Today is the feastday of St Nicholas. It should occasion no surprise for such an anciently sea-faring nation that Santa Claus, patron of sailors, should appear in effigy in Scottish arms more than any other saint, with mediaeval foundations in Glasgow and Aberdeen dedicated to him.
Arms of the Burgh of Prestwick taken from an ancient seal and registered in 1921. 
A motto was added to the arms of the Burgh of Prestwick in 1955.
In 1982, Prestwick Community Council was permitted to matriculate the former burgh arms.
St Nicholas also appears in the arms of the former Prestwick Public School in 1949.
Its successor, Prestwick High School, later Academy, matriculated arms in 1961. The Three Pickled Boys in the Brine Tub refers to one of the saints stranger miracles and acts as a reminder to the jeunesse dorée of Ayrshire to sharpen up its act or become a laughing stock....
Aberdeen Old People's Welfare Association marked its connection with St Nicholas's Kirk by including a representation of the saint in its arms of 1968.
We remember the mediaeval hospital in Glasgow dedicated to the saint and founded by Bishop Muirhead or de Durrisdeer, Only the chaplain's house, Provand's Lordship remains.
The acorns ought to be Or - perhaps lightened by the Scottish weather.
The acorns ought to be Or - perhaps lightened by the Scottish weather.
