St. Nicolas was born to wealthy parents sometime during the third century in the village of Patara, in modern day Turkey which was then a part of Greece. His parents raised him as a devout Christian. On his parents death, when he was quite young, he used the money to help the poor, sick and needy and he was known throughout the land for his love of children. Eventually he became Bishop of Myra and was imprisoned by the Romans but he was released due to overcrowding.

When Constantine called the Council of Nicaeea in AD325, Nicolas attended and was influencial in deciding which gospels we see in the bible today. He died on in AD343 on the 6th December which according to the Julian Calendar of the time was 19th December. He is buried in his cathedral church, in Myra. After his death it is said a liquid formed which reputedly had healing powers.

St Nicolas and Children

There are so many legends about St. Nicolas and his work with children and the poor it is hard to choose just one. However there is the story of a poor father who had 3 daughters who all needed dowries if they were to marry and avoid being sold into slavery. It is said that on 3 different occasions a bag of gold seemed to be tossed in through the window and landed in shoes and stockings which had been left in front of the fire to dry. This is believed to be the origin of Christmas Stockings and the golden chocolate coins that go in them.

St. Nicholas first became popular in America towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, when a New York newspaper reported groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death. St. Nicolas was extremely popular in Holland and his name was spelt, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas in Dutch. Hence we now have Santa Claus. Next year I will write about Father Christmas because believe it or not they are not the same.