St. Nicholas of Myra

Nicholas was born in Patara in Lycia and became bishop of the nearby city of Myra. Hearing that a poor man was about to sell his three daughters, he threw a bag of gold through their window at night, three times, so each would have a dowry, and that secret gift is the root of the Santa Claus story. He calmed storms at sea, so sailors pray to him, and he stopped the execution of three innocent men by grabbing the executioner’s sword. By tradition he stood at the Council of Nicaea against Arius. In 1087 Italian sailors carried his relics to Bari.

• Feast: December 6 (New Calendar)
• Lived: died c. 343
• Place: Myra, Lycia
• Relics today: Basilica of St. Nicholas, Bari