The wonderful nature of Lori region is completed by St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church. The church, constructed in neo-Russian style for orthodox Russians, was built in 1848 in Nikolaevka village (nowadays Amrakits), which was established by Ukrainian cossacks. The church was hugely damaged during the earthquake of Spitak in 1988 and is still not functioning.
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is considered to be the prototype of modern Santa Claus. "Santa" is derived from the word "Saint", and "Klaus" is derived from the name "Nikolay". Nicholas the Wonderworker was famous for his infinite kindness. He distributed the wealth, inherited from his rich parents, to the poor. According to the legend, on the Christmas eve he used to drop food and purses full of money down the chimneys of the poor, and the presents often fell into the socks drying by the fire. This is how the tradition of putting gifts into the socks by the Christmas eve derived. Hundreds of years later, this tradition is still preserved.
