Simple Gifts Are The Lesson Of St Nicholas

By Nancy K. Crevier

Children from Trinity Episcopal Church were treated to a special visitor Saturday morning, December 3, when they discovered St Nicholas snoozing in a room in the undercroft of the church.

His visit was part of a morning of learning about the history of St Nicholas, visiting the Dutch village set up in the meeting room, and taking part in a variety of holiday crafts.

The legend of St Nicholas began with the man who was born during the Third Century in Patara, now in the country of Turkey, according to stnicholascenter.org. He was dedicated in the service to God, and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. The generosity and compassion shown by Bishop Nicholas, especially toward children, form the basis for the legends that are well known throughout Europe.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned. He died December 6, 343, in Myra. It is said that manna, with healing powers, formed in his grave. This has fostered the devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death is known in most parts of the world as St Nicholas Day, and is celebrated December 6. 

In the Netherlands, St Nicholas  Day is celebrated  on the evening of December 5, and it is this tradition to which the children at Trinity Episcopal Church were introduced. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for St Nicholas’s horse.

Following a telling of the legend of St Nicholas by Sunday School director Sue Vogelman, the children entered the meeting room, where they had the opportunity to fly backward in time, crawling past a Dutch village scene of yore, and into the room where they found the sleeping predecessor to Santa Claus, who awakened to share a story with them.

Craft activities filled the rest of the morning after St Nicholas slipped away. Then, much to the delight of the children, they discovered that their shoes, which they had left by a mock fireplace in the hallway filled with hay and carrots for St Nick’s steed, now contained a wealth of candy, as tradition requires.