The same boiling water that softens the potato also makes the egg hard. It is not circumstances that change people, but rather what is inside them.

Be kind to all creatures. This is the true religion. (The Buddha)

Nothing goes away without first teaching us what we need to know.

At a time when the holidays are defined by Black Friday and family stress, what better way to return to our roots than to pause on December 6th and to celebrate a man who reminds us that our lives have meaning, when we practice forgiveness and serve others?

Little is known historically of the life of Nicholas. He is known to have been archbishop of Myra and may have participated in the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. — In addition to being honored as the patron saint of many countries, notably Greece and Russia, and of cities, of which he is the patron of many occupations, most notably of sea-farers. St. Nicholas is commemorated by both Eastern and Western Christianity on December 6, but also on May 9 (the transfer of his relics) and on July 29 (his nativity).

In time, his fame in northern Europe as a saintly bishop began changing to that of a giver of gifts to children, usually occurring on December 6. As immigrants from the Germanic and Nordic lands settled in the United States, the image of St. Nicholas, or “Sinterklaas”, as he is known among the Dutch, slowly changed to that of “Santa Claus” with little tie to Christian spirituality.