Saint Nicholas of Myra was born in the third century in a small village that is now Demre, Turkey. The only child of wealthy parents they unfortunately died while he was still young, leaving him with an extensive inheritance and in the care of his uncle. Nicholas loved Christ deeply and took his instruction to the rich young man in Matthew 19:21 to heart and gave up his wealth to devote his life to the service of others. His great character and holiness was so respected by those around him that he became a bishop (a position similar to an area 70) at a young age by direct appointment from God. The previous bishop had died and Nicholas, who was very far away, felt compelled to return to Myra. As he walked to the church he was confronted by a priest who told him that God had instructed him in a vision that the next bishop would be the first person he met that day named Nicholas. Nicholas lived during the last great persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian and spent many years in jail. Once Constantine came to power Nicholas may have attended the Council of Nicaea where he confronted another bishop named Arius who argued that Christ was not an eternal being but one that had been created by God before the creation of time and therefore was not equal but subordinate to God the Father. Nicolas was so angered by Arius that he slapped him in the face causing the Emperor to strip Nicholas of his office, which was subsequently returned to him by Christ himself in a vision. But what Nicholas is most famous for is dropping bags of gold into the shoes or stockings of a family of young women in the middle of the night in order to prevent them from being sold into prostitution. This act of care and generosity is the source of our modern Santa Claus tradition. Nicholas died on December 6, 343 at an old age [6-10].