HERE LIES SANTA CLAUS
Tomb found in ancient St. Nick Church
Yes, Virginia, there was a Santa Claus — but now he’s dead.
The tomb belonging to dear old St. Nick may have just been discovered under an ancient church in southern Turkey, archeologists said Wednesday.
The previously unknown tomb was detected via electronic surveys that showed gaps beneath the 1,500-year-old St. Nicholas Church in the Antalya Province town of Demre.
“We believe this shrine has not been damaged at all, but it is quite difficult to get to it as there are mosaics on the floor,” Cemil Karabayram, head of Antalya’s Monument Authority, told the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, according to Britain’s Telegraph.
St. Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick and the suffering. He is revered for his acts of generosity to children and those in need.
He became popular in 16thcentury Europe as Father Christmas. The Dutch modeled their Sinterklaas figure, the patron saint of children, after St. Nicholas — and he later became known as Santa Claus in American tradition, thanks in part to an iconic 1930s Coca-Cola ad campaign.
Over the centuries, many stories have been told of St. Nicholas’ life and deeds, as chronicled by StNicholasCenter.com.
One tale claims that a mysterious bag of gold appeared in the home of a man who was desperately trying to marry off his daughters in order to obtain a dowry. If not, the girls would be sold into slavery. This legend led to the leaving of stockings on fireplaces, in hopes the jolly visitor might fill them with gifts.
Another story tells of St. Nicholas on the seas, even once sparing an entire ship from wreckage after he prayed. For this and other heroics he is re- garded by sailors as the patron saint of voyagers.
Scholars believe Nicholas was born in the ancient Greek city of Myra, now modern-day Demre.
Karabayram said it will take some time to reach the shrine, which is almost fully intact, but blocked by stone reliefs and mosaics that need to be preserved.
“We have obtained very good results but the real work starts now,” he said. “We will reach the ground and maybe we will find the untouched body of St. Nicholas.”
The legendary saint died in 343 AD and was interred at the Demre church until the 11th century. His remains were long believed to have been brought to the city of Bari, Italy, in 1087 — but Turkish experts now claim the wrong bones were removed from the shrine and in fact belonged to a local priest.