(fl. 304–45), Christian prelate, traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations. The accounts of his life are confused and historically unconfirmed. According to tradition he was a native of Patara, formerly a city in the ancient district of Lycia, Asia Minor (in what is now Turkey). He entered the nearby monastery of Sion and subsequently became bishop of the metropolitan church in Myra, Lycia (now Demre, Turkey). He is said to have been present at the first Council of Nicaea (see NICAEA, COUNCILS OF,). At the end of the 11th century some Italian merchants transported his remains from Myra to Bari, Italy, where his tomb is now a shrine. Nicholas’s church in Myra was resurrected at the end of the 19th century by Czar Nicholas II of Russia. Falling back into disrepair after World War I, it was returned to use as a tourist attraction in the 1950s.

Nicholas is the patron saint of children, scholars, virgins, sailors, and merchants, and in the Middle Ages he was regarded by thieves as their patron saint as well. Legend tells of his anonymous gifts to the three daughters of a poor man, who, unable to give them dowries, was about to abandon them to a life of sin. From this tale has grown the custom of secret giving on the Eve of St. Nicholas. Because of the close proximity of dates, Christmas and St. Nicholas’s Day are now celebrated simultaneously in many countries. Santa Claus, the designation for the jolly, bearded figure of folklore who is credited with bringing gifts to children on Christmas Eve, is an American corruption of the Dutch San Nicolaas. His feast day is December 6.