MYTH NO. 2: Saint Nicholas was a jolly man in a red coat. ... Maybe you’ve seen the more modern memes online: A stern-looking Byzantine saint says: “Deck the halls?

Today is the feast day of St. Nicholas, original inspiration of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, and beloved figure of irascible social-media memes celebrating the famous incident in which the ...

Saint Nicholas traditions abound around the world, many of them very old and fascinating. But through these traditions and across the centuries runs the strong thread of the real man Nicholas, the ...

BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — Many people and famous Christmas songs refer to Santa Claus as Saint Nicholas, or St. Nick for short — but he’s far from the only figure in history to have that title ...

Every year on December 6th, many children across Europe and the US will wake up and eagerly dash to their holiday stockings, or even their shoes, to see what treats St. Nick dropped into them.

NEW YORK (AP) — The legends surrounding jolly old St. Nicholas — celebrated annually on Dec. 6 — go way beyond delivering candy and toys to children.

The white-bearded Christian saint whose acts of generosity inspired America’s secular Santa Claus figure is known worldwide — but Saint Nicholas’ origin story is not. The legends surrounding ...

Long before the illustrator Haddon Sundblom painted the figure of the jolly old red-suited elf Santa Claus for Coca-Cola in 1931, St. Nicholas was lodged in hearts and minds in many lands. Sunblom ...

St. Nicholas was believed to have died Dec. 6, 343 A.D. The day is celebrated as a feast day. The Dec. 6 Feast of St. Nicholas became a popular tradition during the medieval period, particularly ...