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St Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra in what is now Turkey. He was known for his generosity during his lifetime. Over the centuries, the legends of his kindness and gift-giving have given birth to the character of our modern day Santa Claus.

Until Clement Clark Moore created the famous poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, Christmas gifts were customarily exchanged throughout Europe on the Feast of St Nicholas.

The traditional gifts were what we’d now call stocking stuffers. Children put their shoes outside their bedroom doors in hopes of finding gold coins, candy canes, oranges and small toys in the morning. Fortunately, in the United States, our dollar coins are now minted with a gold finish and can be placed in the children’s shoes along with chocolate gold coin candy. The candy cane symbolizes the bishop’s crozier carried by St. Nicholas. There are some great ideas to celebrate this saint’s feast day at the St. Nicholas Center.