ST. JOHN the EVANGELIST CCD
Grades:  Kindergarten through Junior High
Phone: 916 -483-4628
Email: ccd@sjecarmichael.org

December 5 

On Sunday, November 28, the students in our CCD program blessed our Advent Wreath, which has been a popular Christian custom since the 1600’s. The Advent Wreath is a circle of evergreens representing the never-ending love of God for us. There are always four candles placed on this wreath. The three purples candles, or white candles tied with purple ribbons, represent our need as children of God to prepare for the coming of our Savior. The remaining pink candle, or white candle tied with pink ribbon, reminds us to be joyful for the coming of the Lord, which is fast approaching. As we were celebrating the First Week of Advent, we lit the first of the candles tied with purple ribbon. After the Advent Blessing, all the children in the Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third Grades also began constructing their own family wreaths made out of paper. Happily on Monday, December 6, we should all celebrate the Feast Day of St. Nicholas of Myra (St. Nicholas of Bari), whose legends have become closely associated with our Christmas Season. St. Nicholas was born in the city of Patara, which is a port on the Mediterranean Sea in Asia Minor in the Holy Roman Empire. He was born on March 15, 270, into a wealthy Christian family. According to one account, his father’s name was Epiphanius, and his mother’s name was Johanna. Even as a young child, Nicholas loved God more than anything, he studied hard, he prayed often, and followed Jesus by helping the poor, and the sick. When Nicholas’s parents died, he distributed all their wealth to the poor. As he matured, Nicholas’s uncle, who was the Bishop of Myra, recognized his nephew’s calling and ordained him as a priest. Actually, later on, Nicholas also became the Bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas has always been one of the most popular saints of Christendom. He is the patron saint of several countries including Russia and Greece. Likewise, he is the patron saint of bakers, sailors, brides, grooms, coopers, archers, children, the falsely accused, brewers, pharmacists, pawnbrokers, and many other groups. Truly, Nicholas was always very generous to the poor. Once he heard that a devout widower, who had become poor, planned to abandon his three daughters, who lived with him. As he had no money for his daughters’ doweries, they would never be able to marry, and he did not have any money to support them. Hearing about the plight of these girls, Nicholas not wanting to be seen, crept at night to this man’s home and threw a bag of gold through an open window. Immediately, after retrieving the bag of gold, the father arranged a marriage for his oldest daughter. After this wedding, Nicholas threw a second bag of gold at night into the same window. Although their father was overjoyed, he could not sleep. He really wanted to know who was helping him, so he locked the windows and watched the door for two nights. Being the generous man that he was, Nicholas dropped a third bag of gold for the youngest daughter through the chimney of the father’s house. This time the happy father of the girls caught Nicholas in his act of charity and fell to his knees thanking Nicholas. Nicholas ordered the father not to tell anyone about his gift giving. It is believed that on December 6, Nicholas also visited the children with admonitions and gifts in preparation for the coming of Christmas. He dropped coins into the shoes of those who left them out for him. Numerous stories are told about St. Nicholas from his home in Turkey to Russia. Through the centuries, countless stories about St. Nicholas have been passed on from the northern parts of Europe, and then to Germany, France, and England. In our country, the Dutch tradition regarding St.Nicholas (Sinterklaas) was brought to New Amsterdam by the Dutch. Celebrating Sinterklaas in New York existed in the early settlements of the Hudson Valley. Our well-known Santa Claus is a derivation of St. Nicholas.

OUR PRAYER: ST. NICHOLAS WAS SO THANKFUL FOR THE LIFE THAT GOD HAD GIVEN HIM THAT HE COULDN’T STOP GIVING JOY AND HOPE TO OTHERS-- -NO MATTER HOW FAR HE HAD TO TRAVEL OR HOW MANY ROOFS HE HAD TO CLIMB! LET US SHOW OUR GRATITUDE FOR GOD’S GIFTS BY GIVING TO OTHERS ESPECIALLY TO THOSE IN NEED. AMEN.

Mrs. Joanne Giffard, CCD/Religious Education Coordinator                                                                                   ccd@sjecarmichael.org