The changing face of old St. Nick.

• Author: Freund, Charles Paul
• Position: Artifact - Brief Article

THIS STATUE OF SANTA--in the style made familiar by Coca-Cola ads, and postured like a Salvation Army bell ringer--stands year-round in the main square of Demre, a town in Turkey. According to The Washington Post, it recently replaced a bronze statue of the original, fourth-century St. Nicholas, who worked his miracles in that ancient city and has lent his name to the modern commercial avatar.

Santa's arrival is a relief to many of the town's Muslims, despite his Salvation Army pose: They prefer the plaster commercial image to the bronze Christian saint. Many of Demre's tourists, however, are Orthodox Russians who revere Nicholas and often prayed before the old statue; they want it back. German Protestants, for their part, tend to...