St. Basil is regarded as the Greek Santa Claus because of his philanthropy

Christ is born! Glorify him!

What did you get for Christmas? Did you get many gifts? Was Santa Claus good to you? If you lived in Greece, do you know what you would have received on Christmas? Nothing.

But what are you getting for New Year’s? In Greece, gifts are traditionally exchanged Jan. 1. Why?

Jan. 1 is the Feast Day of St. Basil the Great, a bishop and early Church father who lived in the fourth century. It is St. Basil who comes to the homes and distributes the gifts, and not St. Nicholas.

By exchanging gifts Jan. 1, Christmas is left strictly as the religious holiday it is intended to be, the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Throughout all of Greece, every Orthodox Church celebrates the Christmas Liturgy at the same time, 5 a.m., the time according to tradition that Christ was born.

The faithful would begin the morning worshipping our Lord, then spend the rest of the day together enjoying the Christian love and fellowship with family and friends.

Who is St. Basil, and why do the Greek people consider him as their “Santa Claus?”

St. Basil was born in the year 330 in Caesarea of Asia Minor (today south central Turkey).

He was of illustrious lineage, famed for its eminence and wealth, and zealous for the Christian faith. St. Basil’s mother, St. Emilia, was the daughter of a martyr. St. Basil’s father, also named Basil, was a renowned lawyer.

They had 10 children: five sons and five daughters. Five of them were canonized as saints of the Church: Basil the Great; Macrina (July 19) was an exemplar of ascetic life; Gregory, bishop of Nyssa (Jan. 10); Peter, bishop of Sebaste (Jan. 9); and Theosebia, a deaconess (Jan. 10).

St. Basil studied law, but at age 32, he became a monk and entered into the ranks of the clergy. Because of his brilliance and dedication to God and the Church, at age 40, he was elevated and became the bishop of Caesarea.

His complete knowledge of the Holy Scriptures helped him as he fought off the heresies and worked to bring peace in the church. His philanthropic work and love for people brought him much fame and success.

Meeting the needs of the people, St. Basil untiringly reached out to his flock, visiting his faithful regularly. He was also known for his great oratory gifts, often preaching two completely different sermons every day in the church.

People would come from all over to hear his words and to receive his blessing. He was a great Father of the Church and is known as one of the main Three Hierarchs of the Church.

At Caesarea, St. Basil built two monasteries, a men’s and a women’s, with a church in honor of the Forty Martyrs (March 9) whose relics were buried there.

Whenever a need arose, St. Basil worked diligently to fulfill the needs of all. For instance, he opened hospitals, developed orphanages and gave money to those in need. He had great love especially for children. For his clergy, this holy man obtained a tax-exempt status. He used all his personal wealth and the income from his church for the benefit of the destitute; in every center of his diocese he built a poor house; and at Caesarea, a home for wanderers and the homeless. Imagine such philanthropy more than 1,600 years ago.

He was greatly loved by his flock and is loved still today. It is a tradition in the Greek homes that on Jan. 1, a “Vasilopita” is baked. This is a bread, cake or pita made for families. The bread is dedicated to St. Basil. Inside the bread or cake, a coin is baked.

As the slices are distributed to the family members, the one who receives the coin in his piece is to have good luck for the upcoming year. This tradition is to help us remember what St. Basil did for his flock.

The Roman Emperor, Julian the Apostate, was against the Christians and wanted to eliminate Christians from the Empire. He came to Caesarea with the intention to destroy the area and everyone that lived there.

When St. Basil heard about this, he went to everyone in the town and gathered all their valuables. When the wicked emperor approached the town, St. Basil went to greet him. He welcomed Julian with open arms, praising him and honoring him. St. Basil then offered Julian all the valuables he received from the townspeople. The emperor was so taken back by the gesture he left without harming the people, and without taking any of the valuables offered him.

Wanting to repay his people for their faithfulness and belief in their bishop, St. Basil gave the valuables to the poor house, asking them to bake loaves of bread for each household and to bake inside each loaf a piece of the jewelry that he had received.

When the bread was randomly distributed to all, each household found in the bread the exact same piece of valuables that they gave to St. Basil from the beginning. These acts of love of this holy saint are continuously honored by the Christians throughout history to this day.

I want to wish everyone a joyous and Happy New Year 2017 filled with love, good health and prosperity.

I also want to thank Linda Linonis, religion writer at The Vindicator, for all the wonderful work she has done over many years. She has just retired. I am thankful for her. She has been a great friend and a wonderful support to all of the churches in our Valley, including the Eastern Orthodox parishes. Linda, you will be missed and I am thankful to God for your beautiful witness and ministry. Enjoy your retirement. Happy New Year.

The Rev. Thomas Constantine is pastor at St. John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Church in Boardman.