Description
Born on March 15, 270, the man known as Saint Nicholas of Myra was a Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor. A pious man who had multiple miracles attributed to him, he was also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. Of course, much of what we know of this man’s life is from writings made long after his death, and there are no doubt many elaborations in those tellings – appropriate for a man whose legend would one day morph into a jolly gift-giver who rides upon a crimson sleigh pulled forth by a team of flying reindeer!
One popular story of Saint Nicholas is that he saved three daughters whose family did not have the money for a dowry for them to be married. In these days, young woman in these circumstances had limited options in life, and so Saint Nicholas intervened by dropping bags of golden coins into the window of their home. With these generous gifts, he gave them the dowries they needed to secure suitable marriages. This story is the basis of the holiday tradition today where chocolate candies shaped like coins wrapped in golden foil are gifted to loved ones.
Nicholas was canonized by Pope Eugene IV on June 5th, 1446. At his canonization, Nicholas was credited with three hundred miracles, including three resurrections. Today, he is held as the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, unmarried people, and students.
Besides the miraculous tales that led to his sainthood, the man who would become Saint Nicholas also had a reputation for generosity and surprise gift-giving. This, no doubt, had led to Saint Nicholas becoming known as “Saint Nick”, or Santa Claus, in future tales!
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