Nicholas was a fourth century bishop of the early Christian church, of the city of Myra, in what is now Turkey. He was widely known for his kindness and generosity to those in distress.
According to legend, St. Nicholas got his reputation for dropping off gifts, as a result of his service to a poor family in his parish. The family's three daughters had no prospects for marriage, as there was no money for dowries. Consequently, each faced a life of prostitution. Nicholas, on each of three separate occasions, threw a bag of gold in the window of their cottage, (some said the gold was thrown down the chimney), thereby freeing each girl from a horrible future.
Still remembered for his goodness, almost 1200 years later, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of many, including: children, unmarried girls, sailors, and.....pawn shop owners.
If you've ever visited a pawn shop, you may have noticed a sign or symbol with three gold balls. (Remember those three bags of gold?) It seems that pawn brokers are fond of old Saint Nick, their patron.
St. Nicholas Day is December Sixth.
Blessed Feast Day!
Consider how you might carry on St. Nicholas' tradition of generosity and rescue.
Need an idea?
Human trafficking is, unfortunately, alive and well. A quick web search will reveal a generous selection of ministries that fight this evil. Or, take a few minutes to read this human trafficking fact sheet.
More about St. Nicholas here.
Pax Christi,
~Michelle
St Nick Image: {{PD-1923}}-published before 1923 and therefore public domain in the US
Linked with:
Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend
A fine book for children about the real Nicholas.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a splendid idea!
Blessings,
juanita
HI Michelle!
ReplyDeleteWe love St. Nick in our house and I didn't know about the 3 gold ball thing at pawn shops! I hope to link up your interesting post here on my blog for St. Nick's feast day :) So sad to know that such evil like human trafficking continues to exist :( :( :( Thank you for linking up your post to NOBH!
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteWe enjoy St. Nick too! On a different blog, Jessica of Shower of Roses offered a free printable of St. Nick pictures that you can glue stick to chocolate gold coins. They're so cute!