St. Nicholas visits Notre Dame
Thu, 12/17/2020 - 5:13pm
admin
CRESCO - The K-6 students at Notre Dame Catholic School had a special visit from the spirit of St. Nicholas on Friday, Dec. 4. The visit was in recognition of Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, which is celebrated on Dec. 6.
The Advent Committee at the school wanted to make this Advent Season more meaningful for our students,” said second grade teacher Sheila Slifka. “We decided to have St. Nick pay a visit to the students. Jed Becker is the man who came to my mind. I called him and he was more than willing to fulfill the part of St. Nick. Jed researched, located and designed the attire needed and gifted the children with jars of honey made by him.”
Becker told the students, “Hello. I am St. Nicholas. I have come here to tell you a little about myself.
“I was born a long, long time ago. Baby Jesus was born 2,000 years ago, and I was born 300 years after Jesus. I was the Bishop of Myra. Myra is a small town in the country that is now called Turkey, and Turkey is not all that far from Bethlehem.
“My feast day is Dec. 6. I am considered the patron saint of sailors, because I have protected them from violent storms at sea, and the patron saint of children. If a sailor or small child wishes for a favor, they can pray to me, and I will see what I can do. Your wish may not come true, but your prayers will never be wasted.
“When I was the Bishop of Myra, I was noted for being generous and for being kind. I would often secretly give gifts to young children, especially those in need. The reputation of my generosity soon spread to other countries in Europe.
“In the Netherlands, the children would put out their wooden shoes at night, and the next day, on Dec. 6, the shoes would be filled with gifts.
“The language of the Netherlands is Dutch. St. Nicholas in Dutch is pronounced Sinter Klaas. Sinter Klaas eventually turned into the name Santa Claus.
“So whether I am called St. Nicholas or Sinter Klaas or Santa Claus, my message to you is the same. I urge you to be good to each other, respect one another and be kind to one another.”
He then allowed the students to ask him some questions.
• Are you really St. Nicholas? I am the spirit of St. Nicholas. If I was the real St. Nicholas I would be almost 1,700 years old.
• What kind of gifts did you give to children? I gave them oranges because they were in season at that time and they were very hard to come by. I gave them peanuts and gold coins. That is why today, children receive chocolate covered gold coins on St. Nicholas Day.
• Did you have any brothers and sisters? I was an only child and my parents died when I was young. I inherited all their money and I became very rich. At first I was a priest and then a bishop. As a bishop and priest, I shared my wealth throughout the community, especially the young children in need.
• What is the name of the cloth that is around your neck? That is called a stole. A stole is traditionally worn around the neck of priests and bishops.
Becker noted most, if not all, of the children were familiar with St. Nicholas. “Comments were made about traditions in their home on celebrating the feast. It was a fun morning.”
He then gave each child a candy cane and a bottle of honey. He told them they could put it on their oatmeal, toast or waffles. “Or even stick your finger in the bottle and lick it off!”
