When was the last time you gave money or a gift anonymously?
Today the Church remembers St Nicholas, or Santa (Saint) "Klaus" (short for Niklaus). St Nicholas lived in modern day Turkey and he died on 6th December in the year 343AD.
St Nicholas was a Christian revered for his charity, his strong principles, and his defence of the Christian faith. For these reasons he was made a bishop and he was greatly revered after his death.
As well as being passionate about defending Christianity from heresy, he was passionate about caring for people, particularly younger people, and he was passionate about issues of social justice.
The 'Santa Claus and stocking tradition' is reenacted on 6th December (rather than 24th December) in some parts of the world. It stems from one of many of St Nicholas' hidden acts of charity in which he did everything he could to stop three daughters of a poor family being sold into slavery or prostitution because their family couldn't afford dowries. Over the course of three nights he threw a bag of gold each night into the family's open window. This saved all three daughters from a dismal future. (The story became so well loved and well known that it inspired the pawn brokers symbol of three gold balls.)
St Nicholas had intended his giving to be in secret but he was allegedly spotted in his act of charity. There is something very beautiful and Christ-like about giving someone a present and them knowing that you had personally made or selected it for them. There is also something very beautiful and Christ-like about anonymous generosity.
Perhaps whenever you see a Christmas stocking over the next few weeks (and whenever you see a pawn brokers in future) you might contemplate the following words of Jesus:
“Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven... But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-4)