“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic Gods giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.”- St. Nicholas

Often referred to as "Nikolaos of Myra," St. Nicholas was a Greek bishop of Myra in the fourth century. Nicholas was the sole child born to Christian parents in Asia Minor during the Roman Empire. According to the canons, Nicholas would consume food only once on Wednesday and Friday in the evenings.

When he was a young man, an epidemic sadly claimed the lives of both of his parents, leaving him wealthy but with no one to raise but his uncle, the Bishop of Patara. Nicholas was serious about using his inheritance for altruistic endeavours. Nicholas's uncle trained him as a reader and then ordained him a priest.

He is reported to have been to Palestine and Egypt as a young man to attend the Desert Fathers' school. After coming back after a few years, he was consecrated as bishop of Myra (today Demre on the Turkish shore) almost immediately. The bishop was detained throughout the persecution of Diocletian and was only set free with the accession of Constantine the Great, who declared Christianity to be the state religion of the Roman Empire.

One of the most famous stories of St. Nicholas' kindness recounts how, in order to keep a man's daughters from being forced into prostitution, he threw bags of gold through an open window in the man's home. The family's shoes, which were drying next to the fire, are rumoured to have caught the gold. For this reason, on the eve of his feast, children hang their stockings by the fireplace or leave their shoes outside the door in the hopes of finding a present.

Due to the custom of him bestowing on children unexpected gifts, St. Nicholas is connected to Christmas. Also, because the saint's name is "San Nikolaus" in German, which sounds a lot like "Santa Claus," it is believed that the red-robed, long-white bearded man was culturally transformed into a big man pulling a sledge pulled by reindeer and loaded with toys. Owing to the town where he served as bishop, he is referred to as St. Nicholas of Myra in the East. However, he is known as St. Nicholas of Bari in the West because the Italians brought his relics to Bari during the Muslim conquest of Turkey in 1087.

On December 6, 346, St. Nicholas passed away due to unknown reasons. Long before the Roman Catholic Church started the formal canonization process in the late 10th century, he was already regarded as a saint. As a result, there is no set date for his canonization; instead, information about him was gradually disseminated until his tales were well-known and cherished. December 6 is St. Nicholas' feast day. Saint Nicholas is revered as the patron saint of bakers, brides and grooms, children, Greece, pawnbrokers and travelers.

Other Saints of the Day
Saint Asella
Saint Dionysia
Saint Majoricus
Saint Peter Pascual
Saint Abraham of Kratia