effulgentpoet:

mythology aesthetics

ST. NICHOLAS

Saint Nicholas was an early Christian bishop of the ancient Greek city of Myra. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students. His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus (“Saint Nick”) through Sinterklaas.Very little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas. He is said to have rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them. Other early stories tell of him calming a storm at sea, saving three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution, chopping down a tree possessed by a demon, and resurrecting three young children who had been murdered. X