St. Nicholas Day 2013 St Nicholas and Santa Clause

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

St. Nicholas Feast Day

St Nicholas, also known as the “saint of giving” was the origin of modern day Santa Claus.   St Nicholas feast day is celebrated on December 6th every year.  It is not well celebrated in the United States but is very popular in Europe, Asia Minor and Russia.

The feast of St. Nicholas was always celebrated in my home when I was growing up.  We always hung up stockings and and got candy, food snacks, and an orange in our stockings.

Maybe one of the reasons that it was so popular was because my grandfather was born of December 6th and named Nicholas after the saint.  The holiday is special to me as a reminder of my grandfather but, I also have a brother and a Niece born on the same day!

Picture from Church of St. Nicholas in Zaporozhye Russia

St. Nicholas and Santa Clause

St. Nicholas and Santa Clause

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th.  Read more here….

St Nicholas Early Life

Not a lot is known about St. Nicholas’ early life.  He was born in Patara of Lycia about the middle of the third century.  Lycia was a province if Asia Minor and the capital was Myra.  This is the area that is now modern day Turkey.  

He was brought up in a very wealthy and devout christian family and his parents both died in an epidemic while he was quite young.  He was probably raised by an uncle who was in the priesthood. 

St Nicholas Russian Icon

St Nicholas is a Russian icon and his feast day is widely celebrated in both the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches of Russia.  The reason for that is that during the time of St. Nicholas, the Christian Church had not split up yet and was still one.

St. Nicholas Legends

The legends of St. Nicholas started from the fact that Nicholas was from a wealthy family and used his inheritance to help the needy.  He was always giving and helping people. He especially liked to help children and was known to put coins in their shoes.

One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman’s father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man’s daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.  That story is most probably a made-up legend.  via St Nicholas Center

St Nicholas Day 2013 Celebrations

St Nicholas Day 2013 is going to see a lot of celebrations but most of it will be in Europe and Russia.  St Nicholas is highly revered there and St Nicholas Day 2013 will be a time of many festivities.  Below is a wonderful video of St Nicholas Day in Malta.  

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In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children’s wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come.

Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day. Parties may be held on the eve, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself.

American Santa Claus became a symbol of generosity following World War II as American troops, dressed as Santa, gave food and toys to children in war-torn Europe. This happened first in Britain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and eventually in Germany and Japan. For many it was the first time they were exposed to American Santa Claus, thus making him far both more visible than he had been before the war, and associating him with good things in children’s minds. Santa’s presence with US servicemen has continued in all the wars of the 20th century and into the 21st. This prominence has contributed to the demise of traditional gift-givers in many places, including even his own precursor, St. Nicholas. As Gerry Bowler states, “A French sociologist has said that Santa Claus came to Europe in the suitcase of the Marshall.”  via St Nicholas Center

Will you celebrate St Nicholas Day 2013?  Comment below.

Peace and Prosperity,

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