Saint Nicholas of Myra

Saint, archbishop

• Born: c. 280
• Place of Birth: Patara, Lycia
• Died: December 6, 343
• Place of Death: Myra

• Significance: Saint Nicholas is a Christian saint who is venerated for his pious life and his supposed miraculous works. Saint Nicholas is the basis for Saint Nick, or Santa Claus. Very little information is definitely known about Saint Nicholas, but many legends extolling his miraculous works exist. He was a bishop in Myra in the fourth century CE.

Background

Saint Nicholas was born in the area of modern-day Turkey in an area called Patara. His parents were Theophanes and Nonna, who were pious Christians. Legends about Nicholas's childhood include a number of stories in which Nicholas is said to have done miraculous feats. For example, some stories say that Nicholas could stand on his own feet as a newborn infant. Additional stories say that he started fasting even as an infant on Wednesdays and Fridays by refusing to drink milk from his mother. However, these stories are seen as legend, as few historical documents exist recounting his life.

Life's Work

Many accounts about Saint Nicholas say he was interested in his faith from a very young age. He studied scripture and prayed. Some sources also claim that Nicholas joined the priesthood at a young age. Nicholas is said to have been a kind, generous person, and he constantly wanted to help others find and keep their faith. One famous story about Saint Nicholas says that he helped a family in his congregation by giving them gold. The story says that the father of the family had fallen into debt, and he planned to sell his daughters to pay for his debts. However, Nicholas did not want the father to do that to his daughters, so he threw small pouches of gold through their window at night. The father used the gold to pay his debts so he did not have to sell his daughters. The story says that Saint Nicholas tossed the gold into the window at night because he did not want recognition for his good works. He just wanted to do the right thing.

According to some accounts, Nicholas became bishop of Myra through an unconventional process. In the early church, when a bishop died, he was replaced by a group of peers who met and chose another candidate. Such a group had gathered in Myra to choose a new bishop. According to the story, one of the most highly respected members of the group had a vision in a dream that told him that the next man named Nicholas to walk through the door should be named the new bishop. Nicholas walked through the door and was named to the position.

Some stories also say that Nicholas took part in the Council of Nicaea, which was the first ecumenical council in the Christian church's history. The council was a meeting of the early Christian church. It was meant to help church leaders develop agreed-upon answers to important theological questions. For example, the group discussed the nature of the Holy Trinity, which is the idea that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are, at once, all part of one God and also separate. According to lore about Saint Nicholas, he and another member of the council disagreed about the Holy Trinity. Nicholas believed all the parts were equal, but the other member said that God the Father was the most important. Nicholas slapped the man, and he was removed from his position because of the infraction. Nevertheless, according to the story, Nicholas was reinstated as a bishop after Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him one night. They gave him a copy of the Gospels, which are the most important texts in the Christian Bible, and a bishop's stole, or outfit.

Other legends about Saint Nicholas tell about kindness he showed to others and even miraculous works. One such story is about a famine that happened from 311 to 312 in Myra. The story says that people who were without food visited Saint Nicholas, and he gave them wheat throughout the famine. The story also says that some ships, whose wheat supplies had been taken, had their full wheat supplies restored thanks to a miracle from Nicholas. Another story is about Nicholas intervening to save three falsely accused men. The men had been bound and were about to be beheaded for crimes they did not commit when Nicholas stepped in, grabbed the executioner's sword, and asked that the charges against the men be dropped.

According to some sources, Saint Nicholas died on December 6, 343. Even though Saint Nicholas had died, people continued to attribute miracles to his intercession with God.

Nicholas’s remains were buried in a place of honor beneath a church in Myra. About two centuries after his death, another church was built over the site of the older one. The original site of the saint’s burial was discovered by archaeologists in 2022. However, Nicholas’s body was long gone. It had been known for centuries that men from Bari, Italy, had raided the church in Myra in 1087 and stolen Nicholas’s remains. This was a common practice in the Middle Ages, where the remains of saints were considered holy relics and were highly prized. The final resting place of the saint’s remains was unknown, although it is believed his relics were kept at various sites in Italy and Europe.

Impact

Nicholas was an important, highly venerated Christian saint throughout the centuries until the time of the Reformation in the 1500s. At this time, Protestants broke off from the Roman Catholic Church, and Protestants did not venerate saints. Saint Nicholas remained a popular saint in the Netherlands, however. The Dutch celebrated the feast day of Saint Nicholas on December 6. In their tradition, he was known as Sint Nikolaas or the nickname Sinterklaas. People who immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands brought their traditions with them, including the tradition of gift giving on Saint Nicholas's feast day.

The traditions surrounding the Saint Nicholas feast day changed in the United States after the 1700s. Over time, the tradition of giving gifts became associated with the Christmas holiday, and Saint Nicholas transformed into Santa Claus. The story of Santa Claus grew and changed over time through literature and traditional retellings of his story. A poem called "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore was published in the 1820s in the United States. It told about Santa Claus being a large man who traveled down chimneys to leave presents for children. In 1881, cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a picture of Santa Claus in a red suit with white trim, adding that element to the Santa Claus story. Today, people in the United States and numerous other countries celebrate Christmas each year with the story and legend of Santa Claus, who gives presents to children if they are good.

Personal Life

Nicholas's parents died during an epidemic when Nicholas was young. His parents left him an inheritance, which Nicholas used to perform acts of charity. Nicholas was raised by his uncle, who was the bishop of Patara. Nicholas's uncle ordained him a priest, and Nicholas devoted his life to God and performing good deeds.

Bibliography

"Bishop of Myra." St. Nicholas Center, www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/bishop-of-myra/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Killgrove, Kristina. “Exact Burial Spot of St. Nicholas, Inspiration for Santa Claus, Discovered in Turkish Church." Live Science, 19 Oct. 2022, www.livescience.com/santa-saint-nicholas-burial-turkey. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Ott, Michael. "St. Nicholas of Myra." The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911.

"Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus." St. Nicholas Center, www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/origin-of-santa/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

"St. Nicholas." Catholic Online, www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint‗id=371. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

"St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archbishop of Myra in Lycia." Orthodox Church in America, oca.org/saints/lives/2016/12/06/103484-st-nicholas-the-wonderworker-and-archbishop-of-myra-in-lycia. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

"St. Nicholas Timeline." St. Nicholas Center, www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/timeline/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Wheeler, Joe L. Saint Nicholas. Thomas Nelson, 2010.