December 6, 2024

St. Nicholas

Today, Friday December 6, is the Feast of Saint Nicolas to many Christians, unless you are Dutch for whom this is Saint Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas is celebrated today by giving children gifts of fruits, candies, or toys. Often these gifts are put in children’s shoes or sometimes socks, otherwise known as stockings.

We know this about Saint Nicholas, he was born in what we now call Turkey. Uncertain exactly when he was born, he died about 342 C.E. Almost immediately after his death he was revered, and churches East and West began being named after him. He was most likely the bishop of Myra which is on the southwestern coast of Turkey. The other most commonly held beliefs about Nicholas was that he was persecuted by Emperor Diocletian in 303 and was imprisoned and tortured, and that he later attended the Council of Nicea in 325 where he confronted Arius over his views of Jesus’ divinity. 

Although Nicholas is the patron saint of many things, it is the stories of his care for children that are most well-known, even to the point of being beloved. In one story, he protected three small boys from being killed by his parents during a famine for food. (As odd and offensive as it sounds, there are accounts of such practices in this era!) But the most famous story is of the father of three girls of marrying age who was too poor to have a dowry for any of them. The only option he saw was to have his daughters work as prostitutes. Hearing this news, Bishop Nicholas tossed three bags of gold into the window of the girls’ chamber and the bags fell into their shoes. This gave the girls a dowry, and gave history the practice of putting gifts in shoes and socks in Nicholas’ name to this day.

The Dutch preserved the practice of placing gifts in shoes, even after the Reformation. The Dutch name for Saint Nicholas is “Sante Klaas.” When the Dutch settled in New York, this practice spread, as did the Americanized version of that name being Santa Claus. They also expanded the story of the (evidently) ever living Nicholas to include elements of the folklore of Thor, the Norse god. Thor, the god of fire, traveled across the sky in a sleigh pulled by two reindeer, Gnasher and Cracker. He wore a red suit and would enter homes through a chimney where he was honored by the burning of the Yule Log.

Tradition has it, that in 1822, Seminary Dean of General Theological Seminary in New York City, Clement Moore, wrote a poem for his six children for Christmas. Originally titled “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” we know it by its incipit, or first line “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Here Moore takes the Dutch version of Santa Claus and moves his gift giving to Christmas Eve. Moore’s poem gifted us with the jolly Santa with a sack full of toys we now know and love.

Still, somewhere in history some 1,700 years ago, there was a person of faith named Nicholas, whose example of faith and practical care for his people inspired the building of churches bearing his name, the telling of stories about his faith, and the following of his examples in their lives. So today, 19 days before Christmas, let’s give the saint behind Santa Claus his due.

May you all have a blessed Saint Nicholas Day. And don’t forget to check your shoes before putting them on today. One of our daughters made that mistake not so long ago.

With hopes for joy in Jultide,

~ Pastor Todd