Today, December 6, is the feast of St. Nicholas. He was the Bishop of Myra and lived around the late fourth/early fifth century. Now, however, he is commonly known as "Santa Claus". Many legends surround St. Nicholas and his transformation to our modern-day Santa. Catholicism.about.com explains how St. Nicholas brought about a few of our modern Christmas traditions:
"The traditional elements of the legend of Saint Nicholas include his becoming an orphan at a very young age. Though his family had been rich, Saint Nicholas decided to distribute all of his possessions to the poor and to dedicate himself to serving Christ. It is said that he would toss little pouches of coins through the windows of the poor, and that sometimes the pouches would land in stockings that had been washed and were hung on the windowsill to dry. Once, finding all the windows in a house shut, Saint Nicholas tossed the pouch up to the roof, where it went down the chimney."
St. Nicholas was known for his kindness to others. Why don't we try to do a hidden act of kindness for someone today in honor of this holy man?
- Emily
