The Art of the Dowry Chest

Wooden chests have been carved, painted, studded with metals and inlaid with colorful woods and mother-of-pearl for centuries. Giving money to enable girls to marry has been a charitable act in much of the Muslim as well as the Christian worlds, and, indeed, the custom of Santa Claus and Christmas gift-giving is thought to have originated with St. Nicholas of Myra (modern Demre in Turkey), who secretly provided money to dowry-less girls.
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