And, in fact, old Father Christmas did in exist as a historic personality living under the warm Lycian sun as Bishop of Myra. His church and ex-tomb still remain as places of pilgrimage in the Turkish town of Demre (known also as Kale, near Antalya).
Though most Turks are Muslim and do not celebrate the Christmas Holiday, they nevertheless are well aware of the famous gift-bearing Saint and know him fondly as "Noel Baba" (Father Christmas). The ritual of gift-giving around the Christmas season has caught on as a tradition in many Turkish households and among friends and usually occurs on New Year's Eve rather than on the eve of December 24th. Christmas trees too abound in cosmopolitan cities like Istanbul with small replicas for sale at major department stores.
Most Turks can tell you that Saint Nicholas was born in Patara and will proudly point out his final resting place. Saint Nick was also elected bishop during Diocletian's persecutions, and died in Myra around the year 350. Stories of his charitable acts took on legendary dimensions during the following centuries.
One of these stories concerned three boys who were hacked into pieces by a greedy butcher, who salted and pickled them for sale in his shop. Nicholas miraculously restored the boys to life. On another occasion, on hearing that the daughters of a poor Myran could not marry for lack of a dowry, Nicholas stole under the man's window at night and left a bag of gold for each girl. This act earned him the reputation of secretly delivering gifts in the black of night.
By the 10th century Nicholas had become the most popular folk saint in the Byzantine realm, counting as the patron of children, poor virgins, innocent prisoners, sailors and Russians. His tomb in Myra became the object of pilgrimages. A church was built around it in the 6th century. After it was destroyed in an Arab raid, the church was rebuilt in its present form with the help of Constantine IX and Empress Zoe in 1043.
The fame of St. Nicholas was brought to the west by Teophano, a Byzantine princess who married Otto II of Germany. In 1087 some Italian merchants broke into the tomb and removed the bones of Santa Claus to Bari, where the famous church of San Nicola di Bari was built. Miraculously, enough other bones were found in Myra and transferred to the Antalya Museum.
The Church of St. Nicholas fell into disuse in Turkish times. In 1862 Czar Alexander I bought the edifice and began restoring it. Further restorations were carried out in recent years by the Turkish government, which also promoted the annual festivities which take place on the saint's feast day. Thousands of pilgrims from Italy, Greece and other countries come to Myra each year on December. Byzantine scholars and church historians meet to discuss the life and deeds of Santa Claus. Unfortunately there is no resident Christian community in Myra today, so the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Myra holds office in Istanbul.
St. Nicholas, called "of Bari", Bishop of Myra (Fourth Century), is the Patron of bakers, pawnbrokers, sailors, children, Greeks and Russians and his Feast day is December 6th.
The great veneration with which this saint has been honored for many ages and the number of altars and churches which have been everywhere dedicated in his memory are testimonials to his holiness and of the glory which he enjoys with God. The Greek histories of his life agree that he suffered imprisonment of the faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Diocletian, and that he was present at the Council of Nicea and there condemned Aryanism. The silence of other authors makes many justly suspect these circumstances. He died at Myra, and was buried in his cathedral there.