Day 17 – The Man Behind the Story of Father Christmas
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
Proverbs 19:17
St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century, in a place called Myra (now Turkey).
He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money.
Nicholas was a Christian and loved God. He was a very kind man. Nicholas had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who were in need. There are several stories and legends about St. Nicholas, although we don’t know how many of them are true.
The most famous story about St. Nicholas tells how the custom of hanging up stockings to put presents in first got started!
There was a poor man who had three daughters. The man was so poor that he did not have enough money for a dowry, so his daughters couldn’t get married. One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and into the house. The bag fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry! The oldest daughter could get married.
This was repeated later with the second daughter. Determined to discover the person who had given him the money, the father secretly hid by the fire every evening. He caught Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not tell anyone what he had done, because he did not want to bring attention to himself. Soon, the news got out and when anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that maybe it was from Nicholas.
Unfortunately, St. Nicholas was exiled from Myra and later put in prison during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian but he was released in the time of the later Emperor Constantine, who was a Christian.
Nicholas once said, “The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic Gods giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.”
St Nicholas died on 6th December in 343. He lived so long ago and his goal was to help others. He isn’t at all like the Santa Claus we see around during the holidays today and I prefer to teach my children about THIS Nicholas and his love for God. His example serves us well in how to serve God with joy and selflessness.
“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” Proverbs 3:27