by Fr Gabriel-Allan Boyd
Lots of people think that St. Nicholas is just another name for Santa Claus, but there’s more miracle to his story than most people realize. If you want to know the truth, it’s a lot more fun learning the story of the real St. Nicholas, whose feast day is December 6th.
Nicholas lived about 1700 years ago. When he was just a little boy, a great sickness swept across his hometown. Sadly, both of his parents soon got sick and died. So, Nicholas then went to live with his kind uncle, who was the leader of a large group of monks at a nearby monastery. This uncle taught him all about God and His Son, Jesus. Nicholas loved God so much that he also wanted to become just like his uncle when he grew up. Since Nicholas’ parents died wealthy, they left him a very large sum of money. Because he loved Jesus so much, Nicholas resolved to give his money to those he found in need…and especially to other children who also suffered terrible misfortune. As he grew up, he remembered the teachings of Jesus…that we should “give in secret” (Matthew 6:1-4), so he learned how to be very sneaky. Whenever Nicholas gave money to people, he would sneak around so they wouldn’t know where the money came from. Sneaking around to do good is the most fun! For example, one day, a man was selling rugs to pay his debts. His wife and children had no food. Nicholas bought some of the man’s rugs, paying him way more than they were worth. Then Nicholas made up an excuse and returned the rugs to the man’s wife without getting his money back. Nicholas had lots of fun sneaking around, helping people in secret.
One of the most famous stories about Nicholas brings to mind three girls who couldn’t get married because their father’s business had lost all its money. In those days, the only way a girl could get married is if her parents had a big sum of money to give, called a dowry. But these girls’ father didn’t have money for a dowry. So, the only option for these girls was to be sold into slavery or worse. Nicholas heard about this poor family and came up with a plan. Late at night he tossed a sock full of gold coins through the oldest daughter’s bedroom window. People were surprised when, not long after this, the girl married a good husband. She told them that she was able to marry because she found a dowry in a sock on her floor. Soon after this, Nicholas again tossed another sock full of money through the second daughter’s window. Soon, she also married. But a few nights later, when Nicholas crept up to the house with a sock full of money for the third daughter, he found all the windows were shut. So, he did what sneaky boys sometimes like to do; he climbed up on their roof and dropped it down the chimney, landing in the girl’s shoes, which had been set right up against to the fireplace to dry. When she married she told everyone she’d found a dowry just lying in her shoe. People were amazed and said to one another, “This was truly some kind of miracle!”
Several times Nicholas had a strange dream that was always the same. In his dream, Jesus was handing him a set of priest’s vestments and a golden Gospel Book just like the one on the altar. When Nicholas told his uncle of these dreams, his uncle told the devout young man that Jesus must want him to become a priest. So, he made sure that Nicholas was soon ordained to the priesthood. As a priest, Nicholas was even more enthusiastic than ever to tell people about Jesus…and he was always looking for ways to help people in need and especially help children in trouble. People were always talking about that kind, young priest, Nicholas.
Nicholas went on a trip to see Bible Lands. He traveled to Palestine to see the places where Jesus had walked. There, Nicholas visited with many Christians and churches along the way and inspired them to also help the poor and needy. It was here that he had a new, strange dream, that Jesus was placing a bishop’s hat on his head.
When he was on his way back home from the Bible Lands, his ship was caught in a terrible storm. The storm tossed the ship roughly about and tore up its sails. Some of the sailors were swept overboard by the waves, and the three sailors who were left on the ship were terribly afraid the ship might soon be overturned or crash on the rocks. They were frightened and prayed to God for mercy. So, the priest, Father Nicholas came up on deck and joined them in their prayer. Just then the storm stopped and the waters became calm. The little ship limped into the port at a city called Myra in Lycia. It was a very long way from Nicholas’ home. When they arrived very early in the morning, the three sailors told others in the city how their ship had been saved when young Father Nicholas the priest had prayed. “It was like a miracle!” they said. But Nicholas had hurried off to the church to give prayers of thanksgiving.
There, in this city of Myra, where Nicholas and the sailors arrived, there used to be a bishop who was very old and had recently died. This was during a time when Christians were being tortured for their faith in Jesus Christ. Because of such troubled times, the priests could not agree on whom to elect as their new bishop. There were several priests at the church that morning. They had been there praying for guidance, and each had the same dream the night before. They had each dreamed that the first worshipper who came for morning prayers was to become the new bishop. Nicholas, a stranger in Myra, and still only a young priest, was the first to arrive. How surprised he was when one of the priests came up to tell him that he was to become their next bishop! At first, the humble Nicholas refused their proposal, but they told him about the dreams they each had and insisted that he was the one who should become their bishop. Then he told them about his earlier dream with Jesus placing a bishop’s hat on his head. “It’s a miracle!” said the priests. Young Nicholas was soon ordained as the bishop of Myra.
Myra was a large and important city and Nicholas was a good bishop. He was known for his devotion to God and his zeal for Jesus. When he taught about the Good News of Jesus Christ, people said it was like precious gems coming out of his mouth. He cared equally for the poor and needy, helping those in trouble…often still helping people in secret. Through Nicholas’ loving ministry, many people were converted to Christianity and were baptized.
But soon Nicholas was arrested and thrown in prison. The new Roman Emperor hated Christians and was determined to hunt them down and kill them or make them deny their faith. This was around 310 AD. It was one of the greatest persecutions of the Church, and many Christians were cruelly murdered. There were several jailors guarding Nicholas. They tried and tried to convince him to deny his faith in Jesus. They tortured him. He was hungry and cold and wearing chains, but he still kept teaching the other prisoners and his jailers about Jesus. He was kind to them despite all of the mean things they said and did to him. His hair and beard grew long and shaggy, but he trusted Jesus to protect him, and he prayed for the other imprisoned Christians to stand firm. Then a miracle happened. There was a new emperor whose name was Constantine. Constantine had a dream that the cross of Christ was what conquered all, and so the Emperor Constantine wanted to help Christians. He changed the law, so that it would be legal to be a Christian. Nicholas and the other Christians were soon set free from prison. So, Bishop Nicholas went back to his people in Myra. Then many more people were converted to believe in Jesus.
Nicholas was much older now, his beard white, his face wrinkled, and he now had many scars on his body from his tortures in prison. But his eyes always sparkled when he talked about Jesus, and he always had some way to help the poor and needy. He loved the people under his care…most especially the children. He still tried hard to be sneaky in helping people. However, his good deeds were so plentiful that sometimes people caught him in the act.
Although Nicholas was a gentle soul, he could be firm too, especially when false teachers would try to influence his churches. In 325 AD, a large number of the Church’s leaders gathered at Nicaea for a big council. The priests and bishops and deacons at this council were gathered to discuss the bad teaching of a popular false-teacher named Arius. Arius’ unorthodox preaching had infected many people of that day into believing that Jesus wasn’t really God. In the midst of the council’s discussions, it’s said that Nicholas actually struck Arius in the mouth for guiding people astray with his false teaching. Because of this passionate act of outrage, the other bishops there voted to remove Nicholas as bishop. However, Jesus told each of them in dreams that Nicholas had acted righteously and so they restored Nicholas as bishop.
Saint Nicholas died peacefully after a long life of faithful service to Jesus Christ, and offering many kind deeds. In Orthodox tradition, remembering Saint Nicholas’ gold finding its way into the third daughter’s shoe (above), children all over the world put their shoes outside their door on the night before his feast day December 6th. In the morning they discover that Saint Nicholas has come to fill their shoes with chocolate coins and little treats and gifts.
