St. Nicholas is in my “Saint Posse,” the name I’ve given the group of patron saints I feel especially close to and inspired by.
It is thought that Nicholas may be the patron saint of more causes than any other saint, including children, sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, students, and sex trafficking victims (Not to mention all kinds of places like Greece and Italy). Weirdly, we don’t know that much about this bishop of Myra, Turkey, partially because he lived a very long time ago, and also because he is often confused with St. Nicholas of Sion.
But the legends are legion.
It’s hard to sort fact from fiction, but he is regarded as the inspiration for Santa Claus because of his reputation for secret gift-giving. Here’s one of the most popular accounts:
One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman’s father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man’s daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas.
–St. Nicholas Center
I find all the legends fascinating, but I am most drawn to his reputation for generosity.
That’s one common theme in the stories of Nicholas and Santa Claus: the goodness of the gift offered with no expectation of anything in return.
In his great masterpiece Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas extolled Nicholas’s gift-giving as an example of kindness made all the greater because it was offered in secret.
I love surprising people out of the blue, and throughout our careers, Kim and I have delighted in creating magical experiences for others. It makes people feel seen, special, and appreciated, and I’ve found that when it can be done anonymously, it becomes all the more rewarding.
However, sometimes I struggle with feelings of lack and worries about not having enough. This makes adopting a posture of hoarding very tempting.
That’s why I look up to St. Nicholas.
That’s why he’s in my Saint Posse, to help me keep my eyes and heart open for ways to surprise and delight others in a spirit of generosity.
And to remind me of the goodness of a gift offered in love with no expectation of anything in return.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Leave a Reply