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Nicholas
was born in Turkey in the fourth century. As a baby, he seemed
destined for a religious life when he refused his mother’s
breast on fast days. His wealthy parents died of plague when
he was quite young, and he donated the bulk of his inheritance
to charity. The good-hearted orphan heard about a poor man who
forced his three daughters into prostitution because he couldn’t
afford dowries for their weddings. Nicholas threw a bag of gold
through their window one night and soon the eldest daughter
became engaged. He repeated this generous gesture until, successively
each daughter was married. As a result, three gold balls came
to signify a desperate need for cash, and that symbol was adopted
(and is currently used) by pawnbrokers. Nicholas joined the
priesthood, and was eventually named the Bishop of Myra. Once,
three boys were killed by a greedy butcher who was selling them
by the pound. Nicholas, grocery shopping, saw the strange meat
and knew that something was wrong. He went to the butcher’s
basement and found the boys floating in pickle brine (the origins
of the term “in-a-pickle”). The Bishop promptly
resurrected them (and converted the butcher, to boot). Nicholas
was eventually martyrized during Roman Emperor Diocletian’s
persecution of Christians. His popularity as “Santa Claus”
comes from the Dutch, who combined his story with that of a
mythical Scandinavian wizard who left presents for good children.
Nicholas is also the patron of Greece, Russia, apothecaries,
bakers, barrel makers, bootblacks, brewers, brides, boys, dock
workers, fishermen, merchants, perfumers, prisoners, and sailors;
and he’s invoked against robbery (because his relics were
once stolen, then returned). His feast day is December 6. |
To
order
click on one of
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| St.
Nicholas
Patron St. of
Children and Pawnbrokers |
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