Sv Matej - A4

Sv Nikola (winter) is celebrated on 19 December. St. Nicholas or St. Nicholas the miracle maker, Archbishop of Myra is considered the patron of the seas. Christian ships usually keep an icon of the saint and on the day of the feast, all ships stop wherever they are located, they throw the anchor into the sea, sailors pray and celebrate all day and continue sailing the next day. The iconic St Nicholas is represented with his bishop robe.

Sv Nikola was a very wealthy man who's parents had left him all of their riches. He was a very kind man who had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people in need. The legend states that Sveti Nikola had heard of a poor man who could not afford to marry off his 3 daughters, so one night he secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney which then fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry. He had repeated this for each of the 3 daughters allowing them to get married and avoid becoming slaves. The news got out about Sveti Nikola's generosity and from then on whenever anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that it was from Sveti Nikola, who eventually became the model for Santa Claus.