St. Nicholas Day

[snowball22]

Just a reminder for those who like to partake in the tradition of St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas comes to homes on the eve of December 6 and fills shoes left out by the good behaved children with nuts, chocolates and citris. For the naughty ones, potatos and coal are left. We do this every year in honor of our German heritage.

 

[pooh4evr]

When St Nick visits us we leave our christmas lists out - he takes them and leaves us goodies in our stocking!

 

[karebear1]

ST. Nicholas always leaves a Hallmark Ornament along with the nuts,etc. He's such a great guy!

 

[mtemm]

my kids put their shoes out the eve of the 5th, then on the 6th wake up to find goodies. do we have the date wrong? this is how I grew up doing it.

hmmm...st. nick better get cracking. lol.

 

[kristen821]

ST. Nicholas always leaves a Hallmark Ornament along with the nuts,etc. He's such a great guy!

He leaves my kids each a Hallmark Ornament to with the year on it also, a few small toys

 

[kristen821]

my kids put their shoes out the eve of the 5th, then on the 6th wake up to find goodies. do we have the date wrong? this is how I grew up doing it.

hmmm...st. nick better get cracking. lol.

leave your shoes out Dec. 5th night to have them filled by morning on Dec. 6

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay!!!!!

 

[Tinijocaro]

We put our stockings out and put usually a Christmas or regular DVD, and a couple very small things along with it. It's also my youngest dd's birthday.

Jackie

 

[Planogirl]

I remember when we lived in Holland and St Nicholas actually came to visit. Or at least I believed that it was really him.

Vrolijke St Nicholas Dag!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

leave your shoes out Dec. 5th night to have them filled by morning on Dec. 6

When we had a German exchange student, she had us put our shoes out on the 5th in the evening, and then on the 6th there were goodies in them.

Here's some info on St. Nick (btw, my ds is named after him)

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=371

Through the centuries St. Nicholas has continued to be venerated by Catholics and Orthodox and honored by Protestants. By his example of generosity to those in need, especially children, St. Nicholas continues to be a model for the compassionate life.

Widely celebrated in Europe, St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed as bishops begged alms for the poor—and sometimes for themselves! In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas arrived on a steamship from Spain to ride a white horse on his gift-giving rounds. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving and merrymaking in much of Europe. For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas' Day is celebrated with the sharing of candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. Simple gift-giving in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child.

 

[Planogirl]

Widely celebrated in Europe, St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed as bishops begged alms for the poor—and sometimes for themselves! In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas arrived on a steamship from Spain to ride a white horse on his gift-giving rounds. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving and merrymaking in much of Europe. For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas' Day is celebrated with the sharing of candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. Simple gift-giving in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child.

I just LOVE the chocolate letters. We can buy them now at a Dutch store just north of Houston.

I remember the candy flying in the door when St Nick arrived with Piet and then looking forward to the good little things the next day. You know, the holiday festivities are really so much simpler (and less costly!) over there.

 

[NMAmy]

You should read the David Sedaris essay, "Six to Eight Black Men" from his book, Dress Your Family in Corderoy and Denim. The only thing funnier than reading it is listening to him read it on audio tape.

It tells about Christmas in the Netherlands and it's hysterical.

 

[disykat]

It sounds like a sweet tradition. Unforunately my only experience with St. Nicholas Day was bad. My roommate freshman year of college was quite needy. She kept talking about St. Nicks Day, so on that day I took one of her shoes and filled it with some candy and small toys/gadgets. I thought I was being a pretty cool roommate. Apparently I didn't do it well enough, because she went on and on about how disappointing it was. Grr. It makes me mad just thinking about it - it's not like she filled my shoe or anything. She just wanted hers filled - and wanted it filled well!

If she had only told me about the potatoes and the coal, I could have done that instead!

 

[ntburns22]

This is one great tradition I get to do with my family. My grandmother (born in Germany) did it for my dad. My parents did it for me and know I get to do this with my own children.

 

[canwegosoon]

I leave Hersheys Kisses....(I am St. Nick)

 

[karebear1]

I leave Hersheys Kisses....(I am St. Nick)

ARE NOT!!!!

 

[luvthatduke]

You should read the David Sedaris essay, "Six to Eight Black Men" from his book, Dress Your Family in Corderoy and Denim. The only thing funnier than reading it is listening to him read it on audio tape.

It tells about Christmas in the Netherlands and it's hysterical.

Now, that was a funny read!! Thanks! .

While eight flying reindeer are a hard pill to swallow, our Christmas story remains relatively dull. Santa lives with his wife in a remote polar village and spends one night a year traveling around the world. If you're bad, he leaves you coal. If you're good and live in America, he'll give you just about anything you want. We tell our children to be good and send them off to bed, where they lie awake, anticipating their great bounty.
A Dutch parent has a decidedly hairier story to relate, telling his children, "Listen, you might want to pack a few of your things together before going to bed. The former bishop of Turkey will be coming tonight along with six to eight black men. They might put some candy in your shoes, they might stuff you in a sack and take you to Spain, or they might just pretend to kick you. We don't know for sure, but we want you to be prepared."

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Now, that was a funny read!! Thanks! .

While eight flying reindeer are a hard pill to swallow, our Christmas story remains relatively dull. Santa lives with his wife in a remote polar village and spends one night a year traveling around the world. If you're bad, he leaves you coal. If you're good and live in America, he'll give you just about anything you want. We tell our children to be good and send them off to bed, where they lie awake, anticipating their great bounty.
A Dutch parent has a decidedly hairier story to relate, telling his children, "Listen, you might want to pack a few of your things together before going to bed. The former bishop of Turkey will be coming tonight along with six to eight black men. They might put some candy in your shoes, they might stuff you in a sack and take you to Spain, or they might just pretend to kick you. We don't know for sure, but we want you to be prepared."

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

My kids always get some chocolate and an orange in the stocking, along with some sort of small toys. OMG, I am SOOOOO excited about one of the toys I found. My friend had one of these at work and it is hysterical! I know my kids are going to just think it's the funniest thing....

http://www.groovycandies.com/V2ProdDetail1.asp?Product_ID=1162


PS in case anyone is interested... I found them at Joann Fabrics