The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-11
CHILDREN'S PATRON SAINT
How 81. Nicholas Came 10 Be Associated
with Christmas and It's Festivities.
Traditions and Legends Accounting for The
0bservances and Celebrations in His Honor
The Boy Bishop Masquerade.

New York Tribune.
The name of st. Nicholas is, in this coun-
try. inseparably associated with Christmas
eand with his kindly gifts to good children.
bis name has become Santa Claus. An old
custom and its attendant mythology have
been brought hither by the Dutch. and
have survived, with not quite all the vitali-
ty that could be wished. perhaps, down to
the present day, and somewhere in the
process they hav disengaged themselves
from st. Nicholas's day and have attached
Themselves to Christmas, three weeks
later. 1t should be a subject for thankful
ness. perhaps that any such pretty old Gus
tom as that of the hanging of stockings
and the visits of st. Nicholas should be
kept mp at all. and no critics should carp at
a little changes of one particular day for
another. YotSt. Nicholas has a day of bis
own. and il it were sull honored here it
would be honored on Tuesday OF this week.
A most cheerful. worthy. loving and low
able saint was Nicholas. Even when he
was q baby. before he could speak or know
what was spoken to him. he always tasted
of his W accord on Wednesdays and Fri
days. A man who started in this way could
scarcely fail to become q bishop, and
Nicholas became archbishop of Myra. IN
Asia Minor. He died IN the year 343, and
his bones remained in Myra till 1857, 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 o 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 10 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. bade them call on
the good archbishop as they passed through
Myra. and ask his blessing. They reached
the town at nightfall, and decided TO wait
till morning before making their visit. So
they went TO an inn for the night. and the
wicked landlord looked GENEROUSLY on their
luggage. So much did he long to keep il
that he murdered the boys, and so anxious
was be to hide his crime that he cut up
their bodies and packed them in q picking
tub with some pork, meaning to gain yet
more by selling the whole contents of the
tub for pork. But Archbishop Nicholas
saw the whole tiendish deed in q vision,
and he went straight TO the innkeeper and
told him that he knew all about it. Being
thus caught the man was overcome with
remorse. as many arc, and begged the saint
to Intercede for his pardon. The arch
| bishop did this. and also went to the pork
tub and prayed. till the of the
boys joined themselves together and the
boys themselves stood up in the tub, alive
and well. 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
story. But the artists of that day had a
taste of their own and a logic of their own
to bear it ont, and as long as the tub was
big enough for three boys why.
the pictures show the innkeeper just
finishing his chopping and st. Nicholas
raising the three boys from the tub at the
same time. OF course nobody supposes
that il happened exactly that way, bat
| when there was 3 chance to represent the
whole story in a small space. why mott IL
is thought to be because of this incident
that Nicholas is counted the patron saint
of children.
THE FRIEND OF G