December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Bari, otherwise known as Santa Claus.
He was bishop of the city of Myra, in present day Turkey, where he died in the fourth century. When the city was conquered by Muslims, his remains were moved to the Italian city of Bari.
When his parents died, he divided his fortune among the poor. Because of his generosity, tradition remembers him as Santa Claus, who every year would deliver gifts to everyone.
He is also the patron saint of Russia, Greece and Turkey.
In Rome, a temple was built in his honor by the year 550. There are currently over 2,000 churches in the world that carry his name.
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