Feast of St. Nicholas

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!  

He was a generous and loving Bishop in the 4th Century of Myra.  There are many legends as to his generosity and his wish to remain anonymous.  Here are a few that I've read about:

It's been said that he gave bags of gold to a very poor father so he wouldn't have to sell his 3 daughters into slavery for he had no money to offer as a dowry.

Another legend is that he was on ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea that drove through a horrible thunderstorm for 2 days and the sailors begged him to pray that they all be delivered from the storm safely.  This prayer was answered for on the morning of the third day, the storm passed and all survived.

It's also been said that through the power of God, he was able to perform a miracle when he waved his crosier over 3 dead boys who'd been murdered, and they came back to life.  He lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, who demanded that all of his citizens worship him and not God.  St. Nicholas is quoted as saying "Churches may fall but Christians must stand."  For this stance, St. Nicholas and his parishioners were thrown into jail for ten long years where they endured starvation and cold.  When Constantine ascended to the thrown in Rome, he converted to Christianity and freed all of the Christians from jail.  St. Nicholas lived on for a very long time leading people to Jesus.

For more information on fun ways to celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas please go to St. Nicholas Center.

Advent Blessings to all!
Noreen