St Nicholas

During the Advent period, a great saint of the Church is celebrated – St Nicholas.

St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors and he is commemorated on 6^th December (19^th Dec) and is the patron saint of Greece. He is also the patron saint for students, merchants, pawnbrokers, children.

Presents are given on this day. As St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors boats are decorated (see Karavaki (little ships) post).

Gifts in shoes or socks

One tradition practised on the eve of St Nicholas’ feastday is for children to leave their shoes outside the frontdoor of their house for St Nicholas. In the morning, they should find small gifts, such as: sweets, fruit, toys and a few coins. This symbolises the great charitable works of the saint. It also commemorates when St Nicholas saved the three peasant daughters from a life of prostitution, when he threw gold coins in their window for their marriage dowries. The coins are traditionally believed to have landed into their stockings/shoes close to the fireplace, which the saint did for each daughter each following night.

Other gifts one can leave in their children’s shoes are:

• gold coins – representing the money he threw into the window of a poor family’s house
• a toy representing the toys he had commissioned a toymaker to make for poor children
• something that represents the saint’s devotion to God: a spiritually oriented book, icon, cross or prayer rope.
• something to represent the food he would give to the poor (fruit, nuts etc).
• an item of clothing representing him clothing the poor.
• a toy ship symbolising the many sailors saved through his prayers.

Another tradition is to do a charitable work or make a donation anonymously, as this is what St Nicholas always did. Use St Nicholas’ feastday to give to the poor and needy, whether in money or clothing. Saint Nicholas models obedience to Christ by feeding the hungry, helping strangers, and caring for prisoners (Matthew 25:34-36).

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