The Miracle of Saint Nicholas has long been a favorite in our home for several reasons. First, because we celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas. In our home it’s St. Nicholas who fills up the kids stockings on December 6th. It’s much more traditional to set out shoes to be filled with goodies, but in our home we do Christmas stockings. The second reason The Miracle of Saint Nicholas is a favorite is because the story is set in Russia. Two of our six children were born in Russia and we always like to learn more about the customs and traditions of the countries where our children were born.
The story tells of when Christians in Russia were forbidden to worship God. The small village church was closed and remained unused for many years until a young boy named Alexi wanted to know why. Alexi decided to clean up the small church and it wasn’t long before the rest of the villagers caught wind of what he was doing. Soon the villagers were each making their contribution to the beautiful little church.
The people of the village worked together to restore the church. It was quickly revealed that each of the items that were thought to be missing, had been lovingly hidden and cared for by various people in the the town for the last 60 years. It wasn’t long and the church was ready for mass, now only the Priest was needed.
The Miracle of Saint Nicholas is a beautiful story of a village coming together to create something beautiful again. Creating a space to honor and praise our Lord and Savior on this most holy of days.
This book is just perfect to read on it’s own, but there are also many wonderful opportunities to expand and make the learning that much more memorable.
Go Along Ideas
This website does a fantastic job of explaining about the real St. Nicholas
Movies:
Nicholas The Boy Who Became Santa – this is our favorite!
St. Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving – Veggie Tales movie
Snack Ideas:
Be sure to read the book during tea time and don’t forget to add in some jam, just like in the book, and serve with Candy Cane Coffee Cake. Or bake cookies together and make these cute St. Nick Cookies
These movies aren’t about St. Nicholas, but they are set in Russia would would be good for a grown-up movie night or date night.
Dr. Zhivago – {I have only seen the older version}
Printables
If you enjoyed this post, be sure you check out our FREE ebook compilation of the entire Christmas Book tour!
I’m gonna get this book now, I love books that tie in both history and tradition.