There comes a time when we learn there is no Santa Claus or at least one that lives at the North Pole. I remember when I discovered there was not Santa Claus. I was in kindergarden when a classmate informed me and in the process laughed at me for not knowing. Since then I’ve discovered that Santa lives in people’s hearts, not at the North Pole. I wished that the toys we find on Christmas morning were made in Santa’s workshop rather than mass produced in China. As we get older we come to understand that Christmas is not about Santa Claus but about keeping the spirit of Christmas alive is within us.

A story not always told to our children or grandchildren is about a young man named Nicholas. After joining the church, Nicholas heard the sorrowful tale of a poor old man and his three young daughters. It seemed the man could no longer feed his daughters, and he feared he would have to send them away from him. Nicholas knew he could help this family.

That night, while the whole village slept, Nicholas crept up to the hut where the three sisters lived. He climbed up to the rooftop to find the chimney. There Nicholas dropped three bags of gold, one by one, down through the chimney stack.

Earlier that day, the three sisters had hung their newly washed stockings by the fireplace to dry. Each small bag of gold that Nicholas dropped fell into one of the stockings below.

The next morning, the girls were overjoyed to find gold coins in their stockings. “Father!” they called, running to wake him. “We have received a magical gift!”

As the story of these three sisters spread from village to village, other people began to hang their stockings by the fire, hoping to find a secret gift when they awoke the next morning. Though this was Bishop Nicholas’ most famous gift, it was not his first good deed. And it would certainly not be his last.

Bishop Nicholas enjoyed surprising people. He began to deliver his secret gifts of hope and joy only at night, while his friends were asleep.

People all over the world began to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. They hung their stockings by the fire the night before and awoke the next morning to find them filled with candy, fruit, nuts, or toys. St. Nicholas had left a magical gift at each home!

So the spirit of Christmas is about gifts, those we give and those we receive. I pray that everyone enjoys the Holiday Season. Merry Christmas!