Nicholas was bishop of Myra (in Lycia) in the 4th century. Very little is known for certain about him, since early hagiographers mixed up his life with details from other saints who shared his name.
Legend presents him as a great miracle worker; for example, it is said that he once saved three of Constantine’s army officers from execution. His devotion grew in Europe especially after 1087, when merchants coming from the East arrived in Bari, claiming to have brought the saint’s relics with them.
Proof of his popularity can be seen in the countless churches dedicated to him (more than 2,000 between France and Germany; about 400 in England; around 40 in Iceland, and so on); in the medieval plays and religious dramas where the saintly bishop appeared as the main figure; in his patronage of children and students; and even in the legendary figure of the bearded man who gives gifts and sweets to good children. This latter tradition, however, is often criticized today, since its commercialization distracts from the great Christian mystery of Christmas, the season where it originated.
His feast on December 6 is celebrated both in Eastern and Western liturgical traditions.
