Saturday, December 06, 2008

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

St. Nicholas was a bishop of Myra in the third century. He was born of wealthy parents and used his inheritance to give to the poor.

In many countries, St. Nicholas Day is the day to exchange gifts, Christmas Day being strictly a spiritual occasion.

The tradition of leaving a gift in one's shoe (as well as hanging stockings) comes from the story that St. Nicholas anonymously gave money to a poor man (throwing it through the window and having it land in their shoes or their stockings hanging to dry) so his daughters would not be sold into slavery, but could marry.

St. Nicholas, Pray for us!

3 comments:

TACParent said...

I've always liked St. Nicholas. I didn't even know he had a "Day" until you told me about it. I'm glad you posted about it.

Staying in Balance said...

Thanks!

Michele said...

Happy Saint Nicholas day to you too:) Have a blessed second week of Advent as well! :)

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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