In the lobby of a residential building during the Christmas Season last year, I encountered the white-bearded sculpture pictured below, about half the height of an average son of Adam. This piece of art was standing guard by the lift (or rather, since this was in the US of A, the *elevator*) to go up into the building. *Late Autumn 2020* From what I recall, the only depictions that I've ever seen in real life (as opposed to in pictures or video) that come anything close to St. Nicholas of Myra have invariably been some form or another of the classic American Santa Claus, whether as a sculpture, or an inflatable decoration, or as a costumed actor: an elderly, portly man with a generous white beard swathed in red clothing trimmed with white fleece. (A short drive from the aforementioned building, the Christmas decoration that made the most dramatic impression on me for a couple of years previous to that was a huge inflatable biker-gang version of Santa Claus, astride his inflated motorcycle, complete with sunglasses on.) Standing next to this elevator, therefore, was my first time seeing, in person, a Christmastime depiction of Santa seeming to prefer donning his more traditional O.G. apparel, which would render him rather more into his previous format as the ancient Bishop of Myra. I'd been hesitant about that interpretation, however, since I've never seen any Santa Claus, or Sinterklaas, or St Nicholas, kitted out in quite this fashion. I believe the feature that threw me off the most about his get-up is the crown of fruit. Where I grew up, Santa Claus was an American phenomenon with whom I was familiar mostly from Hollywood productions, whereas I knew the character, rather, by the name of *Father Christmas*. He essentially bore the same features, although research during *this* Christmas Season took me through the fascinating origin story of Father Christmas as a completely distinct personage, originally from the British Isles (and apparently born out of the English Civil War, as well as social upheaval based on the Puritans seeking to root Roman Catholicism out of the UK). According to [*Wikipedia*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Christmas) , "The popular American myth of Santa Claus arrived in England in the 1850s and Father Christmas started to take on Santa's attributes." Within that research I've seen several designs, drawings and paintings of Father Christmas and I've also looked at a variety of icons, paintings and costumed portrayals of St Nicholas. The elevator lobby decoration, to me, looks like some kind of Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic priest, because of the crozier (bishop's staff) that he wields, and which does resemble the one that St Nicholas sometimes carries. *St Nicholas Statuette - [Roman Joseph Studio](https://www.queenofpeacecatholicstore.com/saint-nicholas-statue-10-in)* Both Santa Claus and the more original St. Nicholas tend to wear light-coloured clothing or the colour red, or a combination of the two (as in the immediately preceding image, for example). The tendency towards darker apparel, as on the lobby statuette (especially the articles of clothing under the mantle) appears to be an Eastern European phenomenon for St Nicholas. See the following examples: [*Icon (1294) in the St Nicholas Church on Lipno Island in Russia*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nikola_from_1294.jpg) [*Sv. Mikuláš*, by Czech painter Jaroslav Čermák (1800s)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaroslav_%C4%8Cerm%C3%A1k_(1831_-_1878)_-_Sv._Mikul%C3%A1%C5%A1.jpg) Note, however, [this c. 1525 painting](https://www.akg-images.com/archive/St.-Nicholas-2UMDHUFT28FY.html) by the German artist Christoph Bockstorfer. The lobby statue's headgear leads me to the conclusion that he is likely meant as an amalgamation of Father Christmas and the more old-school St Nicholas, maybe with a touch of Santa mixed in as well. He seems to be wearing Santa's hood or floppy cap, surmounted with a garland of fruit based on the holly wreath worn by Father Christmas. *[Stephen Winick](https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2018/12/frankenmumming-the-2018-afc-mummers-play/) wearing a design aimed at authenticity in line with the original English Father Christmas* Our lobby visitor's (perhaps priestly?) attire, and especially his crozier, make me think St Nicholas. But that is a guess on my part and perhaps I am mistaken. **Does this art-piece correspond to a particular style of representing the 4th-century bishop, of which style I am perhaps unaware?**

I was reading about St. Nicholas who helped in part inspire our modern stories of Santa Claus and read the following: > One weak tradition has him actually attending the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, when Arian doctrine was rejected. The story goes that he got into a heated debate with Arius himself about whether there was a time when the Word did not exist. Nicholas strongly disagreed. > > The debate ended suddenly when Nicholas punched out Arius then and there on the floor of the council! Source There's no source listed for the "weak tradition" and it certainly makes a very interesting story especially if true. Typically the saint is the victim. Where did the story originate and how old is it? What is the likelihood that it's actually true? As a side note, was mild violence such as this common in any of the councils that have been held over the centuries?