One time he took a long journey to the Holy Land, and when he was upon the sea there came a terrible storm; so that the ship was tossed about and almost wrecked, and all the sailors gave up hope.
But the good Nicholas said: “Fear not, our Heavenly Father will bring us safely into harbor.� Then he knelt and prayed to God and the storm ceased and the boat was brought safely to the land. Whereupon the sailors fell at the feet of Nicholas and thanked him.
He answered them humbly: “Thank your Father who is in Heaven, for He is the ruler of us all. He it is who rules the earth and the sky and the sea, and who, in His good mercy, spared our lives that we may serve Him.�
When Nicholas returned from Palestine he went to the city of Myra, where he was appointed a bishop. After that he preached God’s Word and went about doing good all of his life. When he died the people said: “We will not call him Bishop Nicholas, but we will call him Saint Nicholas, for if ever there was a saint upon earth it was our good Nicholas.� And so to this day he is called “Good Saint Nicholas.�
And now in many countries, they tell the story of the good Saint Nicholas, and how he goes about the earth at Christmas-time bringing gifts of love to all who deserve them, and because he had put his gifts of gold in the long silken purses, our children to-day hang up their long stockings to hold his gifts; and when the children are very good he fills their stockings with sweetmeats, toys and trinkets, but if they have been naughty, they will find a bunch of switches, showing that they deserve to be punished.
We all know that on Christmas Eve Saint Nicholas will come in the night, for he never likes to be seen; and we know that he will always live,—for is he not the spirit of love? and love can never die.
So, every Christmas, let us give our gifts as he did those silken purses so long ago—without anyone knowing about it—and let our gifts be a surprise. Then we, too, can have the spirit of love and join in this celebration of Christmas with good Saint Nicholas.
