{"id":5147,"date":"2009-12-04T15:39:15","date_gmt":"2009-12-04T20:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=5147"},"modified":"2013-12-09T13:49:25","modified_gmt":"2013-12-09T18:49:25","slug":"december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/","title":{"rendered":" Saint Nicholas Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Originally broadcast <a href=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/episodes\/december-19-2008\/saint-nicholas-tradition\/1688\/\">December 19, 2008<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>KIM LAWTON<\/strong>: It\u2019s the season of Santa Claus, and it seems he\u2019s everywhere. Children anxiously await the arrival of Santa who is, of course, bearing gifts. But some Christians are worried that most of those children, and their parents as well, don\u2019t know who \u201cjolly old Saint Nicholas\u201d really was.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>JIM ROSENTHAL<\/strong> (Founder, UK\/USA St. Nicholas Society): St. Nicholas was a real person \u2014 not a fairy, not someone who\u2019s flying through the sky with reindeer, but an actual person who lived and worked and died and had a full life.  He had a Christian life because he was actually a bishop, a pastor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: As director of communications for the worldwide Anglican Communion, Canon Jim Rosenthal was always on the lookout for images of bishops. He says he was captivated by a fourth-century bishop named Nicholas. Now Rosenthal helps lead an international movement urging churches to reclaim Saint Nicholas.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/12\/post01-stnicholas-tradition1.jpg\" alt=\"Canon Jim Rosenthal, founder, UK\/USA St. Nicholas Society\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-14075\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: I believe that Saint Nicholas and his tradition is something that needs to be recovered and now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Rosenthal is founder of the UK\/USA Saint Nicholas Society.<\/p>\n<p><em>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>:  The children are getting these that say \u201cI met the real and true Santa Claus and Father Christmas.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Every year, he dresses up like Saint Nicholas, complete with the bishop\u2019s staff called a crozier and his distinctive hat called a miter.<\/p>\n<p><em>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>:  I have to decide if I wear one of those miters or this miter. This is the most pretty one.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: He visits churches to help spread the Saint Nicholas message.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: If we don\u2019t recover this tradition, I believe that we are going to eventually lose Christmas, any semblance of a religious Christmas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Nicholas was born in Asia Minor when the new Christian faith was beginning to spread across the Roman Empire.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/12\/post02-stnicholas-tradition.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: He came from a very wealthy family. His parents died at an early age. His uncle was a priest. That was the undivided church in those days.  There was no Roman Catholic Church or other kinds of churches \u2014 one church. And he became a priest like his uncle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Nicholas rose to leadership in the early church and was named Bishop of Myra, a city on the southern coast of what is now Turkey.  During a time of persecution by Roman Emperor Diocletian, Nicholas was imprisoned for his outspoken faith. He was eventually released and continued his ministry until his death on December 6 in the year 343.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: He was known for his generosity and his good will because he was very rich. He literally, by the end of his life, gave away all of his fortune. Many stories talk about the fact that he was so generous that he became known as the Gift Giver.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: More and more churches in the US and the UK are finding ways to keep the Saint Nicholas stories alive. For example, the Episcopal Cathedral of Chicago hosted a special Saint Nicholas exhibit.<\/p>\n<p>Reverend <strong>JOY ROGERS<\/strong> (St. James Cathedral, Chicago, IL): The stories of Saint Nicholas are wonderful stories of a bishop who cared about his people, who cared very much about the poor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: There are numerous tales of Nicholas doing good deeds:  performing miracles, calming the seas, stopping famine and rescuing children. Separating truth from myth can be difficult.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/12\/post03-stnicholas-tradition.jpg\" alt=\"Rev. Joy Rogers\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" class=\"alignleft\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Rev. <strong>ROGERS<\/strong>: My guess is that some of the fanciful stories that have moved into the realm of legend and miracle had their roots in very concrete acts of very real kindness and generosity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: One of the most famous stories involves a poor family who couldn\u2019t afford marriage dowries for their three daughters.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. <strong>ROGERS<\/strong>: The parents were going to have to sell them off into slavery or into prostitution or whatever, and Saint Nicolas came by the house at night and dropped off three bags of gold coins.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Some legends say he secretly tossed the bags of gold through an open window, and one landed in stockings or shoes that were drying by the fire, thus launching the tradition of the Christmas stocking. Pawnbrokers have especially embraced that story.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: If you go to a pawnbroker shop you\u2019ll see three gold balls. Those represent the three bags of gold, which we now turn into chocolate coins that Saint Nicholas threw through the window to save three girls from slavery or prostitution.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Nicholas has been adopted by many groups beyond pawnbrokers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/12\/post04-stnicholas-tradition.jpg\" alt=\"post04-stnicholas-tradition\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: So many people love him, and so many people wanted him as theirs that he\u2019s the patron saint of almost everything: unwed women, children, which of course is the most prominent; pawn brokers; sailors and merchants and cookie makers, apothecaries. You just name it, and he\u2019s got something to do with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Many European countries have a long tradition of celebrating the Feast Day of Saint Nicholas on December 6. Then Saint Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus and got all tied up with Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>:  If you look at the name Santa Claus, you will see its \u201cSanta\u201d means saint, and \u201cClaus\u201d is simply an abbreviation from the \u201cNicholas.\u201d But the reality is he became a secular image.<\/p>\n<p><em>SANTA (reading to children):  Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: American writers and advertisers helped disseminate a new myth that made no mention of the jolly old saint\u2019s religious connections.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: We always talk about roots and being politically correct. Let\u2019s be politically correct about Santa Claus and give him his proper title.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Church leaders emphasize that Saint Nicholas\u2019s generosity was motivated by his Christian faith. The saint was following Jesus\u2019 commands to love others, help those who are suffering, give sacrificially, and to do one\u2019s good deeds in secret. They say Nicholas is a reminder that Christmas is really about the coming of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: The problem with Santa Claus as it stands now is that it\u2019s a substitute for Christmas \u2014 Santa Claus instead of the creche, instead of the manger, instead of the nativity scene. This man we would find kneeling at the nativity scene saying, \u201cThis is what I\u2019m here to celebrate as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: Nicholas may have been called the Gift Giver, but Christians teach that on Christmas God gave the world the ultimate gift \u2014 Jesus .<\/p>\n<p>Canon <strong>ROSENTHAL<\/strong>: Symbolically, as a Christian leader St. Nicholas is pointing, like other Advent stories, pointing towards this event called Christmas, which as Christians we believe is the most wonderful night of the year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAWTON<\/strong>: And that, they say, is the true meaning of Saint Nicholas. I\u2019m Kim Lawton reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas. <a href=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\" class=\"more\">More <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":16846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6569],"tags":[6934,6968,6969,6967,6966],"class_list":["post-5147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-videocast","tag-christmas","tag-jim-rosenthal","tag-saint-nicholas","tag-santa-claus","tag-st-nicholas","topics-belief-and-practice","faith-christian"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>December 4, 2009 ~ Saint Nicholas Tradition | December 4, 2009 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"December 4, 2009 ~ Saint Nicholas Tradition | December 4, 2009 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBS.ReligionEthics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-12-04T20:39:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-12-09T18:49:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fred Yi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionEthics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ReligionEthics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fred Yi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fred Yi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0576fe5f06986bc0418635994a2bcd47\"},\"headline\":\"Saint Nicholas Tradition\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-04T20:39:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-12-09T18:49:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\"},\"wordCount\":1138,\"commentCount\":9,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Christmas\",\"Jim Rosenthal\",\"Saint Nicholas\",\"Santa Claus\",\"St. Nicholas\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Videocast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\",\"name\":\"December 4, 2009 ~ Saint Nicholas Tradition | December 4, 2009 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-04T20:39:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-12-09T18:49:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0576fe5f06986bc0418635994a2bcd47\"},\"description\":\"Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":100},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/\",\"name\":\"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly\",\"description\":\"An examination of religion&#039;s role and the ethical dimensions behind top news headlines.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/search-results\/?q={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0576fe5f06986bc0418635994a2bcd47\",\"name\":\"Fred Yi\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/author\/yif\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"December 4, 2009 ~ Saint Nicholas Tradition | December 4, 2009 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","description":"Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"December 4, 2009 ~ Saint Nicholas Tradition | December 4, 2009 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","og_description":"Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas.","og_url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/","og_site_name":"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBS.ReligionEthics\/","article_published_time":"2009-12-04T20:39:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-12-09T18:49:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":200,"height":100,"url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Fred Yi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionEthics","twitter_site":"@ReligionEthics","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fred Yi","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/"},"author":{"name":"Fred Yi","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0576fe5f06986bc0418635994a2bcd47"},"headline":"Saint Nicholas Tradition","datePublished":"2009-12-04T20:39:15+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-09T18:49:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/"},"wordCount":1138,"commentCount":9,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg","keywords":["Christmas","Jim Rosenthal","Saint Nicholas","Santa Claus","St. Nicholas"],"articleSection":["Videocast"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/","name":"December 4, 2009 ~ Saint Nicholas Tradition | December 4, 2009 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg","datePublished":"2009-12-04T20:39:15+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-09T18:49:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0576fe5f06986bc0418635994a2bcd47"},"description":"Saint Nicholas is remembered by Christians on December 6 as a protector of those in need and a model of the true meaning of Christmas.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2009\/12\/04\/december-4-2009-saint-nicholas-tradition\/5147\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2009\/11\/thumbnail31.jpg","width":200,"height":100},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/","name":"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly","description":"An examination of religion&#039;s role and the ethical dimensions behind top news headlines.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/search-results\/?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0576fe5f06986bc0418635994a2bcd47","name":"Fred Yi","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/author\/yif\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}