I look forward to seeing parents and carers at 1.30pm today for our Christmas craft sale, followed by the P4-7 Carol Concert at 2.15pm. Check out our class pages for a sneak preview of some of the amazing gifts that will be on sale around the school this afternoon!

Today is actually the perfect day for our special Christmas afternoon… find out why below!

In Germany, he’s Kriss Kringle. In France, he’s Pere Noel. Sometimes children call him Father Christmas… but most of us know him as Santa Claus!

However, he’s got another name. It’s an ancient one that goes back hundreds of years. It’s one of the very first names people called him: St. Nicholas. And today, 6th December, is his feast day!

Children tell lots of fun stories about Santa Claus, Pere Noel, or Kriss Kringle. All of these stories remind us of how much we’re loved and of how happy we are when we give. The earliest stories we know were told about St. Nicholas, the bishop of Myra.

Hundreds of years ago, Nicholas lived in a seaside town named Myra, which is in the country we now call Turkey. The people of Myra loved Nicholas so much that when their old bishop died, they immediately elected Nicholas to replace him. He served them well for a long time. Here is a story about Nicholas that has been passed down through many generations.

There was a man living in Myra who was very poor. This man had no wife, but he had three grown daughters who lived with him

In those days, when a young woman got married, she had to bring money or property with her into the marriage. This is called a dowry. If a woman didn’t have a dowry, she would never marry.

This man was so poor that he had no money for his daughters’ dowries. And he didn’t have enough money to support them either. He had, he believed, only one choice: to sell his daughters into slavery. Nicholas heard about this terrible situation. Late one night, Nicholas crept to the man’s home and threw something through the window. It was a bag of gold—enough to pay the dowry for his oldest daughter.

The man was overjoyed, and his daughter was too. She married, but her father was still left with a problem. Two, to be exact. What about the two younger daughters? Sadly, he prepared to send them away.

Nicholas returned one night and again threw a bag of gold through the window. The father rejoiced. But he wondered who was helping him and why.

Of course, Nicholas didn’t want the man to know. He knew that it’s best to help others without letting them know we’re helping them. If we help others in this way, we help because we truly want to and not because people will praise us for it.

But the father was determined. He had one daughter left and no money for a dowry. He certainly hoped he would be helped again, especially because he wanted to find out who was doing it. So he locked the windows and watched out the door.

Nicholas still wanted to help, but he didn’t want to be seen. So, in the back of the house, far from the father’s sight, he dropped the bag of gold for the third daughter right down the chimney!

St. Nicholas never paused for a minute to wonder what he should receive in return for his help. He only thought about what he could give to those who needed him. As we prepare for Christmas over the coming weeks, let’s try to be like St Nicholas and look for ways in which we can bring joy to the lives of others through our giving.

St Nicholas, pray for us.