St. Nicholas was born in 280 AD to wealthy parents in Patera in Asia Minor. He was orphaned at a young age and became a Christian Minister. St. Nicholas was elected bishop and he was once imprisoned for his faith.

Nicholas is most famous for giving. He was known to beg for food for the poor. One story claims that he would dress up in a disguise and go out into the streets and give gifts to poor children.

Some historians claim that St. Nicholas died in 343 AD, but many children believe that he is still alive giving out presents every Christmas in celebration of Christ's birth.

According to legend the practice of hanging up stockings originated with St. Nicholas. It was claimed that once while trying to help a man who needed a dowry for his daughter, Nicholas threw a bag of gold through the man's window. The bag of gold landed in one of the girl's stockings that had been hung up to dry.

All the Bible tells us about the timing of Jesus' birth is that it was God's appointed time. But consider these facts. The shortest day of the year falls around December 22nd. This is the darkest day; the day with the least sunlight.

Ancient cultures recognized this and shortly after this darkest day they had festivals. The Romans put lights in their windows to call back the sun. Germanic peoples decorated evergreen trees because they were a sign that the sun would come back.

It is no accident that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the light of the world, at this time of year. It was into the darkness and coldness of this world that God sent the light and warmth of eternal Love in Christ.

Through the centuries Christians have noticed this parallel between the celebration of the birth of Christ and the seasons, and have adopted and reinterpreted the symbols used by their pagan neighbors. Lights and lamps became symbols of Christ the light of the world. The greenery of evergreens, holly and mistletoe were used to symbolize the life that Christ brought. Christian symbols like angels and stars were given prominence in adorning evergreen trees.

So when it gets dark before 5:00 and you turn on your Christmas tree lights remember that Jesus, the light and life of God, came into the darkness of our lives.

Many have argued that the date of Dec. 25th was actually chosen by the Church to supplant the Roman celebration mentioned above. The Roman Catholic church was known to choose the date of an already existing secular or pagan holiday as the date for a feast. Such is probably the case for St. Valentine's Day and All Saints Day. However there is evidence that a December date for the celebration of the Nativity actually predates Constantine. The Nativity is found on a list of Christian feasts given to Constantine. So Christians were celebrating Christmas in December before Constantine. It is unlikely that the church would have chosen the date for the celebration of the Lord based on the festivities of the people who were at that time persecuting them. Other Christian observances are based on Jewish practices. So what Jewish practice coincides with a December celebration of the Nativity? Chanukah! The early Christians probably chose the December date because they saw the obvious connection between the lights of Chanukah and Jesus the light of the world. So Christmas may be a Christian Chanukah!

The practice of placing candles in windows in December probably originated in pre Christian times as part of winter solstice celebrations. However the legend recounted below demonstrated how Christians reinterpreted these candles to represent the light and peace of Christ.

Many years ago an old cobbler and his wife lived in a little village in Austria. Although very poor, whatever they owned they shared with others. Each night they placed a lighted candle in the window of their cottage.. a sign of hospitality to any traveler needing shelter.