Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra Asia Minor, is known largely from legends and popular devotion, as the patron of sailors in the East and of children in the West. When the Saracens took possession of Myra, his relics were brought to Bari Italy, and he is often called Saint Nicholas of Bari. The stories recounted by De La Salle in the third point of his meditation, are the probable origins of his becoming the patron of children. De La Salle manifests this devotion in the Conduct of Schools, by making the feast of Saint Nicholas a special holiday for the students. The notion of Santa Claus was brought to America and from there to England by Dutch Protestants. The story in De La Salle’s first point, of Saint Nicholas as a baby, is taken from the Second Nocturn of the former Office in the Breviary. Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
