Saint Nicholas
The feast day of Saint Nicholas is 6 December. He was a bishop in what is now Turkey, and he is where Santa Claus comes from.
Remembered on 6 December
6/12
Liturgical rank: Optional memorial · Liturgical colour: white
Patron of: children, sailors, Russia and Greece
Who they were
Nicholas was bishop of Myra, in Lycia, in the fourth century. He is one of the most venerated figures in both Eastern and Western Christianity, and little about his life is certain.
His relics have been in Bari, in southern Italy, since 1087. The stories that made him famous, such as the dowry given secretly to three poor girls, are later and explain the custom of giving presents on his day.
Why they are remembered
The road to Santa Claus runs through the Netherlands: Sinterklaas, who brings presents on 6 December, travelled with Dutch settlers to North America and became Santa Claus. The present image, red coat and all, settled in the nineteenth century and in twentieth-century advertising.
In Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and much of central Europe, 6 December is still a day for children's presents, kept separate from Christmas.
In the liturgy
In the General Roman Calendar 6 December is an optional memorial, in white. In Bari and in parts of central Europe the rank is higher.
| Period | fourth century; bishop of Myra |
| Relics | in Bari, Italy, since 1087 |
Mass readings
| First reading | Isaiah 6:1-8 |
| Responsorial psalm | Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11 |
| Gospel acclamation | Luke 4:18 |
| Gospel | Luke 10:1-9 |
We give only the scripture reference. The text of the readings is not reproduced here.
How to read the rank and colour
"Optional memorial" and the colour white come from the General Roman Calendar: the rank decides the celebration's weight and whether it drops out in a year it falls on a Sunday or strong season; the colour sets the vestments worn at that day's Mass.
Where this page comes from
Date, rank and colour come from the LitCal API (Apache-2.0 code, a community project, not an official publication of the Holy See). The biographical facts come from Wikidata (CC0). Checked on 7 October 2026.
What this page is not
This page is not an official publication of the Holy See and does not reproduce the Roman Martyrology: every descriptive line is written by us, from open facts. For the official liturgy of the day, check your diocese or parish.
What canonization means
Canonization is the act by which the Church officially declares someone a saint who may be publicly venerated anywhere. It is the final step of a longer process, which usually passes through beatification and requires a recognised miracle.
Understanding Saint Nicholas's place in the calendar
What does the rank "Optional memorial" change in practice for Saint Nicholas?
An optional memorial may or may not be celebrated, at the celebrant's choice: that is Saint Nicholas's rank, the most common one among the calendar's saints. The day's liturgical colour is white.
Is Saint Nicholas in the General Roman Calendar or just tradition?
Saint Nicholas has a fixed date in the General Roman Calendar, the calendar that applies to the whole Catholic Church — so the date and rank shown here do not depend on where someone lives. Local calendars (a diocese, country or religious order) can raise the rank, but the base is the same everywhere.
Where does Saint Nicholas's reputation as a patron come from?
Saint Nicholas is invoked as patron of children, sailors, Russia and Greece. This kind of patronage almost never comes from a single document: it is the sum of popular tradition, the saint's life story and, sometimes, a formal decree from a diocese or a trade, built up over centuries.
Words on this page
Patron saint
A saint chosen as the protector of a place, profession, cause or person, usually by popular tradition or formal church decree. The same saint can patronise several things at once, through a link to their life or to the legend that grew up around it.
Canonization
The act by which the Catholic Church officially declares that a deceased person is a saint and may be publicly venerated anywhere. It is the final step of a longer process, which usually passes through beatification and requires a recognised miracle.
Standard definition by Código de Direito Canônico, cân. 1186–1190 · Canonization
Obligatory and optional memorial
An obligatory memorial must be celebrated wherever no higher-ranking date falls that day; an optional one may or may not be celebrated, at the choice of whoever presides at Mass. Most saints on the calendar carry a memorial, not a feast or solemnity, which is why many pages in this module show this rank.
Liturgical colour
The colour of the vestments worn at Mass, marking the character of the celebration: white for feasts and joy, red for martyrs and the Holy Spirit, green for Ordinary Time, purple for penance (Advent and Lent), and rose on two specific Sundays of the year.
Liturgical season
Each period of the church year (Advent, Christmastide, Lent, the Easter Triduum, Eastertide, Ordinary Time) has its own tone and colour, and that season can suppress a saint's memorial that falls within it. That is why the same civil-calendar date can, in different years, fall inside or outside a strong season.
Martyrology
The official book that lists, day by day, every saint and blessed recognised by the Catholic Church, with biographical facts and an account of their death or life. The text of the Roman Martyrology (2004 edition) belongs to the Libreria Editrice Vaticana and is not reproduced on this site; the facts used here come from open sources.
Sources
Saints with their own page
This page follows the General Roman Calendar. It is not an official publication of the Holy See. The dates, the liturgical rank and the colour come from LitCal, an open community project (Apache-2.0 licence), and the text is ours, written from open sources. For your diocese or parish calendar, ask your diocese.
- LitCal API (Liturgical Calendar API) · Apache-2.0 · v5.7 · Rev. John R. D'Orazio
- Wikidata · CC0 1.0
- Checked on 7 October 2026