On 6th December, the Church celebrates the feast of St Nicholas of Myra. As a Bishop he was known for his habit of leaving gifts - sometimes in the socks drying by the fireside. His reputation spread beyond his locality as he was seen as the saint of generosity and kindness. In many European countries, today is the day when gifts are exchanged, remembering the kindness of Nicholas: in the Netherlands, children put out clogs filled with hay and a carrot for St Nicholas' horse, while in Poland, 'nice' children hope to wake up with a gift from St Nicholas under their pillows. It is easy to see how this 'saint of giving' morphed into 'Father Christmas' or 'Santa Claus. So welcome Saint Nicholas, welcome to a world in need of cheer and hope. Your goodness and care for all kinds of 'others' means you now remain one of the most popular of the Christian Saints and have turned into a symbol of giving and compassion in the figure of Santa Claus, which is really your name. I actually like the sound of the Middle Eastern Baba Noel, Papa Noel, but I don't want to lose sight of the fact that you were a living breathing person and now share in our lives as one of the great company of saints!
Today I’ve been at a Christmas dinner and at a superb Christmas concert. We’ve shared gifts of food, fellowship and musical talent. Giving and receiving cheers us.
How can we discover you Saint Nicholas a bit more? There are people and websites who can tell us your historical story and places closely associated with your ministry and life. We can go to your tomb in Bari and venerate your relics, travel through Turkey to see where you were born and spent your life as a Bishop! We can link you to so many kinds of people, children, sailors, brides, the poor and even those who teach church doctrine (as you were supposed to be at the Council of Nicaea in 325!)
Tales of you capture our imaginations. In England you came with the Norman Conquest and before the Reformation put you on a shelf for a while, there were 500 churches in England alone dedicated to your name! So it seems you are never very far away from people at all. But perhaps most of all, you can help us all young and old just relax a moment, spend a day being concerned and caring about others, making your feast day a big preparation for the coming of the child of heaven who lives in each one of us always.
Prayer (adapted by Fr Robin Gibbons)
Generous God,
who in your love gave to your servant Nicholas of Myra
the gift of caring for others by deeds of kindness on land and sea:
Enable us who honour him to love as he did and never cease to work
for the happiness and protection of children,
the safety of sailors and all who work on the sea,
the relief of the poor,
and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief. Amen
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