Nicholas of Myra: A bishop who inspired a worldwide tradition

December 4, 2024 12 minute read comments

It’s December, and the festive season is upon us! In Europe and in many parts of the world, the figure of Saint Nicholas is a central part of the holiday traditions. In Germany, his feast day is December 6th, when children leave their shoes out to be filled with small gifts, nuts, and sweets. In some regions, he arrives in person, dressed as a bishop, accompanied by helpers like the stern Krampus or the friendly Knecht Ruprecht, who judge the behavior of children over the past year. This cherished custom is just one expression of the legacy of Nicholas of Myra, whose life and legends form the basis for countless traditions across the Christian world and beyond.

Russian icon of St Nicholas painted in 1294 for the Lipno Church in Novgorod. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

But who was Nicholas of Myra, and why has he become such a central figure of generosity and devotion? In this post, we explore the life of this 4th-century bishop, the miracles and legends associated with him, and trace how his story evolved into modern traditions, including the beloved figure of Santa Claus – a modern blend of different Saint Nicholas traditions.

Biography

Nicholas of Myra was born between 270 and 286 in Patara, a city in the Roman province of Lycia (modern-day Turkey). His name, Nikólaos (Greek: Νικόλαος), meaning “victory of the people”, was already in use in pre-Christian times. According to early accounts, Nicholas was born into a wealthy Christian family, inheriting a significant fortune at a young age.

Moved by compassion and his Christian faith, Nicholas distributed his inheritance to the poor and needy, becoming renowned for his generosity even before entering the clergy. At the age of 19, he was ordained a priest by his uncle, also named Nicholas, the bishop of Myra. He later became the abbot of a local monastery, and during the Diocletianic Persecution (circa 310), Nicholas is said to have been imprisoned and tortured for his faith.

In 325, Nicholas reportedly attended the Council of Nicaea, where he famously opposed the Arius (accused of heresy by the than emerging Roman State Church). Legend has it that he slapped Arius during the debates over the nature of Christ, an act that led to his temporary imprisonment by his fellow bishops but earned him rehabilitation after divine visions vindicated him.

Detail of a late medieval Greek Orthodox fresco showing Saint Nicholas slapping Arius at the First Council of Nicaea. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

As bishop of Myra, Nicholas became a champion of the poor and oppressed. He is credited with miraculous acts of generosity and rescue, which are central to his enduring legacy.

Legends and miracles

Nicholas’ life is surrounded by legends that emphasize his generosity, courage, and miraculous intervention. Many of these stories, recorded centuries after his death, have become symbolic of Christian charity and justice.

The dowry for the three daughters

Perhaps the most famous legend of Saint Nicholas involves his secret gift of dowries to three impoverished sisters. Their father, unable to afford dowries, intended to sell them into prostitution. Hearing of their plight, Nicholas secretly delivered a bag of gold through their window on three successive nights. In some versions, the gold landed in their stockings or shoes, giving rise to the tradition of gift-giving associated with his feast day.

The dowry for the three virgins, Gentile da Fabriano, c. 1425, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

This legend cemented Nicholas as a protector of children and a patron of those in need. It also made him a symbol of generosity, inspiring the custom of giving gifts on December 6th.

The miracle of the grain

During a famine in Myra, Nicholas reportedly convinced sailors transporting grain to the emperor in Constantinople to unload part of their cargo to feed the starving townspeople. Miraculously, the grain weighed the same upon delivery in the capital, despite the portion taken. The grain provided sustenance for the town for two years and enough seed for planting.

St. Nicholas and the miracle of the grain, altarpiece in the church of St. Mary in Mühlhausen in Thuringia. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC BY-SA 3.0).

This legend highlights Nicholas’ role as a protector of his people and a worker of divine provision. It shares parallels with legend of the Wedding at Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine, emphasizing the theme of divine abundance and care for the needy.

Calming the storm

In one of his most celebrated miracles, Nicholas saved a group of sailors caught in a violent storm. As they prayed for his intercession, Nicholas appeared on their ship, took the helm, and safely guided them to shore. Recognizing him as the bishop of Myra upon visiting his church, the sailors spread the tale, establishing Nicholas as the patron saint of seafarers.

St. Nicholas protects the sailors, winged altar in St. Nicholas, Oberbobritzsch. Essentially medieval, from 1521 by an unknown Freiberg artist, the so-called “Bobritzscher Meister”, renewed in 1710. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC BY-SA 4.0).

Also this legend is reminiscent of the Gospel accounts of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

The rescued innocents

Nicholas was also venerated as a protector of the falsely accused. In one account, he intervened to save three innocent men condemned to death. As the executioner raised his sword, Nicholas appeared, seized the blade, and demanded justice. His bold action earned him a reputation as a defender of the oppressed.

Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death, by Ilya Repin, 1888. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

Another legend recounts how Nicholas appeared in a dream to Emperor Constantine and a corrupt magistrate, convincing them to release three generals unjustly imprisoned. These stories portray Nicholas as a model of Christian justice and mercy, reflecting Jesus’ teachings on compassion and righteousness. It specifically echoes the narrative of Jesus, when he intervened to prevent the stoning of custom officers, people who were considered sinners by the religious authorities of his time.

Stratelate miracle, altarpiece in the church of St. Mariae in Mühlhausen in Thuringia. Nicholas met three Eastern Roman generals (Greek stratelates, general), whom he invited to Myra. They witnessed how the bishop saved three innocent men condemned to death from execution by snatching the sword from the executioner’s hand. Back in Byzantium, the three generals fell victim to an intrigue and were sentenced to death themselves. In prison, they asked for the help of St. Nicholas, who then appeared to the emperor and the intriguer in a dream. Deeply shocked, the emperor had the generals released immediately. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

Raising the dead

Nicholas’ hagiographies include dramatic tales of resurrection. One legend tells of his reviving three children who had been murdered and pickled in a barrel by a greedy innkeeper. This gruesome story underscores his role as a protector of children and adds to his miraculous reputation. It also puts him again in line with Jesus’ own miracles of raising the dead, such as the daughter of Jairus or Lazarus.

Saint Nicholas resurrecting the three butchered children, from the Grandes Heures d’Anne de Bretagne, created between 1503 and 1508. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

Resurrection of the slain scholars, altarpiece in the church of St. Mariae in Mühlhausen in Thuringia, around 1485. Three scholars were killed for greed by an innkeeper in Myra, where they were staying on the way to their place of study in Athens. The murderer dismembered the bodies and pickled the pieces in a salt barrel. St. Nicholas learned of the atrocity from an angel, went to the innkeeper and told him of the deed on his head. The saint then brought the scholars back to life through his intercession with God. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC BY-SA 3.0).

The return of an abducted child

A man, desiring a child, prayed to Saint Nicholas at his burial. Taking a piece of the saint’s funeral shroud as a relic, the couple was blessed with a son the following year. However, on the boy’s seventh birthday, he was abducted and enslaved in Babylon. Exactly one year later, during prayers for his return at the church of Saint Nicholas, a whirlwind miraculously returned the boy to his parents. This story reinforces Nicholas’ enduring reputation as a protector of children and families.

The infant miracles

According to legend, Saint Nicholas exhibited signs of sanctity even as a baby. On fasting days, such as Wednesdays and Fridays, he would only nurse once. When first bathed, he is said to have stood upright in the tub without assistance. These stories symbolize his innate piety and divine favor, foreshadowing his later life as a saint.

Conversion of a Jewish man through a Nicholas icon

A wealthy Jewish man, intrigued by Nicholas’ miracles, commissioned an icon of the saint to guard his treasures. Despite this, thieves stole his possessions. Angered, he beat the icon. That night, Nicholas appeared to the thieves, threatening them with death unless they returned the goods. Frightened, they complied and confessed their crime. Deeply moved, the man converted to Christianity, inspired by the saint’s intercession.

The defeat of Diana

In the region of Myra, where pagan practices persisted, Saint Nicholas is said to have felled a tree sacred to Diana, the Roman goddess. Enraged, Diana fashioned Greek fire and gave it to sailors in disguise, instructing them to burn the church of Myra. Nicholas, appearing in a small boat, warned them, leading them to discard the fire into the sea, which erupted in flames. This tale illustrates Nicholas’ ‘triumph’ over paganism and his protection of Christian worship.

Saving a drowned boy

A father and son traveling to Myra to offer a golden chalice encountered tragedy when the son drowned during the voyage. The grieving father, arriving at the church, tried to present a substitute chalice, but it repeatedly fell from the altar. To his astonishment, his son appeared holding the original chalice, explaining that Saint Nicholas had rescued him. This story emphasizes Nicholas’ role as a savior in perilous situations.

The miraculous oil at Nicholas’ tomb

At the saint’s burial, an oil spring appeared at the head of his tomb, and a water spring at its foot. Known as Santa manna, this fluid, regarded as miraculous, continues to form annually at his relics in Bari. Extracted ceremonially each May 9th, it is distributed as a relic mixed with holy water. While scientific studies suggest condensation as the source, believers attest to its comforting and healing properties. This phenomenon underscores the continuous veneration of Saint Nicholas and his relics.

Legendary themes and their Christian symbolism

These legends, while fantastical, carry deep Christian symbolism. The themes of generosity, justice, protection, and divine intervention are central to Nicholas’ identity as a bishop and saint. His miracles, often performed in secret or in the face of danger, reflect the Christian virtues of humility, compassion, and courage. They also emphasize the power of faith and prayer in overcoming adversity and injustice.

Overall, Nicholas is a rather atypical prominent Christian figure, as most of the important figures in the history of the Church tended to pursue goals of selfish enrichment in office, power and wealth and had no qualms about intrigues, reinterpretations of Christian doctrine, calls for wars (e.g. crusades, territorial power struggles in Italy) or the persecution and slaughter of entire ethnic groups and supposed opponents. Thus, besides core Christian values, Nicholas could also serve as a reminder of everything that the Church has never been and never achieved in its history.

Nicholas’ legacy in European Christianity

Nicholas became one of the most widely venerated saints in both the Eastern and Western Churches. His relics, originally interred in Myra, were later transported to Bari, Italy, in 1087, where they remain enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola. This event marked the beginning of widespread devotion to Nicholas in Western Europe.

Arm reliquary of St. Nicholas, around 1225/1230, Halberstadt Cathedral Treasury, with the mummified finger under rock crystal. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC BY-SA 3.0).

Patronage and pilgrimage

Nicholas’ association with gift-giving, justice, and protection earned him the patronage of a wide range of groups, including sailors, children, merchants, and prisoners. His feast day, December 6th, became a focal point for medieval pilgrimage and local celebrations.

Pilgrim mark of St. Nicholas, 13th century, found in Plau am See, Germany. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC BY-SA 4.0).

The evolution of Santa Claus

The figure of Saint Nicholas evolved significantly in the modern era. In the Netherlands, he became Sinterklaas, a figure who delivers gifts to children on December 5th. Dutch settlers brought this tradition to America, where it merged with local customs to become Santa Claus.

Christmas play: St. Nicholas with his Krampus and angels, Salzburger Land, Austria. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC-BY 2.5).

While the modern Santa Claus is a blend of that various traditions and commercial influences, his core attributes of generosity, kindness, and gift-giving can be traced back to the historical figure of Nicholas of Myra. However, the red and white attire (while probably reflecting the colors of the bishop’s vestments) and the association with the North Pole, the elves, the reindeer, and the North Pole workshop are all later additions to the story.

Historic Christmas sleigh from the Paris World Exhibition of 1900, Sonneberg town archive. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC-BY 4.0).

Typical representation of modern Santa Claus. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: CC-BY 2.5).

Artistic and cultural legacy

Nicholas is depicted in countless icons and artworks, often shown as a bishop holding three gold balls (symbolizing the dowry legend) or rescuing sailors. His feast day traditions, including gift-giving, processions, and special baked goods, remain vibrant in many parts of the world.

Icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Gregoriou Monastery, Mount Athos, 15th century. Source: Wikimedia Commonsꜛ (license: public domain).

Conclusion

Nicholas of Myra is far more than the gift-bearing figure of Christmas lore. By exploring the life and legends of this generous bishop, we uncover a profound history of faith, charity, and justice that has inspired countless traditions and acts of kindness. Nicholas’ legacy reminds us of the power of generosity and the enduring impact of a life dedicated to helping others. Through his stories, we find a timeless message of compassion that continues to resonate across cultures and centuries.