Every year the feast day of St. Nicholas is celebrated on Dec. 6, and the Diocese of Allentown marked it with a Facebook post.

"#FeastDay Loving God, we thank you for the example of Saint Nicholas, who fed the hungry, brought hope to the imprisoned, gave comfort to the lost, and taught the truth to all.
 May we strive to imitate him by putting You first in all we do.
 Give us courage, love and strength of St. Nicholas, so that like him, we may serve You through loving our brothers and sisters. Amen.
 Saint Nicholas, pray for us!" – Diocese of Allentown posted on Facebook.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, children, Russia, Greece, and various cities.

St. Nicholas was born in what is today known as Turkey in the year 280. He became an orphan at a very young age, and with all the money that he inherited, he decided to give it to those in need. In fact, there is a legend about St. Nicholas that says he saved three sisters from being sold into servitude. The father of those girls did not have sufficient money to pay for their dowries, but St. Nicholas helped him secretly by putting three bags of money inside their house at night. Even after his death, St. Nicholas' legacy continued in Holland, and the Dutch celebrated his feast day even during and after the Reformation. Dutch immigrants coming to America in the 1700s brought the legend of Sint Nikolaas or Sinterklaas (as they called him) with them. In America, Sinterklaas eventually morphed into Santa Claus.

One Saint Nicholas Day tradition is for children to leave shoes out the night before. During the night, St. Nicholas comes and fills the shoes with candies and treats.