"Grand Sen~or" <Grandse...@yahoo.com>: Eat your misserable hateful heart out: St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was remembered Sunday at a church in Antalya’s Demre district.
rick murphy
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=romanians-vote-in-crucial-presidential-run-off-2009-12-06
Sunday, December 6, 2009
DEMRE, Antalya - From wire dispatches
St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was remembered Sunday at a
church in Antalya’s Demre district.
A ceremony was held at the Noel Baba Church in Demre, where St.
Nicholas spent his life. The ceremony was led by Hrisostomos Kalaycı
of the Istanbul Fener Orthodox Patriarchate, and the approximately 600
participants included clergymen from Istanbul, Athens, Rhodes and
Meis, as well Greek Ambassador to Turkey Fotios Ksidas and Greek
Consul General to İzmir Hara Skolarikou.
In his speech, which was in both Greek and Turkish, Kalaycı said the
ceremony was a chance for the guests to see the historic and cultural
values of Turkey. “We thank God for receiving the happiness of
stepping on the land [where] St. Nicholas stepped, breathing the air
he once breathed on a day to commemorate him,” he said.
According to Kalaycı, St. Nicholas is remembered all around the world,
but those in Demre had the privilege of remembering him in his
homeland and in his own church. Kalaycı also thanked Culture and
Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay for his support for the ceremony.
“The land we live on is unique, with its profound civilization, rich
history and concept of tolerance,” said Kalaycı. “The people of
Anatolia have been famous since ancient times for their diligence,
their faith in God’s orders, their honesty and modesty. I pray to God
for love and peace in our country. May St. Nicholas help us all.”
St Nicholas, aka Santa Claus
St. Nicholas, born in A.D. 245 in Patara, near Fethiye, died in A.D.
326, having spent his life in Anatolia.
The son of a wealthy family, he received a good education and devoted
himself to helping others. Because of the assistance he gave to those
around him, St. Nicholas was known as the protector of children and
sailors, and to this day the legend of Father Christmas lives on.
After he died, he was buried in Demre and a church was built there in
his memory. In A.D. 108, Italian pirates stole some of his bones and
took them to Bari. In their haste, they left a few behind, which today
are on display in the Antalya Museum.
In a number of countries, the death of St. Nicholas is commemorated by
special ceremonies and by giving presents to children.
It was in between 1951 and 1955 that it was revealed that St. Nicholas
was the origin of the Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) story. This
drew much attention to Turkey, with articles in newspapers and items
on the radio. In 1955, a Father Christmas stamp was issued, and
celebrations in his honor have been held regularly ever since.
Grand Sen~or
Jewish sacred days etc, but when it comes to recognize their right to
law, you disappear boasting that the Law is the Only Law - the
secularo-fascist Mono-law which you impose to all SPEEs. You are the
tyrants, you are Enemy Number One of Human-kind (ENOH).