Feast of St. Nicholas December 6th
“Almighty God, in your love, you gave your servant Nicholas of Myra a perpetual name for deeds of kindness both on land and sea: Grant, we pray that your Church may never cease to work for the happiness of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.”— Lesser Feasts and Fasts (Church Publishing, 2006), p. 97.
If you have been reading this blog for several years, you have heard about St. Nikolas on his feast day on the sixth of December. I apologize right now because you will hear about him again. I am powerless when it comes to St. Nikolas. He has simply been a significant figure in our lives. You might say we developed an addiction to St. Nikolas in December!
We know very little of the life of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who lived in Asia Minor around 342. He is the patron of seafarers, sailors, and, more significantly, children. As a bearer of gifts to children, Dutch colonists in New York brought him to America, where he soon became known as Santa Claus.
When our grandchildren were young, we celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas as a significant holiday. First, we had a big family meal together. My husband dressed up as Bishop Nicholas with a beard, a miter, a crozier, and a long red stole and came to visit our grandchildren after dinner. He spoke Greek to the children and the adults. Speaking Greek is my husband’s favorite pastime, and of course, you know Nikolas was Greek. Then our grandchildren went into the bedrooms and left their shoes outside the doors, and Bishop Nicholas left chocolate coins and presents in their shoes. I won’t bore you with our pictures of this family event, but they are stunning.
Why am I sharing with you our family story? I remember so many years on this feast day as I would sit and watch this pageant. I am still filled with tremendous gratitude, as my recovery date is close to the feast day of St. Nicholas. Each year, I know that if someone had not led me to a recovery program, I would never have been alive for these special events. I would not have witnessed this wonderful blessing of watching our children and grandchildren gleefully giggle as they try to respond to a beautiful older man with a fake beard speaking Greek and secretly giving them candy in their shoes. So, it is a yearly reminder to continue working on a recovery program so that I can remember another feast day of St. Nicholas.
This is a suggestion. Look at the calendar of saints. Find one close to the date a significant change occurred in your life. Learn about that saint. Observe that saint’s day in your home and your life. You may even consider that saint your patron saint. This is one more way to remember how the God of love has transformed our lives. Spend that saint’s day giving thanks for those who loved you before you were born, with a passion that only comes from the love of the God of our understanding.
My hope is that we will all pay this love forward, giving back God’s love to a world so desperately needing it.
A secret. St. Nikolas will make an appearance Sunday night at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Little Rock, at the Christingle Service at 4:30 pm on December 22.
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/
