Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Happy St. Nicholas Day! Today, December 6th, is la fête de la Saint-Nicolas. This was never a day my family observed in the States and it's not the biggy Christmas is by any means, but it's still big enough in Switzerland for St. Nicholas (Bishop Nicholas de Myre before his canonization) to put in an appearance at a Geneva mall today. Those who celebrate the day give small gifts or sweets to children. 

If you don't know the story behind St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and children (among others), he allegedly lived and died in 4th century Turkey where he was imprisoned for his faith. His association with Christmas harkens back to one of the most famous stories associated with him. A poor man with three daughters did not have enough money to pay the daughters' marriage dowries so they couldn't marry. St. Nicholas decided to anonymously help by dropping a bag of gold coins down the chimney, which landed in a stocking drying by the fire thus allowing the eldest daughter to marry. He did the same for the second. When the youngest daughter was ready to marry the father decided to investigate and find out just who was being so generous. He kept a nightly vigil, finally discovering it was St. Nicholas. Nicholas asked the father not to say anything, wanting to keep his generosity private, but of course word got out and after that when someone received an anonymous gift it was accredited to St. Nicholas. Voila !

Hence the inspiration for our modern era Father Christmas/Santa Claus. I have no idea how the good saint made it to the top of the roof. The reindeer and sleigh didn't enter the picture until Clement-Clarke Moore's epic A Visit from St. Nicholas poem was published in 1823.