Lesson 12: St. Nicholas and the Golden Bears

Aim
* to learn that Santa Claus comes originally from Saint Nicholas
* to learn that we should give with God’s love and thank God for what we receive

Materials
* picture cards of the Christmas story
* A story about saint Nicholas and pictures to illustrate it
* materials to make a toilet roll Santa and Christmas cards – card, glitter, tinsel, toilet roll, template of santa Claus, scissors, glue, coloured pencils
* Pictures to make Christmas cards

Lesson Outline
1. Review the story of Jesus’ birth
2. The story of Saint Nicholas
3. Activities – make a toilet roll Santa Claus, make a Christmas card
4. Watch a video about Jesus birth
4. Review the lesson
5. Prayer

1)Review the story of Jesus’ birth
Ask the children to put the picture cards in the correct order and tell the story in their own words

2) The Story of Saint Nicholas
Christmas is not only about Jesus. It is also about Santa Claus and giving gifts. This is because of a man who lived 300 years after Jesus was on earth.
Nicholas lived in a small town called Myra, in Turkey. His parents were rich, but died when he was a teenager. They left all their money to him.

* He lived with his uncle, who was a priest, When Nicholas was 19 years old, he also became a priest.
* He was a Christian and shared Jesus’ words and love with people. He was known for being very generous. He used his money to help people in need
* One story of his generosity is when he helped a man with three daughters. They were so poor, that the daughters could not marry. In those days parents had to give their children money called a
dowry, to help them when they got married. If they didn’t have a dowry they couldn’t get married.
Nicholas secretly helped them by dropping three bags of gold in the window of their home.

* He always tried to help secretly. He didn’t want any attention or thanks. He wanted people to thank God.
* All his life Nicholas showed people how to love God and care for each other. Everyone loved Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of the good and kind things he had done. Sailors took
these stories about Nicholas everywhere they went. And so more and more people learned about good, kind Nicholas. They wanted to be like him. He is an example of how we should live. And
that is why he became a saint or holy person. This is the story of the real Santa.

* In Russia people remember him by celebrating Saint Nicholas Day, on December 6th, the day he died. Children place their shoes by the door when they go to bed the night before. When they
awaken in the morning of December 6th, their shoes are filled with bags of gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins that were secretly placed their during the night.

* The reason Nicholas was so generous is because he gave out of God’s love. When we give a gift we also should give out of God’s love, with a loving heart.
* Nicholas also gave in secret, because he didn’t want people to praise him, but to thank God. Every time we receive a gift we should be thankful, not only to the person who gave it, but also to God
* Christmas is also a time to remember the birth of Jesus, which is a gift of God’s love to all people.

3) Activities
* Make a Christmas card for your parents
* Make a toilet roll Santa Claus, as a tree decoration
* Watch a video of Jesus’ birth

4) Review the lesson
Ask each child what they could learn from today’s lesson. Refer to the lesson aims:
* to learn that Santa Claus comes originally from Saint Nicholas
* to learn that we should give with God’s love and thank God for what we receive

5) End with a Prayer