How Saint Nicholas Became Santa Claus

On Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., the Betty Strong Encounter Center welcomes Dr. Bruce Forbes, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Morningside University. Admission is free, but freewill donations encouraged. While it’s not quite the Christmas season, Christmas decorations and advertising are already everywhere. So why not have a talk on “How Saint Nicholas Became Santa Claus.” Forbes formal academic training is in the history of Christianity, but he has also developed a special interest in the analysis of popular culture. Forbes is a former department chair and professor of religious studies at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. He is the co-editor of two books: Religion and Popular Culture in America, co-edited with Jeffrey H. Mahan, and Rapture, Revelation and the End Times: An Exploration of the Left Behind Series (2004), co-edited with Djeanne Halgren Kilde.