Genre: Documentary: 60-minutes
Treatment: Dr. Mark Wilson will take the audience on an exciting journey to Patara-- the place of Nicholas’s birth, Myra--where he was bishop, Nicea--the site of the Council of Nicea, and Bari, Italy where his bones were finally laid to rest. Along the way, we will interview experts and investigate important stories attributed to Nicholas that explain how we got Santa Claus.
Synopsis: Did you know that there is a town in America that boasts it is the only place where you can celebrate Christmas every single day of the year? The town of Santa Claus, Indiana has made the most of its name. It also has the only post office in the world bearing the Santa Claus postmark and receives thousands of letters every year addressed to Santa. This legendary character is celebrated at Christmas time around the world and is a symbol of compassion, gift giving and merriment. But is there any historical evidence on which this jolly old character is based? Was there a real Santa Claus?
To answer that question, we have to journey back in time to the fourth century. Christianity at that time was growing quickly throughout Asia Minor (now part of modern-day Turkey). It was into that setting around AD 275 that a child named Nicholas was born to wealthy, Christian parents in the small coastal town of Patara.
The history of this region is important as a rich center for trade. The port of Andriake was the port for the city of Myra, a chief port of antiquity. It is the same port where the Apostle Paul boarded the grain ship bound for Rome that was shipwrecked during the journey. It is speculated that the churches in the Myra region were started through the Apostle Paul’s ministry. Nicholas probably grew up learning about that legacy.
The life of St. Nicholas is well documented by early historians and archaeological evidence. But in recent years,
Father Gerardo
Cioffari, Director of the Centro Studi Nicolaiani, Basilica di San Nicola, in Bari, Italy has translated ancient documents revealing new evidence about this famous saint.
Nicholas’s good works are recognized worldwide, but what is less known is his fight for justice and that he was most likely tortured for his faith during the brutal six-year reign of the Roman emperor Galerius. Nicholas could never imagine how his world would change when the new emperor Constantine embraced Christianity. At a meeting of bishops at the Council of Nicea in AD 325, Nicholas had the privilege to sign the Nicene Creed which established a doctrinal statement of faith that is still used today.
Tradition says that Nicholas died on December 6th AD 343 and was buried in his church in Myra. But during the invasion of the Selijuk Turks in 1087, sailors from Italy seized his bones and carried them off to Bari, Italy where they remain today. In the centuries since his death, Nicholas has been claimed as patron saint of sailors, merchants and the nations of Russia and Greece. The real St. Nicholas is far from the jolly man in a red suit whose image became fixed in people’s minds by a 1932 Coca Cola campaign, or the creation of American writers such as Washington Irving. The real man was a true hero. He was persecuted for his faith and he played a major role in the development of Christianity as we know it today. No wonder he is called Father Christmas.
Pre-Production: March 2 – April 8, 2015 (approximate dates)
Includes research, travel logistics, permissions and script development.
Production: May 15-23, 2015 (approximate dates)
Patara, Turkey 1 day
Myra, Turkey 3 days
Nicea, Turkey 1 day
Bari, Italy 2 days
Post Production: June 6, 2015 – August 31, 2015 (approximate dates)
