Advent is not Christmas but this weekend 5-6 December we can think about Father Christmas because he is derived from St Nicholas.

Or is he St Nicholas as in Holland where last night children this Saturday will put out their shoes hoping for a present?

This year St Nicholas does not get his usual a big day to himself because St Nicholas Day, 6 December, is also the Second Sunday of Advent.

St Nicholas was born into a Christian family in 280 at Patara (now in Turkey) and became Bishop of nearby Myra.

His life has resulted in him being the patron of bankers, single women and pawnbrokers (thanks to a three girls and the bags of gold story) children ( after a pickled boys incident), sailors (following the calming of a storm) and parfumiers and apothecaries (due to the manna from his tomb in Bari, Italy).

He is also patron of Russia, Lorraine, Aberdeen, Liverpool, Portsmouth, New York, merchants, scholars and parish clerks.