Saint Nicholas was the only child to Christian parents. Both parents died while Nicholas was young. Legend has it that a local man had lost all his money, and needed to support his three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty; so the man was going to give them over to prostitution. Nicholas found out and took a bag of gold and threw it into an open window of the man's house in the night. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl and she was soon duly married. He did the same for the other two. Therefore, in images you see him holding 3 gold balls. He became bishop of Myra at a very young age. He was persecuted there until Constantine became the Roman Emperor and freed many of the Christian slaves. He was most well known for his generosity.
