From the Hand of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra

My dearest …,

Long before anyone gave me a sleigh, I was a man in a coastal town who had more than he needed and could not think of a good reason to keep it. That is the whole story. I am writing to you because your name was spoken kindly in my hearing: .

They tell a story about me and three bags of gold, thrown through a window at night for a family who had nothing. What people usually remember is the gold. What I would rather you remembered is the window — that I threw it and walked away, and never once went back to be thanked.

That is the thing I would most like to give you, , and it is the only thing I ever really had to give. Do a good thing that nobody finds out about. Not so you can be praised for being humble. Just do it, and let it be finished, and go home.

You will find that it is more fun than it sounds. There is a particular kind of happiness that only comes from a secret good deed, and once you have felt it you will go looking for it again.

May you go gently, and give quietly,
and be glad all your days —

Nicholas of Myra

Bishop · Friend of Children

P.S. — Put your shoes by the door tonight. It is an old custom and I am an old man, and neither of us sees any reason to stop.