 San Nicola di Bari made by Michael le Petit, Bari, Italy St Nicholas Center Collection |
 Terra Cotta Boat with San Nicola Festival, May 9th St Nicholas Center Collection |
The big Italian San Nicola festival commemorates the 1087 arrival of St. Nicholas' remains in Bari, Italy. When Turks conquered Asia Minor, many Christians were afraid they would no longer be permitted to visit the popular pilgrimage site of Nicholas' tomb in Myra. So Italian sailors spirited the relics away to Bari where a huge basilica was built in honor of the saint. At the festival every May, Nicola's statue is taken out to sea for a day. Thousands welcome it back to Bari with a lighted procession winding from the harbor to a public square. The mayor and other dignitaries greet the statue and address the crowds. The week-long celebration includes a solemn high mass in the basilica which is filled to over-flowing with devout worshipers.
 Vintage Italian Postcard St Nicholas Center Collection |
On St. Nicholas Eve in December, children in Molfetta, a city on the Adriatic Sea, put a plate on the table with a letter asking for gifts and promising to be good in the coming year. During the night, San Nicola fills most of the requests and piles the plates with chocolates, candies, and other good things. It is a magical night for children; the surprises make a joyous morning for everyone.
San Niccolò comes on December 6th in Trieste. Children and adults celebrate the day; it is the primary day for gift-giving to children. Grandfathers dress up like the saint, giving presents or coal made of sugar if the children have not been good. Trieste had strong trade relationships with Apulia and it is believed that St. Nicholas traditions were brought to the area from Bari.
Because Nicholas is the patron saint of young women wanting to be married, girls, on the 6th of December, still come to the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, to put a note to the saint and three coins in a special box.
In the village of Palazzo Adriano, Sicily, also, young Byzantine Catholic girls celebrate St. Nicholas' patronal feast day, celebrated December 5th and 6th, in a similar way. They wear traditional dress and sing special songs to Saint Nicholas that they may find husbands.
In some areas, particularly parts of Sicily, when a child loses a tooth, the tooth is concealed in a safe place such as inside a closet or drawer. After hiding the tooth, the child prays a special prayer to St. Nicholas, "Santu Nicola, Santu Nicola . . . ." Or else, after being under the pillow overnight, the tooth is thrown out over the rooftops, saying the same special prayer. Either way, the next day St. Nicholas will have exchanged the tooth for a present, usually money.
Festival of the Translation of the Relics in Bari, Italy
Translation Monument in San Georgio
An Italian St. Nicholas Folk Tale
Artist in Bari: Anna Maria Di Terlizzi
Mixed media images of San Nicola
Patronal Festival, Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere, Rome
St. Nicholas Monuments in Italy 
