Devotion - Tuesday, December 6

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century, he was a generous and giving man. It was rumored (though no one ever saw him) that he would slip out at night and leave gifts for the poor and destitute. Why did the townspeople suspect it was Bishop Nicholas? Because some claimed to catch a glimpse of his red Bishops' Robes, departing from the place where the gifts were left.

One legend tells how a terrible famine struck the island and a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from the barrel by his prayers. Another version of this story, possibly formed around the eleventh century, claims that the butcher's victims were instead three clerks who wished to stay the night. The man murdered them, and was advised by his wife to dispose of them by turning them into meat pies. The Saint saw through this and brought the men back to life.

In his most famous exploit, a poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the poor man's plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too modest to help the man in public (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the man's house.

The legends associated with St. Nicholas are linked to the development of a modern-day imitation. Perhaps this modern-day knock off could learn a few things from the original. Rather than giving gifts to folks whom we want to please or impress, we could provide gifts for those who need them the most?

Happy St. Nicholas Day! Use this greeting in your interactions with others. Perhaps they won't know the history of St. Nicholas, and maybe they too could be reminded of the saintly act of giving.