The tradition of this day, Saint Nicholas Day, is (usually) a festival for children in Europe and the United States related to surviving legends of the saint, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts. The American Santa Claus, as well as the Anglo-Canadian and British Father Christmas, derive from these legends. "Santa Claus" is itself derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas. While feasts of Saint Nicholas are not observed nationally, cities with strong German influences like Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and St. Louis celebrate Saint. Nicholas Day on a scale similar to the German custom. As in other countries, many people in the United States celebrate a separate Saint Nicholas Day by putting their shoes outside their bedroom doors on the evening of December 5 (i.e. the night before). Saint Nicholas then comes during the night. On the morning of December 6 (i.e. Saint Nicholas Day), those people will find their shoes filled with gifts and sugary treats. It is quite similar to the traditional child puting one empty stocking/sock on their fireplace on December 24 (Christmas Eve), then the following morning (Christmas Day), the children awake to find that St. Nick (in this case, Santa Claus) has filled their stockings with candy and small gifts.
But if Santa Claus is a myth, why are we celebrating Saint Nicholas Day today? Well, don't confuse the legends of Saint Nicholas and the myths of St. Nick. St. Nick is just a nickname given a folklore character representing a saint who actually existed in the third and fourth century. And it is HIS actions of generosity that we commemorate on this day. So, who was he? Who was Saint Nicholas and why was he so special?
Nicholas was born a Greek in Asia Minor during the third century in the Greek city of Patara at a time when the region was Greek in its heritage, culture and outlook, not to mention part of the Roman province of Asia. He was the only son of wealthy Christian parents named: Epiphamus (a.k.a.: Επιφάνιος) and Johanna (a.k.a.: Ιωάννα) according to some accounts and Theophanes (a.k.a.: Θεοφάνης) and Nonna (a.k.a: Νονά) according to other accounts. He was very religious from an early age and according to legend, Nicholas was said to have rigorously observed the canonical fasts of Wednesdays and Fridays. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he was raised by his uncle—also named Nicholas—who was the bishop of Patara. He tonsured the young Nicholas as a reader, and later as presbyter (priest). Nicholas also spent a stint at a monastery named Holy Son, which had been founded by his uncle. Some say due to this, young Nicholas decided to use his wealth for kindness and nobility. But only in secret. "A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath" -- Proverbs 21:14. Even Jesus himself said: "'Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.'" -- Matthew 6:1-4. Well, I didn't know Saint Nicholas, but I must say: he took those words literally. If there was any man who gave selflessly, gave in secret, and never got caught, it would have been him. There are many legends associated with his unending thoughtfulness and benevolence.
For example, 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. Another account 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. In either account, Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only only saw through the butcher's horrific crime, but he also resurrected the victims (whether it the three boys or three clerks) by his prayers. However, 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, Saint 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. Another version has him throwing one purse for three consecutive nights. Another version has him throw the purses over a period of three years, each time the night before one of the daughters comes "of age." Invariably, the third time the father lies in wait, trying to discover the identity of their benefactor. In one version, the father confronts the saint, only to have Saint Nicholas say it is not him he should thank, but God; and God alone. In another version, Saint Nicholas learns of the poor man's plan and drops the third bag down the chimney instead; a variant holds that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into the stocking. Down the chimney? Sound kind of familiar? These stories and their versions are a few of numerous stories of his altruism.
It's people like Saint Nicholas and their actions of magnanimity that really make you think about things; about people in general; about life in general. It makes you wonder why people (generally) are the way they are; how and why they do the things they do, whether good or bad. It raises questions like: "What makes people as loving and solicitous as they are?", "What makes people as vicious and loathsome as they are?", "What has life done to some people to make them so embittered and jaded that they are blind to anybody else's plight but their own?", "What makes some people so generous and other people so stingy?", or "Why is it that there are wealthy people who are frugal and greedy with their money, but there are poor people who are so giving and openhanded with their money?" It's philosophical and a tough one to answer, really. But if you want my opinion, it's because those that HAVE money, are avaricious with their money, and are the way they are because they don't have God. Oh yes, they may have money and material things, but they don't have God. And if you don't have God, you don't necessarily have happiness. Oh, you may THINK you have it because you have money and material things, but without God, you may be missing out on more happiness than you realize. Sure, money can buy you a lot of things; things that are extravagant, even exorbitant. Money can buy you a house, a car, food, an enjoyable night out on the town, even a trip around the world once or twice. But when you look at the big picture, (cliché maybe) money can't buy you happiness. Sure, when you're invariably destitute and are continually plagued by an impecunious lifestyle, you may not see it that way. You may think or say: "If I only had a few thousand dollars in my checking account or savings account, I would be happy." I hate to burst your bubble, but, no, you wouldn't. Because if you were granted a few thousand dollars in your bank account, you'd only want a few thousand more. Now, you may think: "Well, that's only the poor who be that acquisitive," or "So, you're giving us the cliché that if we were given an inch, we'd want a mile?" Sure, both of those statements are true to an extent, but it goes further than that... You know the old saying: "Money is the root of all evil?" Well, that's not entirely accurate. That is, it is not as much untrue is it is incomplete. You see, it's not money that's the root of all evil; it's the LOVE OF MONEY. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." -- 1 Timothy 6:10. If you look at people who are materialistic, you would find that their money and their "things" (a lot of times) have become "their gods." Jesus himself said that it's either God or money that you worship, not both. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." -- Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:13. And there is a definite difference between money and God. Once you spend money (whether it be on a candy bar or a mansion), it's gone. The money is no longer there. But in Deuteronomy 31:8, God said that He would never leave you nor forsake you. You may be able to trade money for a material thing of its value, but those material things are temporary. They can be lost, stolen, pawned, or broken. However, God is omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing). You can't trade Him in for anything, He cannot be imitated or duplicated, and once the Holy Spirit is inside you, He is ALWAYS there. So, when you hear someone say: "I knew these people that didn't even have half of what my family did, and yet they were so happy." Chances are: even though they didn't have a lot of money, they may very well have had God. That particular family evidently served (or worshiped) "the right god;" THE God; God Almighty; King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Me, personally? I don't worship money. I know that I NEED money in order to survive in this world. I know that it would be nice to have a little more money when I need it. I am very meticulous with money. Hey, when you're living on a fixed income, you kind of have to be. But worship it? No! Why worship something finite when I could worship something eternal? Since you cannot serve both God and money, I will worship the One who will never leave me and can bring me TRUE happiness. I will do everything in my power (with God within me) to avoid the love of money. "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have," -- Hebrews 13:5.
So, I guess you can say that today is a day to honor someone who was wealthy, but who used his money generously. With Saint Nicholas, you did not have to confuse compassion and thoughtfulness with charity or a favor with "a string attached." His heart was sincere, honest, and genuine. He HAD money, but he SERVED God. He had happiness. He had God. I guess no matter who we are, we can all learn from a altruistic do-gooder. No matter who we are, it all goes to show that we should NEVER confuse meekness for weakness.
