Saint Nicolas or Nikolas of Myra, as he is sometimes called, was a fourth century saint t and the Bishop of Myra in Greece.
Image courtesy of https://taylormarshall.com/2009/12/st-nicholas-he-who-punches-heretics-in.html
According t6o legend, which is really all we have on him except that he was Bishop of Myra and attended the Council of Nicaea in 325, he would take nourishment only once a day on Wednesdays and Fridays and always in the evenings.
He was raised by well-to-do and pious parents. He was an only child. When his parents died, he received a large inheritance. He heard of a citizen of Patara who had lost everything and was unable to support his three daughters, let alone provide a dowry for them. The man was about to give his daughters to prostitution because they could not find husbands without a dowry. This did not sit well with the holy Nicholas. One evening, possibly near Christmas, Nicholas threw a bag of money through an open window that happened to land in a stocking that was hanging to dry for wearing the next day. Nicholas would do this two more times. The third time, the father stood watch each night and recognized Nicholas. He overwhelmed Nicholas with his gratitude.
St. Nicholas came to Myra and was elected Bishop of Myra. This was back when the position of Bishop was an elected position, much different from today. From all accounts, he was a great and holy bishop, giving of his wrath to the poor.
Nicholas was taken prisoner and beaten and whipped until Constantine became the emperor of Rome. He immediately ordered that all of the Christian prisoners be released.
Saint Nicholas is where the name Santa Claus is derived from. Giving gifts, like the three dowries, is where the giving of gifts covers from. I'm not going to bore you with details about his life that are simply legends and may or may not be true.
It is a Catholic tradition that, on the night of December 5, you place your shoe outside of your door. If you get candy or something nice, you are on track to get good Christmas presents. On the other hand, if you get ashes and switches, you have 19 days to turn your act around. I got Tootsie rolls in my shoe this morning and I am really not sure how they got there because I live alone and I didn't do it.
Nicholas was declared a saint after his death and did not go through the /congregation for the Causes of the Saints. He is the patron saint of bakers and pawnbrokers.
The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear our prayers and grant our desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.
(Prayer copied from EWTN).
Join me at 3:30 p.m. Eastern fore the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, to learn about Saint Saba's and to pray the St. Andrew Christmas Novena at: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/the4persons/2023/12/06/divine-mercy-saint-of-the-day-and-daily-update
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