From the Roman Martyrology:
This Day, the Sixth Day of December
At Myra, the metropolis of Lycia, the birthday of St. Nicholas, bishop and confessor, of whom it is related, among other miracles, that, while at a great distance from the emperor Constantine, he appeared to him in a vision and moved him to mercy so as to deter him from putting to death some persons who had implored his assistance.
From Dr. Taylor Marshall:
During the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea (AD 325), Arius was called upon to defend his position on the inferiority of Christ. Saint Nicholas just couldn’t listen to all of Arius’ nonsense and so he stood up and laid in to Arius with his fist.
The Emperor Constantine and the bishops present at the Council were alarmed by Nicholas’ act of violence against Arius. They immediately stripped Nicholas of his office as a bishop by confiscating the two items that marked out a man as a Christian bishop: Nicholas’ personal copy of the Gospels and his pallium (the vestment worn by all bishops in the East).
Now if that were the end of the story, we probably wouldn’t know about Saint Nicholas, and our children wouldn’t be asking him for presents. However, after Nicholas was deposed, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Nicholas who was being held in a prison cell for his fist-fight with the heretic.
Our Lord Jesus Christ asked Saint Nicholas, “Why are you here?” Nicholas responded, “Because I love you, my Lord and my God.”
Christ then presented Nicholas with his copy of the Gospels. Next, the Blessed Virgin vested Nicholas with his episcopal pallium, thus restoring him to his rank as a bishop.
When witches and cowards cravenly urge Christians to “Not judge” and “turn the other cheek” in the face of vicious attacks on Holy Church, remind them that Christ has personally endorsed flipping tables, whipping, and punching as possible remedies.
Glory to God through Saint Nicholas!
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"He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows if you're awake. He knows if you deny the Hypostatic Union …"
Hypostatic Union would be Nestorius. Arius was all about denying the Consubstantiality of the Son. 🙂
Corrections cheerfully welcomed.
I believe the traditional way to celebrate St. Nicholas’s day is to slap the nearest Arian you can find.
Modernism includes bits of Arianism, along with pretty much every other heresy, so it's a target-rich environment.
While I remain in many ways a techno-optimist, I have gotten to the point where anything modernist in any field has to justify why it isn't a HORRIBLE idea just on principle.
I have a new understanding of why the Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Christmas. 🙂
One of our favorite saints along with St. Athanasius. Just like some of my Bynzantine Rite friends have Icons of Cyril and Methodius in their house, we have Icons of Nick and Athan. Now if only my wife would have agreed to our recent born being named Athanasius Nicholas Asturias.
As to celebrating St Nicholas, if anyone here cares, St. Nicholas at our house is celebrated with small presents in the kids stockings along with chocolate coins and speculaas cookies. Christmas is typical with one or two toys because there are three more gifts the kids get at Epiphany.
That sounds like the German observance, except that the Germans use shoes. My family did that for years, even after we had come back Stateside and my sister and I were both away at school. The shoes became care packages.
Many of my family's Catholic observances are a mishmash of Western and Eastern European cultural customs, as zero customs of my father's or mother's lines were past on to me. Not giving me my cultural patrimony means I have no observances to follow, only ones to study and to create new ones within the spirit and origin of the old. So far, my kids actually know who St Nicholas is and what he did with his life on earth rather than them thinking he's fat glutton who hangs out with pagan elves and witchcrafting reindeer on a cursed sled. That's a win in my book in seeking to teach my kids the real faith, rather than marketing programs meant to sell toys.
That's beautiful 🙂
I like that idea, and will use for our nephews and hopefully soon, grandchildren or -niece and nephew. Epiphany gets lost from its traditional role of formally recognizing the King and Redeemer. We have a couple folks with December birthdays, which lead to additional mashing up of patron saints and celebrations.
Speculaas cookies sound interesting, will look them up.
Silent Draco
When I was visiting my grandparents in Spain, they would give us small presents for Christams and then the toys for Ephipahny.
I liked the pre celebrations, where actors would dress up as the page and Kings. Then they'd come to town on horse giving candies.
It was fun. As I got older I better understand the day and gave he a devotion to Christ the king.
xavier
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