St. Nicholas had a reputation for miracles as well as great holiness. Another legend tells of his healing 3 lads who had been killed by a butcher.

Today the remains of St. Nicholas are in Bari, Italy, having been removed by its citizens after the Moslems took over Turkey in the eleventh century. It exudes the sweet smell of myrrh and is responsible for prodigies which still attract pilgrims.

Dutch Protestants secularized Saint Nicholas into the Nordic magician who presides over a very materialistic winter solstice celebration. Pagans and materialists are so jealous of this Saint and his devotion to the Christchild that they work assiduously to replace the truth with nonsensical humanistic clap-trap.

The irony is that the spirit of Diocletian is still alive, still persecuting Christians who refuse to worship his successors. As western civilization descends irretrievably into the maelstrom of functional atheism, the beauty, mystery and sacredness of this holy season is obscured by high-priced rubbish, obscene noise, envy and greed promoted by hucksters from hell.

Recently, in a fit of political correctness, the local news presented spokesmen for envious Johnny-come-latelies hawking simultaneous celebrations to compete with Christmas.

Kwanzaa is a bogus creation that should not even be mentioned. It was invented by a criminal-turned-professor by the name of Ron N. Everett , alias Maulana Karenga, and is marketed by his little group of black racists called The Organization US. Now I don’t want to spoil anybody’s fun, but if you want to have a party, have one. Just don’t try to pass off this witch’s brew of disinformation as a traditional African celebration. Mr. Everett has hit a home run with the politically correct, the truth be damned. And the always politically correct USPS has honored this sham with a stamp.

Ramadan has been lumped into the same time frame, complete with gift shopping. Needless to say, a featured website selection is entitled The Myth of the Cross, "documented" arguments against Christianity. Just ignore the fact that Mohammed was not scholar of Christianity and arrived 700 years after the fact. This is brought to you by the same cult that decapitated those in North Africa who refused to convert to Islam and sent the skulls across the Mediterranean to intimidate Christian Europe in the eighth century. So far, there have been no apologies or repudiations from that quarter. Their definition of peace seems to lack something. But they get their own stamp from USPS because we don’t want to offend those who have slaughtered Christians.

Chanukah is an interesting celebration. For years Judaism never recognized the two books of Maccabees. Now they are not only recognized, but Chanukah has become secularized. Like St. Nicholas, Judas Maccabeus refused to worship the gods chosen by the dominant government. (Does anyone wonder how the First Amendment arose?) Now instead of focusing on the victory of the Maccabees and the miracle of the oil, many Jewish people find themselves using their holy week to compete with the Christian Christmas. Shop ‘til you drop.

The root words of holiday are holy day. December marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. December 6 marks the date of death of St. Nicholas. But December 25 is the most important feast, commemorating the birth of the Messiah promised to Abraham. What possibly could be more important than that? Why are we here except to honor and serve the King of Kings?

Warm-fuzzies are not the point of the holy days. They are a bonus. Nor is making merchants wealthy. This has replaced the money changers in the Temple. The celebration is that God kept his promise, even though his chosen tribe had been unfaithful to Him. He sent His Son, as promised, but into less-than-royal conditions. When the Messiah said to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world he infuriated who wished otherwise. His invitation was rejected by the very ones to whom it had been promised.

We have come full circle. The current persecution of Christianity is not a novelty for its members. After two thousand years, what the Messiah taught is still being taught. He never wrote a book, made a movie or made big money. The world knows him and still hates him, as he predicted.