Saint Nicholas Day

              Saint Nicholas Day, also called the feast of Saint Nicholas, is observed on the 6th of December or on the eve of the 5th of December in Western Christian countries, and on the 19th of December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar. It is the feast day of Nicholas of Myra with particular regard to his reputation as a bringer of gifts.
              In Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows.
              Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century bishop in what is today Turkey. He was famous for his generosity to the poor, protection of the wronged, and zeal for orthodoxy. He was also a miracle worker, most known for appearing to sailors caught in a storm at sea and raising three young boys from the dead. 
                           Many stories tell of Nicholas saving his people from famine, sparing the lives of those innocently accused, and much more. He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century of his death, he was celebrated as a saint. Today he is venerated in the East as wonder, or miracle worker and in the West as patron of a great variety of persons - children, mariners, bankers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, even thieves, and murderers! He is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need.
                  His relics are still preserved in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Italy. On his feast day, miraculous myrrh is collected from his relics and sent all over the world.