December 6th on our liturgical calendar is the day designated to honor Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. Much of the information we have on Bp. Nicholas is from legend; little is known historically. But this we do know: he was born to noble Christian parents, Johanna and Epiphanes, in around the year A.D. 280 in Patara, Lycia in Asia Minor, which is now Turkey.
As a child, it is said, Nicholas was sensitive to and saddened by the sickness, suffering, old age, and death that he witnessed every day. When his parents died in a plague, Nicholas inherited great wealth. He made it his purpose in life to use all of his wealth and strength to help people in need.
Nicholas’s uncle, also called Nicholas, was the Bishop of Myra, a nearby town. He recognized the calling and devotion of his young nephew and ordained him a priest. When the successor to Bp. Nicholas died, the priest Nicholas was ordained a bishop and made Bishop of Myra. Nicholas is said to be the youngest priest ever ordained bishop.
As a bishop in the church, Nicholas was called by Emperor Constantine I to participate in the Council of Nicea in 325. Bp. Nicholas was a signer of the document which is now known as the Nicene Creed.
The multiple legends and accounts of miracles performed by Bp. Nicholas led to his canonization by the emperor Justinian in the sixth century. St. Nicholas, through his mission, ministry, and miracles became the patron saint of children, of seafarers, and of the imprisoned, Through the years, pilgrims, travelers, voyagers, maidens, choirboys, firefighters, stonemasons, weavers, and butchers have also claimed St. Nicholas as their patron.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, St. Nicholas’s feast day became a time of great merriment and gift giving. In Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands the custom arose of giving gifts in St. Nicholas’s name during the Christmas season. In Holland in the Middle Ages, Dutch children left hay and sugar in their shoes on the eve of St. Nicholas’s feast day. Sinter Klaas, as he was known there, gave the hay and sugar to his horse and in turn, filled the children’s shoes with nuts and candies.
When Dutch Protestants arrived in New Amsterdam, now New York, they brought with them their traditions of celebrating Sinter Klaas. Because St. Nicholas’s feast day is in December, so close to when Christmas is celebrated, over time the figure of Sinter Klaas soon was transfigured into the character we call Santa Claus.
Why take the time to recall and celebrate this holy man? I find our Christmas Season to be overwhelmingly commercialized. I value the opportunity to focus on Nicholas, that saintly bishop, whose anonymous generosity so aided and transformed the lives he touched, In the Christmas Season, I like to carry the gracious and giving spirit of St. Nicholas with me as I navigate the madness of the market place. St. Nicholas helps me embrace and celebrate the opportunity for thankful giving and generous caritas.
I invite you to join me as our parish has the opportunity to honor Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, at our noon Eucharist on December 6th .
With the love of the Season,
Bev+