I want to wish everyone a holy and joyous St. Nicholas Day today! For those who are not familiar, this day is all about the patron saint of Santa Claus …or at least, that is how I’ve always pictured him. He lived in the 4th century, so a lot of his story comes from legends.
The relevant story is that he sneaked out at night and tossed sacs of gold in a poor man’s house so the man’s daughters would be able to marry. This leads to the custom of giving gifts on his feast day, and while the details are a little fuzzy to me, it is tied up in the legends of Santa Claus. After all, Santa is referred to, even in secular culture, as Old St. Nick, from time to time.
In my family, St. Nicholas fills our stockings on his Feast Day. Santa Claus brings other wrapped presents later, on Christmas Day. Growing up, we always got fruit, nuts, and candy in our St. Nicholas stockings, and he would bring one small present, too. It was almost like a preview of Christmas, which was coming just 19 days later.
So, Happy St. Nicholas Day!