The Diocese of Gaylord posted about the feast day of St. Nicholas, which falls on Dec. 6 every year; this holy man of the Church is closely associated with Christmas.

It was St. Nicholas' life which inspired the legend of Santa Claus. 

“Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas, Bishop.

Let us pray for the generosity of Saint Nicholas during this season of giving. Let us pray also for the parishioners of Saint Nicholas Catholic Church in Lark’s Lake as they celebrate their patronal feast day,” the Diocese of Gaylord posted on Facebook. 

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, children, Russia, Greece and a number of cities, Britannica states. 

According to Biography.com, “Saint Nicholas was born around the year 280 in what is now Turkey.  He was orphaned at a young age and distributed the money he inherited to those in need.  One legend about St. Nicholas claims that he helped three sisters from being sold into servitude. The sisters’ father didn’t have enough money for their dowries, but St. Nicholas secretly put bags of money for the dowries inside their house during the night three times."

 The Biography.com listing details how his legend grew: "After his death, St. Nicholas was an important character in Holland, where the Dutch continued to celebrate his feast day even during and after the Reformation.  Dutch immigrants coming to America in the 1700s brought the legend of Sint Nikolaas or Sinterklaas (as they called him) with them. In America, Sinterklaas eventually morphed into Santa Claus.”

One of the biggest modern-day traditions of the legend of Santa Claus dates back to the tradition of St. Nicholas day in which children leave their shoes outside at night and awake to find them filled with treats and candies from St. Nicholas. In America and much of Western Civilization, the secular tradition now consists of stockings being filled by Santa Claus instead.