The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-25
THE CHILDREN's SAINT.
Why and How ST. Nicholas is Honored
Everywhere.

Everywhere.
From the Nsto York Tribune.
The name OF st. Mich olas is in this coun-
try inseparably associated with Christmas
aud with his kindly gifts to coed children.
His name has become Santa Claus. An old
custom and its attendant mythology have
bseu brought hlther by the Dutch. and
have survived, with rot quite all the
vitality that could be wished, perhaps
down to the present day, and somewhere
in the process they have dissngaged them.
selves from St. Nicholas day and have at
tsched themselves to Christmas, three
weeks later. 1t should be a subject for
thankfulness. perhaps, that any such pretty
old custom as that OF the hanging Of stock
ings and the visits OF St. Nicholas should
be kept up at all, and no critics should carp
at little change OF one particular day for
another. Yet St Nicholas hes day OF his
own
A most cheerful, worthy, loving and low
able saint Was Nicholas. Even when he was
baby, before no could speak or know what
was spoken to him, he always tasted of his
own accord on Wednesdays and Fridays. a
man who started in this way could scarcely
fail to become bishop, and Nicholas be-
came archbishop OF Myra, in Asia Minor.
He died il the year 343, and his bones re-
nained at Myra till 1887, when they were
removed to Bari in Italy. where they still
remain. On the very day when they were
brought thither and deposited in the church
Of st. Stephen, thirty persons were cured Of
various diseases by prayers to St. Nicholas.
There is Church OF st. Nicholas at Bari
now. besides the cathedral. More will be
said about the town and the church by
and by.
. Whenever ST. Nicholas is talked of or
written OF this story is told: A man living
in Asia. who was sending his two sons to
Athens to be educated, oade them call on
the good arch bishop as they passed through
Myra, and ask his blessing. Tbey reached
the town at nightfall aud decided to wait
till morning before making their visit. So
they west to an inn for the night. and the
wicked landlord looked GENEROUSLY on their
luggage. So much did he long 70 keep il
that be murdered the boys, and so anxious
was he to hide his crime that be cut up their
bodies and packed them in a picking tub
with some pork, meaning to gsin yet more
by selling the whole contents II the tub for
pork. But Archbishop Nicholas saw the
whole f1endisb deed in vision and he went
straight to the innkeeper and told him that
he knew all about it. Being thus caught
many are, and begged the saint to intercede
for his pardon. The archbishop did this,
and also went to the pork tub and prayed,
I'LL the fragments of the boys Joined them
selves together and the boys themselves
stood up 10 the tub, alive and we'll There
are some interesting pictures OF this miracle
in old books, and they represent three boys
standing In the tub, though only two are
mentioned in the stories. But the artists
of that day had taste Of their own and
logic of their own to bear IL ont, aud Is long
as the tub was big enough for three boys.
why rot put three in it, One of the pics-
ures shows the innkeeper just finishing his
chOpping and st. Nicholas raising be three
boys from the tub at the same time. OF
course nobody supposes that 1t happened
exactly that way, but when there was a
chance to represent thu whole story in
small space, why notl 1t is thought TO be
because Of -thi3 incident that Nicholas Is
counted the patron saint of children.
He Is the patron OF virgins, too, aud
another story accounts for this. A certain