St. Nicholas: The Believer: A New Story For Christmas Based On The Old Story Of St. Nicholas

by Eric Elder, Lana Elder

From the Introduction by Eric ElderThere was a time when I almost gave up celebrating Christmas. Our kids were still young and weren’t yet hooked on the idea of Santa Claus and presents, Christmas trees and decorations. I had read that the Puritans who first came to America were so zealous in their faith that they didn’t celebrate Christmas at all. Instead they charged fines to businesses in their community who failed to keep their shops open on Christmas day. They didn’t want anything to do with a holiday that was, they felt, rooted in paganism. As a new believer and a new father myself, the idea of going against the flow of the excesses of Christmas had its appeal, at least in some respects.Then I read an article by a man who simply loved celebrating Christmas. He could think of no greater way to celebrate the birth of the most important figure in human history than throwing the grandest of parties for Him—gathering and feasting and sharing gifts with as many of his family and friends as possible. This man was a pastor of deep faith and great joy. For him, the joy of Christ’s birth was so wondrous that he reveled in every aspect of Christmas, including all the planning, decorating and activities that went along with it. He even loved bringing Santa Claus into the festivities, our modern-day version of the very real and very ancient Saint Nicholas, a man of deep faith and great joy as well who Himself worshipped and adored the Baby who was born in Bethlehem.So why not celebrate the birth of Christ? Why not make it the biggest party of the year? Why not make it the “Hap-Happiest season of all”?I was sold. Christmas could stay—and my kids would be much hap-happier for it, too.I dove back into celebrating Christmas with full vigor, and at the same time took a closer look into the life of the real Saint Nicholas, a man who seemed almost irremovably intertwined with this Holy Day. I discovered that Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus were indeed one and the same, and that the Saint Nicholas who lived in the 3rd and 4th centuries after the birth of Christ was truly a devout follower of Christ himself. As my wife and I read more and more about Nicholas’ fascinating story, we became enthralled with this believer who had already been capturing the hearts and imaginations of believers and nonbelievers alike throughout the centuries.With so many books and movies that go to great lengths to tell you the “true” story of Santa Claus (and how his reindeer are really powered by everything from egg nog to Coca-Cola), I’ve found that there are very few stories that even come close to describing the actual person of who Saint Nicholas was, and in particular, what he thought about the Man for whom Christmas is named, Jesus Christ. I was surprised to learn that with all the historical documents that attest to Saint Nicholas’ faith in Christ, compelling tellings of those stories seem to have fallen by the wayside over the ages. So with the encouragement and help of my sweet wife, Lana, we decided to bring the story of Saint Nicholas back to life for you, with a desire to help you recapture the essence of Christmas for yourself.While some people, with good reason, may still go to great lengths to try to remove anything that might possibly hint of secularism from this holiest day of the year, it seems to me equally fitting to go to great lengths to try to restore Santa to his rightful place—not as the patron saint of shopping malls, but as a beacon of light that shines brightly on the One for whom this Holy Day is named.It is with deep faith and great joy that I offer you this Christmas novella—a little story. I’ve enjoyed telling it and I hope you’ll enjoy hearing it.

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2014

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done

Great story of the life of St Nicholas. Well written and an easy read. Appreciated do the short explanation of truths vs fiction at the end.

[Mary Albers Felkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a well-researched and tender tale of the real life of Saint Nicholas, told from his perspective. This story corrected what I thought I knew of this iconic individual, a man whose heart to give so freely that it led to what we've watered down to "Christmas". You will hold more loosely to your possessions after you spend a lifetime with the real Saint Nicholas. I highly recommend this book and this author!

[Keri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, easy read for Christmas time. A little overly dramatic and emotional for my taste, but decently well written and full of fun, heart-warming stories about St. Nicholas, most of which are at least rooted loosely in historical record. Very appropriate for a leisurely Christmastime read by the fire.

[Matt Chlebda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written story of Saint Nick, the real person behind Santa. Highly recommended if you like historical Christian fiction. While I am not sure if this is how the actual story of this man's life happened, I enjoyed reading it nonetheless. A worthwhile addition to the list of Holiday books!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book celebrating Saint Nicholas, the legend of Santa Claus and his historic life written as a novel to celebrate Jesus Christ's birth. I read it 2 weeks before Christmas and absolutely loved it. I got a similar picture book much shorter for my children.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family listened to this on audio and enjoyed the story of St. Nicholas! This is a great book for those who don’t “do Santa” rather tell of the story of St. Nicholas for their Christmas tradition.