Santa Claus 2: This time it's Easter

So archaeologists may have found the last resting place of Saint Nicholas. Cue the inevitable headlines:

Santa Claus's tomb may have been uncovered beneath Turkish church 

Of course, the original Saint Nick had nothing to do with all that sleigh bells in the snow stuff. There is, however, another Saint Nicholas who would have looked far more at home in a winter wonderland, not to mention a winter palace, namely the sanctified Nicholas II, former Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know they'd canonised the old bugger until today, when I came across a mention of his sainthood in this article.* But sure enough, they did:

The canonization of the Romanovs was the elevation to sainthood of the last Imperial Family of Russia – Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei – by the Russian Orthodox Church. The family was killed by the Bolsheviks on 17 July 1918 at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg; the site of their execution is now beneath the altar of the Church on Blood. They are variously designated as new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and as passion bearers by the church inside Russia.

The family was canonized on 1 November 1981 as new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Their servants, who had been killed along with them, were also canonized.

Coming from a land of snow, ice and reindeer, Saint Nick II fits in rather better with the contemporary Santa mythos than his Turkish namesake, but the fit isn't exact. There really should be something about sacks of presents in there, too, but though the Romanovs were into extravagant gifting, it's a tough sell to make Easter eggs sound Christmassy, however much festive bling they're encrusted with.



*Or maybe I did know, but just forgot. Age-related memory loss, here I come!