How do you explain St. Nick's day to your children?

[Diznygrl]

I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school, and every year in elementary we would get a visit from St. Nick sometime during the day. He would tell us his story and then hand out caramels.

Oddly enough, that was the extent of my exposure to St. Nick as a child, even though we are German Catholic. I never got my shoes filled with candy in the middle of the night. Come to think of it, Santa hardly ever filled my stocking, either.

 

[McKelly]

St. Nick visits this WI home too. But he fills stockings, not shoes.

 

[themilesfamily]

Did you also get funny looks when you asked where the "bubbler" was?!

Yes, I did! We now live in Iowa and my family has forbidden me from asking people where the bubbler is. Apparently it embarrasses them.

I have to go back to Wisconsin to enjoy such things.

 

[RunDanceSkate]

We continue the tradition that I experienced growing up.

St Nick fills our shoes and brings a present in early Dec. We also exchange gifts as a family.

On Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ, we enjoy mass, dinners with friends and families and parents give 3 small gifts to their children.

Only St. Nick here, No Santa Claus. We explained it to our children as, each Nationality or Religion has their own tradition, if you are Dutch/ German, St Nick comes early in the month, if you are British, Father Christmas will visit, Jewish families have their own traditions, etc. This also explains how one man could visit every house in a single night, he doesn't only the homes that are Santa Claus homes.

I grew up in a very Dutch community, we even learned Dutch in school. We always had Dec 6th off school.