The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (d. c. 326), Bishop (source):

Almighty Father, lover of souls, who chose your servant Nicholas to be a bishop in the Church, that he might give freely out of the treasures of your grace: make us mindful of the needs of others and, as we have received, so teach us also to give; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St John 4:7-14
The Gospel: St Mark 10:13-16

Click for larger viewArtwork: Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Stories of Saint Nicholas: The Saint Provides a Dowry for Three Poor Girls, c. 1327-30, Tempera on wood, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

In this panel, St Nicholas is throwing gold into the house of a poor man whose three daughters were facing prostitution to support themselves.  The future saint did the same on three consecutive nights, providing dowries so the girls could marry.  Ambrogio Lorenzetti painted four scenes from the life of the saint as an altarpiece for the Church of San Procolo.  The paintings have been in the Uffizi since 1919.

Dr James Galyon at 2 Worlds Collide has the full story of the saint behind the legend of Santa Claus.

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