Part of my job as Holiday Concierge is to write daily newletters with interesting information and "Things You Never Knew" about Turkey for our guests. One of the many places that my husband and I loved was Demre, Myra and Kekova, further west of Antalya than where we currently live.
The whole area is built on such fertile land, that most of the country's food comes from this area. But what interested me was the truth behind the constant lies and bribes millions of parents decieve their children with throughout the year to "encourage" them to behave well ... who Father Christmas really is.
We watch the touching movies that bring tears to the eyes, tell stories of the North Pole, the fat man who lives there and the ever-cheerful elves who make presents of all shapes and sizes while singing the day away. Some parents even take children to Lapland and the misguided infants spend the first years of their life believing in flying reindeer. (It's still on my wish list of places to go!!!)
Eventually, all children find out and are either devasted by the news that Father Christmas is not real after all or pretend they knew it was a lie all along because they saw mummy and daddy putting the presents by the bed one fateful night many years ago ... (or in our families case, could tell that the bite from the mince pies and the footsteps in the flour really were not from a reindeer because Grandpa's shoes were a little too suspiciously floury the next morning!) The sad fact is Father Christmas may not be alive and kicking but he was a real person...
He did also drop presents down chimneys and his biography actually starts in the country of Turkey, not the North Pole. In November 2010 my husband and I got the chance to visit the town where his reputation was made.
Six Facts about Father Christmas that You Never Knew
1 – Father Christmas was born in the town of Patara on the South West coast of Turkey between the years of 260 and 280AD. Technically, the republic of Turkey was not formed until 1923 so if you want to split hairs, Patara at that time was under Lycian rule.
2 – The true name of Father Christmas was Nicholas and in adult life, he became the bishop of Myra which was a town further up the coast from Patara. It is now called Demre.
3 – When Nicholas’s parents died, they left him a lot of money and made him a wealthy man. He wanted to help people who were poor but he wanted to do it in secret so the agile bishop used to climb on the roofs of people’s houses and drop coins down the chimney. One day, a citizen caught him in the act and his good nature was revealed to the town.
4 – Upon his death, a memorial was erected in the town but it would be a number of years before he gained the holiest of titles and that was as Saint Nicholas. He also became the patron saint of sailors but more specifically of children as he was remembered for giving them nuts, fruit and sweets for good behaviour. You see - bribery was alive and kicking even back then!
5 – December the 6th become associated with the feast of St Nicholas and in later years, a bishop declared December the 25th as the birth of Jesus. Over time, the two celebrations began to fuse together and that was the first connection between Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas and Christmas Day traditions.
6 – In the late 1800’s drawings appeared of St Nicholas aka Santa Claus / Father Christmas with a beard, pipe and a large belly. The transformation of a humble saint called Nicholas to a fat, jolly man who feasts on mince pies and gets stuck in chimneys, had began. (I don't think I will ever know how the North pole, loyal elves and flying reindeer came about!)
The Church of St Nicholas, Demre (how it used to look)
Located in the town of Demre (far away from the North pole!), the church is open every day and on the 6th of December, special celebrations are held for the day dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Many tousists visit this now famous attraction. The church also held till recently his original sarcophagus although his bones were stolen in the 10th Century by Italian sailors and they are now encrypted in a church on the south east coast of Italy. We were told that so many Russian Orthodox Christians came to touch St Nicholas' sarcophagus and throw money inside it for good luck, that now they have had to place everything behind the plastic casing as often the determined pilgrims often got a little to excited and parts of the stone were broken away.
St Nicholas' Tomb
Special Notes
Entrance fee is 10 Turkish Lira (just under £4 correct as of January 2012). The church is still used today for special Orthodox Christian Services, including St Nicholas Day Service. Please be respectful as you enter as you often find people praying and taking part in a service.
Challenge to all parents
Ok, I get it! The story of Santa Claus, reindeer, elves and the North Pole is more convincing when trying to get naughty children to behave. However when they get older,instead of making a confession that you have been lying to them for the first years of their life, tell them about saint Nicholas, his origins and how his good deeds earned him, a place in the heart of children all across the world.
Newly excavated ... still unsure if a home or part of a church
Excavations are still continuing today and newly discovered 900+ year old buildings are still being found. Take the youself and the chidlren to see this amazing place...
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