How Nicholas became Santa

We already know Nicholas story, but how did he become Santa?

After the death of the priest, Nicholas was buried not in the cemetery, but in the church, so that people could worship his remains.
The fact is that the church was persecuted for many years, and under the emperor Constantine, persecution was not only ended, but and the church became the state religion. At that time they decided to honor all the martyrs. They built temples and gave them the names of Paul, Peter and other martyrs for their faith. Similarly, they decided to pay tribute to the relics of Nicholas.

After a while, the pilgrimage became a good business. Pilgrims had to live somewhere, there was something and wanted to take something with them. So pilgrims developed the hotel business, bought souvenirs ...

In the south of Italy there is a small port of Bari, which had big economic problems. And so they decided to become the center for the pilgrimage. The priests contracted the sailors, so that they stole the remains of Nicholas. The sailors agreed, went to the city of Mira (on the south of present-day Turkey) and threatened with weapons, broke the tomb and the remains were taken out.

The city of Bari became a pilgrimage center. A fairy tale was invented, saying that the bones of Nicholas myrrh (from them flowing mira - fragrant oil), to sell this world to tourists. The sailors were promised a percentage of this business, but they did not get anything.

Of course, today the official church tells this story in a slightly different interpretation: the church itself has transported the remains for preservation from Muslims. There is some truth in this, because the Muslims have seized the city of Myra, like and the whole Turkey. And do not transport the remains, they would be lost. But this was not the original reason.

Now the bones are in terrible condition and are poorly stored. An ordinary person can not see it, because they hide under the guise of a shrine. As before, there is a trade in the world allegedly from the bones of Nicholas.

Part Two

But this did not make Nicholas the most revered of the saints, but only one of the most revered saints.
He was especially revered in a number of countries. For example, in Russia - Nicolas the Wonderworker or Nicolas the Sinner.
He was also honored in Holland.

The Dutch were among the first settlers of America and brought with them the custom of celebrating St. Nicholas. They founded the city of New York and there was a celebration of St. Nicholas.

Later, Coca-Cola, striving to reach all segments of the population of America, created this brand - Santa Claus (so in English sounds Saint Nicholas). Coca-Cola created Santa's corporate identity - colors and uniforms, appearance and style.

So Santa became the most popular brand.