St Nicholas is celebrated on the 6^th of December because it’s the commemoration of the date upon which he died. He was a feisty man, barely 1,52 metres tall and with a broken nose* and during his lifetime,  he destroyed many pagan temples, notably the temple of Diana in Artemis. Since her birthday was celebrated on the 6^th of December it is possible that the church decided to celebrate his death on that day to put an end to the pagan celebrations for once and for all. He was born in the 3^rd century in the village of Patara, then a Greek region,  now on the

southern coast of Turkey. His parents were very rich and they raised him to be a devout Christian but they died when he was quite young and he inherited everything. Remembering what he was taught, he used his whole inheritance to give to the sick and the suffering and became bishop of Myra when he was still relatively young. He was known as a man of extreme generosity who adored children and cared for sailors and ships.

Ingredients

• 900g plain flour
• 400g caster sugar
• 500g salted butter, diced
• 3 medium eggs, whisked
• 9 tbsp runny honey
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 8 tsp ground Ginger
• 3 tsp ground Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Method

• Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne and salt into a mixing bowl and add the butter and sugar, rubbing in the butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
• Mix in the honey and just enough of the whisked egg to make a fairly stiff, yet smooth dough.
• Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film which you place in the fridge for at least 45 minutes so that it can become firm.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C.
• Roll out the dough to thickness of 3mm and cut out the biscuits into the shapes you prefer for this time of the year – then place them on greased, non-stick baking sheets.
• Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown in colour and remove them from the oven, allowing them to cool on the baking sheets.
• Decorate to taste or use piped royal icing – store in an airtight container.

At one point Diocletian, who loathed the Christians, had him locked up but (probably because there wasn’t enough room in the prison) he was eventually released and was able to attend the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD (ironically, there were so many bishops, priests and church clergy in the prisons that there was almost no room for thieves and murderers). Nicholas died on the 6^th of December in 343 AD at Myra where he was buried in his own church, a cathedral.  Apparently the bones of Nicholas exuded a clear liquid, known as ‘manna’ each year – these bones apparently possess immense powers and when the Italians stole his remains from Myra and brought them to Bari, they continued to do so – much to their joy. To this day, a flask of this ‘manna’ is extracted from the tomb of Nicholas annually on the 6^th of December but it must be remembered that the tomb lies at sea level in a harbour town and there are many theories that could explain it. However, since neither scientist nor church have ever tried to analyse the liquid there is no other explanation. There are myriads of legends surrounding the life of this extraordinary man and there is no doubt that he was an exceptional person – it’s worth recording

these legends if you have children – they make super bedtime reading. A culture of gift giving surrounds St. Nicholas day because of his generous nature and because, throughout his life, he gave to the poor whenever the occasion called for it and wherever he went.  Understandably, Nicholas is the patron saint of Bari in Italy since his relics are, today, buried there and though the Festa di San Nicola is held from the 7^th to the 9^th of May, it is on the 6^th of December that the Rito delle nubile ritual is held.  In Trieste, San Nicolò is celebrated with gifts given to children on the morning of the 6th of December and with a fair called Fiera di San Nicolò during the first weeks of December.  Saint Nicholas is celebrated by all the Christian communities in Lebanon be they  Catholic, Greek Orthodox or Armenian.  Interestingly, he is the patron saint of the town of Beit Jala – 2 kms from Bethlehem because he spent 4 years there on his pilgrimage and every year on the 19th of December according to our Gregorian Calendar (because it’s the 6th of December according to the Julian Calendar) a very serious and somber service is held in the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. In Germany, Nikolaus is celebrated but with less ado, even though the children do put out a boot, called the Nikolaus-Stiefel on the night of the 5^th and parents oblige by filling the boots with sweets and small gifts. If the children were naughty, they get a rute (tree branch) but I have yet to hear of a parent that gave a child a tree branch. In some instance, albeit rarely, Nikolaus will visit the children and ask them if they’ve been good and make a note of it in his book.  In the past, little children in Germany may have been afraid because Nikolaus had a helper in the form of  Knecht Ruprecht (in Switzerland he’s called Schmutzli)  who would, ostensibly, punish naught children and put them in a sack to take to a dark forest.  I’d be surprised if this is still practised at all because it’s cruel and the Germans, if anything, adore their children.