6 December: Saint Nicholas Day

Today is Saint Nicholas Day. Also known as Nicholas of Bari, Saint Nicholas was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra (in modern-day Turkey) at the time of the Roman Empire. He was born around 270 AD. The model of ‘Santa Claus’ developed from his legendary habit of secret gift-giving.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of…

• Sailors

  In this 15th-century panel painting by Bicci di Lorenzo, St Nicholas is depicted saving a group of sailors caught in a storm (spot the mermaid fleeing from the scene in the bottom left corner)

St Nicholas of Bari Rebuking the Storm,1433–1435 (Image: Ashmolean Museum)

• Unmarried people

  In this panel painting, again by Bicci di Lorenzo, Saint Nicholas is seen throwing three balls of gold through a window, providing the dowry of three poverty-stricken maidens.

Saint Nicholas Providing Dowries, 1433-35 (Image: Met Museum)

• Children

  In the right-hand panel, you can see Saint Nicholas bringing three murdered boys back to life (the middle panel shows him providing more dowries to three young women to save them from destitution, too).

Three Legends of Saint Nicholas, Gerard David, c. 1500-20 (Image: National Galleries Scotland)

St. Nicholas, tempera and gold on wood, early 15th century (Image: Britannica)

He is also patron saint to many more groups of people, including:

• Repentant thieves

• Students

• Pawnbrokers

• Brewers

• Merchants

• Archers

If you’d like to learn more about how Saint Nicholas became the modern-day Santa Claus, check out this National Geographic article!