Who was St Nicholas?
St Nicholas was Bishop of Myra (in modern day Turkey) during the 4th century. He is thought to have been elected as Bishop at a very young age. He may have been at the Council of Nicea (325AD), although this is unproven. Certainly he is thought to have displayed great holiness, and his cult grew rapidly and widely.
a) during a famine in Myra he rescued three young boys from a butcher who was about to kill them to make them into sausages (in some versions they were already dead, and Nicholas brought them back to life);
b) during a time of poverty he saved three young virgin girls from prostitution by bringing three bags of gold and throwing them through the window of the house where the girls lived;
c) during a ferocious storm he saved three sailors from drowning, when their ship was lost;
d) he saved three unjustly accused men from being executed after they had been wrongly convicted.
Nicholas is patron saint of children, of young boys, of virgins, of pawn-brokers (whose three-ball sign is derived from his coat of arms, in turn derived from the three bags of gold), of sailors, of prisoners, of prostitutes, of apothecaries, and of perfumiers - this last patronage arising because after his death his shrine at Bari was visited by pilgrims who smelt a fragrant smell coming from the shrine itself. He is also patron saint of Russia, and of many institutions throughout the world. He is patron of many churches and cathedrals world-wide. In England he is patron of Newcastle Cathedral and of more than 400 parish churches, including that of Bramber.
In the Low Countries it became customary to give presents to children on St Nicholas’ Day each year. This gradually developed into the ‘Santa Claus’ (Saint Nicholas) or ‘Father Christmas’ tradition. Santa’s red cloak and hat are in fact a corruption of Nicholas’ Cope and Mitre (regalia of a Bishop).
His feast day is December 6th.
The feast of his translation is May 9th.
