Santa friday

Santa is not Nordic, but Turkish.

Although he is traditionally dressed in a heavy coat and surrounded by snow and reindeer, the fact is that Saint Nicholas, the saint who refers the legend of Santa Claus has nothing to do with this land.

In fact, he also has nothing to do with Bari (Italy), a city where he never set foot, and that only has the privilege of being the sanctuary of his relics.

The truth is that he was a Christian bishop of Greek origin, born in Lycia, in modern Turkey, back in the fourth century.

And his reputation for delivery of gifts is based on a story about a poor man with three daughters, who could not marry them for not having the necessary dowry. Aware of this, Nicholas handed, when they get the age of marriage, a bag full of gold coins each. It is said that all this was done in secret by the priest who entered through a window and put the bag of gold into socks for the girls, hanging over the fireplace to dry.

So this year you should not be scared if you see him appear riding a magic carpet, and not in his traditional reindeer float.