What is Christmas about? We all know it's when Jesus, the Son of God, was born in a manger. It is a happy time of rejoicing and celebration. And it's also a time that we remember another man. His name is St. Nicholas. We call him Santa Claus, and here is his story.

St. Nicholas was born 300 years after Jesus, which is a long time ago. He was born in a country called Lycia, today called Turkey. He was born rich, but throughout his life he gave away all of his money to the poor.

St. Nicholas was a Christian, and was the Rector of a church in Myra, like Hartshorn is our Rector. He was so good at being a Rector that he was asked to be in charge of all the churches in that region. That's how he became a bishop.

In those days, a girl could not get married unless her family paid her future husband. This payment was called a dowry. Once a friend of Nicholas had three daughters but no dowry for any of them. This meant that they could not get married. One night, Nicholas got on his white horse, secretly rode to the man's house and threw a bag of gold through an open window. The next morning on the kitchen floor they found all of the gold! Now the first daughter could get married.

Later, Nicholas secretly rode up in the middle of the night again, threw another bag of gold through another window and rode off. The next morning there, on the den floor, was a bag of gold! Now the second daughter could get married.

A third time, Nicholas rode up in the middle of the night. St. Nicholas was about to throw another bag of gold, when the father, who had been hiding in the bushes, stepped out and cried, "It's Bishop Nicholas! You've been giving us the gold! Why didn't you tell us?" Nicholas answered with something that is very important. He said, "It's better to give in secret, when no one knows that it is you."

Later Nicholas was made a saint for all of his good works. And ever since then, people have been giving in secret in the name of St. Nicholas, and in the name of Jesus.

Join your family and friends at St. Augustine's St. Nicholas Festival. Choose a gift for the Susan Tree so you can give in secret too. We'll have children's crafts, a bake sale, crafts for sale, refreshments, and, of course, a visit from St. Nicholas himself. He helps us remember that Christmas isn't so much a time of getting, as it is a time of giving, especially to those who need it the most.