This is my interpretation of an old story. I also commend this story to your attention.
Merry Christmas,
TheMeansAreTheEnd
Over sixteen hundred years ago, in the part of the world that is now called Turkey, there lived a poor man and his three sad daughters. They were sad because their father could not afford dowries, so they could not get married.
But one morning, they found a small bag of gold in the front room. Someone had thrown it in the window during the night -- remember, people didn't have window glass back then. This was enough for a dowry for the eldest daughter, who got married and I hope lived happily ever after.
Some time later, they got up in the morning and found a second bag of gold in the front room. This was enough for a dowry for the second daughter, who also got married and passes out of our story.
At this point I think we all know the plot. I'm sure that most of us would just sit back and wait for the third bag of gold, but not this man. He must have been proud, because he was determined to learn the identity of his benefactor.
So he set a watch. And in course of time he caught the local Bishop -- Bishop Nickolas -- with the third bag of gold. The Bishop was an orphan from a well to do family. He was well known for his generosity, his love for children and compassion for those in need.
He was also known as a humble, modest man, and he did NOT want to become known as someone who threw bags of gold into people's houses at night! So the Bishop begged the man to keep his secret.
But some stories are just too good to keep to yourself. Soon, everyone for miles around knew the story of the Bishop and the bags of gold. As the story spread, it became a saying. If you had received a generous, anonymous gift, you would tell people that it was "a gift from the Bishop".
Time passed, and the Bishop died. Because of his lifetime of piety and good works, he was made a saint. Though most details of his life have been lost, he is still remembered around the world by names like Father Christmas, Santa Claus, and Saint Nickolas.
So the next time you see a package labeled "from Santa", think about the humble, generous soul who didn't want to be thanked -- who didn't even want to be recognized -- but who only wanted to make someone happy with "a gift from the Bishop".