian Exchange that introduced the potato to Europe. They provided seedlings and full tubers at most ports they stopped by. It took years for the plant to be accepted by the farmers of Europe, due, most to their dependence on the cereal plants, (i.e. Wheat, Rye, Sorghum and Oat). Once the plant had been accepted, however, the crops were mostly contained to smaller, garden plots, as the crops were heavily proscribed by tradition. Even during the first Thanksgiving in America, the potatoes were not considered one of the favorites of the European settlers.

However, once it was discovered there was a serious nutritional value to the tuber, it became much a staple of the diet of most of Europe. In fact, it is credited with being one of the deciding factors in the population growth of the 19th century. That is to say, in Ireland, before the potato blight, there were as many as 8,000,000 Irish.

Even after the introduction and acceptance of the poisonous plant to Europe, it was still considered the food of the peasantry until the mini ice-age of the mid-17th century, when many of the cereal plants just would not grow in the sufficient quantities to Europe. Once the crop became a staple, however, things changed, and the potato become food for all.
 

Bowl of Mashed potatoes
Public Domain photo

            So, the next time you dig in to a nice big bowl of mashed potatoes, a dish of yams at your favorite holiday meal, a carton of french fries, or even have hash browns with your eggs of a morning, keep in mind you are eating an undeniable part of history that has literally changed the world.

Thank you for joining us in this journey through, shall we say gastric history? Join us next month as we go back to our regularly scheduled program of articles about buildings in Guthrie, Oklahoma!

Photo by Kathy Harris
Used with permission

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Judge was born and raised in Little Axe, Oklahoma, the son of A.F. Veterans. Judge and Alanna love the history of the state and relish in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her second published story, part of a collaborative novella titled 18 Redbud Lane, is now available. Alanna and Judge live with her parents in the Edmond area. They are currently collaborating on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Oklahoma.

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Thanksgiving in the Old West - and a Giveaway

By Davalynn Spencer

A close friend of mine is having chicken and dumplings for Thanksgiving dinner this year because that’s what her grandson requested.

Works for me.

Typically, it’s hard to imagine the big Thanksgiving spread without a turkey in the middle of the table surrounded by all the fixin’s such as that depicted in Norman Rockwell’s famous painting from the 1940s, Freedom from Want.

Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell - Public domain
via the National Archives and Records Administration

But sixty to seventy years earlier on the Western frontier, the main dish could have been deer, fish, goose, corned beef, roast beef, tongue (bovine or bison), ham, or quail stew.

Quail on my home front huddling beneath a Colorado blue spruce.

Cranberry sauce and pies were fairly universal, though I imagine those cranberries had to be ordered ahead of time from wherever cranberries grew. Creative cooks might have substituted well-seeded chokecherries, currants, or some such. Dried apple or pumpkin pies were common, as were sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, pickles, root vegetables, and cake.

And let’s not forget baked beans, vinegar pie, and the West’s constant standby of fresh biscuits and stout coffee.

Kansas City hotels in the late 1880s reportedly offered oysters, elk, squirrel, opossum, shrimp, and other delectables. I’d probably be late for supper if squirrel was on the menu.

From as early as 1621, people in what became the United States of America celebrated a fall harvest festival during which they thanked God for protection and provision, sharing their feast with neighbors and friends.

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, by Jennie August Brownscombe.
This 1925 painting corrected her 1914 depiction of Plains Indians rather than tribes common
to the Plymouth area. Public domain via the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

George Washington first proclaimed a latter Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving, but not until 1863, during President Abraham Lincoln’s term, was Thanksgiving recognized as a federal holiday. I imagine for many, this call to give thanks during America’s Civil War served as a poignant reminder and challenge.

It has long been touted that early American Benjamin Franklin believed the common turkey to be more honorable than the bald eagle when decisions were being made about the national bird. Much of the tale is hearsay, though in retrospect, it’s hard to imagine the humble turkey replacing the majestically depicted bald eagle.

It’s also hard to imagine a featherless eagle centerpiece on my Thanksgiving table.

However, I have heard of people fending off angry gobblers that had other ideas about what should be served for supper.

What’s on your menu this year? Comment below to have your name tossed in the drawing for an e-copy of my Thanksgiving tale, Mail-order Misfire. And have a blessed and thanks-filled Thanksgiving, whether you celebrate singularly or in the company of others.

~

Wife and mother of professional rodeo bullfighters, Davalynn Spencer can’t stop #lovingthecowboy. She writes award-winning Western romance with rugged heroes, teaches writing workshops, and refuses to put her quail in a stew. She plays the keyboard on her church worship team and wrangles Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley. Connect with her at www.davalynnspencer.com.

Speaking of Giving Thanks

By Marilyn Turk

Every Thanksgiving, Americans celebrate a feast that dates back to November 1621, when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians gathered at Plymouth for an autumn harvest celebration. Days of fasting and thanksgiving became common practice in New England settlements. In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States, calling upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I’m sharing some quotes about being thankful.

“The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!” -- Henry Ward Beecher

“For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Praise God even when you don’t understand what He is doing.” -- Henry Jacobsen

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” -- Irv Kupcinet

“Our rural ancestors, with little blest,
Patient of labour when the end was rest,
Indulged the day that housed their annual grain,
With feasts, and off’rings, and a thankful strain.” -- Alexander Pope

“Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” -- Henry Ward Beecher

“I think that is a better thing than thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will.” -- Charles Spurgeon

“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.”― William Faulkner

“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”—Theodore Roosevelt

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have n remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ― Epicurus

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” ― Charles Dickens

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Bird No One Wanted to Claim: A History of Turkeys

Today marks exactly three weeks until Thanksgiving. As we gather around the table to give thanks to God and remember our many blessings,  the most prominent item on your table is probably a large bird, roasted to moist, golden perfection. But have you ever paused to think about the history behind the bird, how it made it to our Thanksgiving table, and what else might have been there instead?

Let’s begin our exploration with Christopher Columbus. When the first adventurers and merchants began “discovering” the New World, they noticed a strange, wild fowl that was native to this continent. No one knows for sure how the creatures came to be known as the Turkey, but it is suspected that the word was referring to the actual country of Turkey. But how does a bird in North America get stuck with the name of a country on the other side of the world?

Some historians believe that it came from the early Turks who would sell exotic wild fowl, such as Guineas from West Africa, to Europe. Apparently, they became known for their strange birds, so when the English spotted the wild bird in the New World, it was easy for them to refer to it as the Turkey Cock. Which was then shortened to Turkey.

The Turks however, don’t claim the bird either. They have no such birds native to their country. Their name for it is…get this…Hindi. They figured the bird must be Indian. The French also picked that up and called it Poulet d’Inde or chicken from India. Other languages have called it the Peru or the Dutch chicken. In truth, the poor turkey doesn’t have its own name, even scientifically. Its binomial nomenclature, Meleagris gallopavo is basically a mixture of the Latin words for rooster and peacock, with a nod at a mythical story of a goddess turning mourners into guineas. Apparently, nobody knew what it was or what to call it, so they just pegged a name on the poor bird.

At any rate, the turkey ended up becoming a permanent part of survival in the New World. Most of us know why it is associated with Thanksgiving. It was one of the animals they could hunt and eat in this new land, and one that was at least somewhat like the domestic chickens they were accustomed to. I wonder how long it took them to get used to the gamey taste of wild fowl and deer.

Photo by Andrea Reiman on Unsplash

Another interesting tidbit that usually comes up during this time of year is that Benjamin Franklin preferred the Turkey to the Bald Eagle as our National Bird. While the idea of having an eagle on our dinner table while the Turkey adorns the President’s lectern is a humorous picture, this tale isn’t exactly true.

In a letter from Benjamin Franklin to his daughter, he does express his disappointment that the bald eagle was chosen to represent the country. He considered the bird to be of bad moral character, too lazy to catch his own food, bullying others out of theirs instead. He criticized the eagle design saying it looked more like a turkey, and in his rant, went on to say that he believed the turkey would have been a worthier choice given that it is a native of the country, brave, and respectable. He did admit, however that it is a little ‘silly and vain’. Still an amusing story, but a far cry from proposing it as the seal of the United States.

There you are. Some turkey trivia for your holiday gathering. 


Now, I’d love to hear your turkey stories! From thanksgiving fiascos, to fond memories, to hunting them out of the woods yourself…share your turkey and we’ll have an early Thanksgiving dinner. 😉

*****

Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to life. She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  Her title, Dawn of Liberty, was awarded the 2017 CSPA Book of the Year award in Historical Fiction. She lives in Colorado and spends half her time volunteering in the Ozarks. Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at www.AmberSchamel.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!