Bill Bennett: The important secret that the real Saint Nicholas and Santa share

Thursday, December 6 is Saint Nicholas Day, the feast day of the Christian bishop who lived during the fourth century in what is now Turkey, and whose name we associate so much with chimneys and stockings hung with care.

There is an old story about Nicholas and his remarkable generosity. When he was a young man living in his hometown of Patara, he heard of a family that had fallen on hard times. The desperate parents were too poor to provide dowries so that their three daughters could marry. They decided that the only way to keep their daughters from starving was to sell them into servitude.

Nicholas put a few gold coins he had inherited into a small bag and, one night when the family was sleeping, tossed it through a window into their home. It was enough money to provide a dowry for the oldest daughter, who was soon married.

When Nicholas saw the effects of his gift, he returned and tossed another bag of gold through the window so the second daughter could be married. When he came several nights later with a third bag, the tearful father was waiting to see who their secret benefactor was. Nicholas begged him not to tell anyone, but his act of generosity set him on the path to becoming the world’s most famous gift giver.

Such are the stories of Nicholas that have come down to us. His life, to be sure, is obscured by time and legend. It’s a history I explore in my book, "The True Saint Nicholas."

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