Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari

The Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari is a religious and folk holiday among the East Slavs and, to a lesser extent, the South Slavs and Eastern Romance peoples. It is celebrated on May 9 each year. For Old (Julian) Calendar churches, May 9 falls on May 22 of the New (Gregorian) Calendar. The feast commemorates the translation (movement) of the relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra (in present-day Turkey) to Bari, on the Italian Peninsula, to save them from the Turks, who were persecuting Christians and destroying churches and holy objects. To this day, the relics remain at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas.