“My friends at school say that Santa Claus is real and Grandma says he’s not - who’s telling the truth?” my 4-year-old asked after we finished decorating the Christmas tree.

Following family tradition, I repeated what I told him earlier, explaining that Santa Claus is not really real but that it is fun to pretend he is.

“There was once a real man named St. Nicholas a long time ago, and I suppose the legend just grew from there,” I said.

Both my kids immediately bombarded me with questions. “Who was he?” “Where did he live? What was he like? Did he live at the North Pole?”

Overwhelmed, I turned to the Internet to help me answer their questions. We found a very helpful site, www.stnicholas center.org, that was full of historical information about St. Nicholas.

“Some say St. Nicholas existed only in legend, without any reliable historical record. Legends usually do grow out of real, actual events, though they may be embellished to make more interesting stories,” stated the Web site.

Here is what we discovered about St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born between 260 and 280 A.D. in Patara (in modern-day Turkey.) Nicholas’ parents were both wealthy and devout Christians but died leaving young Nicholas an orphan.

It is said that Nicholas dedicated his life to God as a young man and used his inherited wealth to help those in need, and that he was elected Bishop of Myra.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned for his faith. After his release, he attended the Council of Nicaea inAD 325, where the oldest Greek log and five other logs record his name as an attendee.

According to legend thought to be based on historical fact, Nicholas saved several young girls from the fate of slavery. Because their father didn’t have any money for a dowry, the girls were destined to be sold as slaves. Nicholas snuck in a window and left gold in the stockings drying near the fireplace to serve as a dowry. So began the idea of leaving shoes and stockings near the fireplace to be filled with presents.

It’s been a long, long time since Nicholas’ day, which makes it hard to sort truth from legend, but I kind of like to think the basic facts surrounding him are the real deal. Nicholas could have very well been a very kind and generous man who is at the root of the Santa Claus story. It’s something to think about.

Janelle Jessen is a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer and a longtime resident of the Decatur area. She may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 8 on 12/29/2010