Today is the feast of perhaps the most popular saint of all. He is the patron saint of Russia, Greece, Sicily, Loraine, and Apulia in Italy. He is also the patron saint of children,bankers, pawnbrokers, sailors, perfumers, brides, prostitutes, travelers, fishermen, dock workers, brewers, poets, and prisoners.
What we know for certain about him is that in the 4th century he was bishop of Myra (in present day Turkey.) Curiously, Dutch Protestants living in New Amsterdam gave him the features of a Scandinavian elf. The Dutch for "St. Nicholas" is "Sinter Claus."
We might ask him to pray for us that we might be as generous as his reputation.
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