Nick's Dutch moniker, Sinter Klaas, a shortened version of Sint Nikolaas, inspired the name Santa Claus (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In his book, The History of New York, published in 1809, Washington Irving helped to promote the Sinter Klaas legends by referring to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York. As word of Saint Nicholas' good deeds spread, so too did belief in his existence. By the 19th century, Sinter Klaas had been adopted as an alternative name for Christmastime. According to one legend, on December 6, 1253, a young boy named Nicolò Bonsignori was beaten to death for allegedly stealing money from a church altar. His mother, who believed that her son was alive and well, laid him out in fine clothes for burial. When she returned the next day, she found the clothes gone and her son alive and well, located by a priest who had heard his confession the night before. This event prompted Queen Helena to have statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ erected throughout Italy. She ordered that food and gifts be left under their feet on Christmas Eve in hopes that they would bring her children back to life on Christmas Day. This tradition eventually made its way to Austria where it became known as Sankt Nikolaus. In 1672, Bishop Abbot Megerleman of Münster, Westphalia, introduced a German tradition of lighting candles on Christmas Eve to honor St. Nicholas.