Saint Nicholas died December 6, 343 AD. Greek Orthodox history tells of Nicholas being born to a wealthy, elderly couple in what is now Turkey in the year 280 A.D. When his parents died, he generously gave to the poor. Upon hearing of a merchant who went bankrupt and that creditors were about to take his daughters, Nicholas threw money in the window at night to provide a dowry for the daughters to get married, thus saving them from a life of prostitution. When the father discovered who gve the money, Nicholas made him promise not to tell, inspiring the custom of secret gift-giving on the anniversary of Nicholas death. Nicholas became Bishop of Myra, was imprisoned in Emperor Diocletians persecution and was freed by Constantine. Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea, helped write the Nicene Creed and preached against the fertility goddess Diana at Ephesus, resulting in her temple torn down. In the 11th century, Muslim Selijuks invaded, killing Christians, turning churches into mosques and desecrating the graves of Christian Saints. In the year 1087 AD, the bones of Saint Nicholas were shipped to southern Italy, to the city of Bari, for protection, thus introducing the traditions of Saint Nicholas to Western Europe. The Dutch, who settled New York, pronounced Saint Nicholas Sant Nicklaus.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 10:23:27 +0000