Hey, all you good girls and boys!
Today is St. Nick’s Day—a sort of precursor to Christmas Eve in which this jolly ol’ elf makes a visit to our houses and leaves a small gift. It’s typically a bowl of ripe produce like apples and oranges and maybe a couple of tasty chocolate treats too. But I think it’s mostly just about getting kids of all ages excited about the coming Christmas visit that he’ll make!
More than 1700 years ago, before he was known as Santa Claus or he got the nickname Kris Kringle, he was known as Nicholas. As a young man who lost the both of his parents to sickness, Nicholas used his inheritance from his parents to give to the poor and help the sick people in his community.
Even in a society that rarely sought justice, Nicholas went through the trouble and risk of imprisonment in order to continue helping those in need. He even thought of sneaking on rooftops and dropping gold coins or medicine or toys down folks’ chimneys.
Despite his deeds of goodwill—or more so because of his deeds of goodwill—St. Nicholas eventually was imprisoned. A law that claimed he could not help out his fellow man was something that he could not abide and so he rebelled against it by continuing his acts of goodwill. For this, he was made to spend 20 years in jail.
When finally released from prison, the Roman government had shifted its views on Christianity and Nicholas simply continued the life of goodwill he had started before his imprisonment. He was eventually made into a saint for his unending generosity. Since he’s never stopped his tradition of giving, to this day, girls and boys find presents magically waiting for them on Christmas morning.
Happy St. Nicholas Day and, as always, thanks for reading!
- John