FATHER CHRISTMAS IS DEAD?
DON’T tell the children, but apparently Santa Claus is no longer making his festive deliveries. In fact, he hasn’t been doing so for many centuries.
Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed what they say is probably the tomb of the original Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, beneath an ancient church in the south of the country.
Saint Nicholas, a 4th-centry bishop, is believed to have been born in Myra (now known as Demre) in Antalya province.
The head of Antalya Monument Authority, Cemil Karabayram, has revealed that the shrine was discovered during electronic surveys that showed gaps beneath St Nicholas Church. The archaeologists hope eventually to recover his remains.
Previously, it was thought Saint Nicholas’s body had been smuggled to the Italian city of Bari in 1087 and many Christians believe it now rests in the city’s Basilica di San Nicola. Turkish experts maintain, however, that the robbers took the wrong corpse and they have only a local priest, not the legendary bishop who lives on, to this day, in Christmas celebrations.
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