Waiting in anticipation!I'm so glad we decided to do this -- it connects Santa with the REAL St. Nicholas for the kids, and it gets me jump-started on my Christmas shopping! :)
He came! He came! And his donkey ate the timothy hay we left for him! (He can't exactly drive a sleigh when there's no snow, can he?)After opening our stockings this morning we went to Mass in honor of the feast, and then had a treat which included hot chocolate and marshmallows, and read the story of how St. Nicholas saved 3 little boys from an evil innkeeper who because of a famine had butchered them and cut them up and was preserving their meat in a barrel of salt. When St. Nicholas blessed the barrel, they popped out, healed and whole! (I think the story might be apocryphal, but it sure makes great bedtime reading, don't you think?) This supposedly is why St. Nicholas is one of the patron saints of children.
God our Father, we pray that through the intercession of St. Nicholas, you will protect our children. Keep them safe from harm and help them grow and become worthy in Your sight. Give them strength to keep their Faith in You; and keep alive their joy in your creation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
What a great tradition. I might have to steal that from you for next year! Though, my favorite legend around st. Nicholas is the one where he supposedly slapped Arius. I guess I like to see the rougher side of saints. ;)
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of that story...it reminds me of the big bad wolf eating Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, and then being cut out by the woodcutter, whole and un-chewed. Max's school passed out a story about him taking corn from a ship in a time of famine, but miraculously the supply was still as full as before.
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