St Catherine

Emperor Maxentius carried off Saint Catherine of Alexandria along with other women in the year 305; she was only 18 years old yet had studied much. Maxentius wished to marry her but she refused, wishing to remain a virgin for Christ. He brought 50 pagan philosophers to try to convince her that her belief in Christ was foolish. They spoke with her for many hours and when they had finished Catherine had converted them all to Christ. This enraged the Emperor who had them put to death.

The Emperor had Catherine beaten and placed in the dungeon, during his absence, his wife Faustina and an officer named Porphyrius visited the Saint and were themselves converted to Christ. Porphyrius went on to convert 200 men of the imperial guard. On his return Maxentius had them killed and decided that Catherine too must die. First he had constructed a wheel set with razors. The Saint was tied to its rim, but instead of cutting her to pieces the wheel was broken and some of the splinters and razors wounded her persecutors. Finally the emperor had her beheaded. It is claimed that for many years oil oozed from her bones, which brought forth miraculous cures and conversions.

Because she refused to marry him Greek Christians call her "Aeikatharina" that is "Ever pure". The monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai is renown as being the oldest continually occupied monastery in Christendom. The wheel on which she was tortured is remembered in our firework displays by the Catherine Wheel.

St Nicholas

St. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor. When he was ordained into the priesthood the young Nicholas gave away all his possessions to the poor and entered a monastery where he later became Abbot. He went on to become Bishop of Mira and was among those who signed the document affirming the divinity of Christ at the Council of Nicea (325). During the persecution of Diocletian he was imprisoned for his beliefs and made a glorious confession of the faith.

He became famous for his extraordinary kindness, piety and zeal and an incredible number of stupendous miracles. A citizen of Patara had lost all his money and had to support 3 daughters, who could not find husbands because of their poverty, the father was going to give them over to prostitution. This came to the attention of Nicholas, who took a bag of gold and under cover of darkness, threw it in the open window of the man's house. It was used as a dowry for the eldest girl and she was soon married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the 2nd and 3rd daughters. On the last occasion the father kept watch to capture his benefactor, on recognising Nicholas he overwhelmed him with his gratitude. According to legend Nicholas left the gold coins in a stocking hanging by the fireplace, hence the tradition that we remember each Christmas.

In the 9th century the folklore of Northern Germany made St Nicholas the Weihnachtsmann, the man of Christmas Eve; in the Anglo-Saxon world he is honored as "Santa Claus" (the name for Nicholas in German is Klaus). In the 11th century the custom originated in distributing sweets on the eve of the feast of St Nicholas.