Rorate Caeli alerts us to this story. The Turks want the bones on Saint Nicholas, which have been in Italy since the 11th Century, returned to Turkey.

Ummm. No.

AFP – Turkey will ask for the return of the bones of Saint Nicholas, who Father Christmas is modelled on, from their display in Italy, local media reported on Friday.

Saint Nicholas, from the modern-day town of Demre on southern Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, is, according to tradition, the ancestor of Father Christmas, but his remains were stolen by Italian pirates in the 11th century.

“These bones should be exposed here and not in a town of pirates” in Bari, said Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay, quoted in the newspaper Milliyet.

Turkey, as you know, does not recognize non-Muslim religions and regularly oppresses and tried to control Christianity. It has confiscated Church property and even dictates who can be the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople.

The idea that we should send the bones of such a revered Christian saint back to a land that despises Christianity is absurd on its face.

So they say they want Santa, we should say sure and send them a big box of coal and a note. “Dear Turkey, Santa isn’t coming this year because you are at the top of the naughty list.”