Catholic World News News Feature

Turkish culture minister scorns popular image of St. Nicholas December 04, 2007

Turkey’s culture minister, Ertugrul Gunay, has protested the Western media’s portrayal of St. Nicholas, arguing that the popular image associated with Christiams has nothing in common with the real-life saint.

Gunay recalled that St. Nicholas lived in 4th century Turkey, a country with a warm climate. Therefore, the common portrayal of the saint in a red coat and hat is ridiculous, he reasoned. Noting that in Turkey it is quite possible to swim in December, he asked rhetorically, "Why don't we dress St. Nicholas in a bathing suit?"

The Turkish culture ministry is planning its own publicity campaign in which references to St. Nicholas will be used as part of a drive to stimulate tourism. Gunay is hoping to create a different perception of the 4th-century saint.

The president of the Saint Nicholas Association, Muammer Karabulut, was offended by the minister’s words. Karabulut said, “We’re talking about a saint," and expressed resentment at Gunay's jocular remarks.

In an effort to illustrate how the culture minister's comments would be offensive to a Christian, Karabulut offered a potentially explosive counter-example using figures cherished by Muslims. "Why don't we consider dressing Allah or Mohammad up in shorts?" he asked.