Each week I chat with Matt Swaim on the Sonrise Morning Show, Sacred Heart Radio about Bible foods. Today we talked about St. Nicholas – his feast day is December 5.

Check out the poem about “Blessed Christmas” and the foods that are significant with the poem. It’s at the end of this message. The poem is in bold; the ingredients are not.

Some history about the feast of St. Nicholas. Nicholas, a fourth century saint, was born in a section of Greece which is now part of Turkey, and came from wealthy parents who died when he was young.

His parents died from an epidemic but before they died, they taught him good Christian values.

From what I researched, he was extremely humble and holy, and  he would only eat on Wednesdays and Fridays, and ate in the evening as a supper meal.

After his parents died, he was raised by his uncle who was a Bishop. His uncle later ordained Nicholas as a priest. 

He used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. Each night, Nicholas would disguise himself and deliver such items as food, clothing and money to the people of his village.

Of all the townspeople, Nicholas felt the closest bond with one specific family. This family had lost all their money, and the father needed to support his three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty. In those days a dowry was necessary to marry. 

Nicholas became informed of this, and anonymously took a bag of gold coins  and threw it into an open window of the man’s house in the night. Some stories say he tossed the coins down the chimney. 

Regardless, the legend is that it landed in a pair of shoes or socks that were left by the fire to dry. He gave the other 2 daughters enough gold for their dowries, too.

This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.

The stories of his miracles and work for the poor eventually led him to the status of a saint.  He was known as the protector of children and sailors, among others and that’s why we honor him with simple gifts on his feast day.

At beginning of Advent, we celebrate his feast day on December 6 by filling stockings with small gifts and also we put in fruit: a pomegranate. Now some folks put in an orange which symbolizes the gold that St. Nick left in the young girls’ stockings.

BLESSED CHRISTMAS MIX

I love the significance of each ingredient here and the little poem that goes with it.

Let the little ones help!

Mix together and if you give this as a gift, include the meaning of the ingredients

Bugles – 

Trumpets heralding His foretold birth.

Pretzels – (not pretzel sticks but mini pretzels) 

Mary’s arms cradled this Child of great worth.

Fruit & nuts – 

Praise and gifts the 3 wise men brought.

Candy canes – the mini ones are nice – 

Shepherds’ staffs helping them to the new King they sought.

Candy stars – 

The star of Bethlehem brightly that night shone.

Hershey kisses   – 

The love God has for us, calling us “His own”.

Raffia – (tie the bag with this)  

Bedding of the manger for His humble birth.

God’s Son, our Savior, sent lovingly to the earth!