From Women for Faith & Family:
"Early in the Advent season celebrate a feast that has been popular for centuries in Christian countries, especially in Northern Europe. In our over-commercialized society, this holiday gives us a good "teaching moment" to remind children that Jolly Santa Claus, is, in fact, Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop of the city of Myra in what is now Turkey.
Saint Nicholas was renowned for his great kindness and his generous aid to those in distress. Among the kind and miraculous acts attributed to him are saving three young girls from prostitution by secretly providing them with dowries, raising three murdered boys from the dead, and saving sailors caught in stormy seas. For these reasons, he is considered the patron saint of children, unmarried girls, and sailors, among others.
Traditional celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day in Northern Europe included gifts left in children's shoes (the origin of our American Christmas stockings). Good children receive treats - candies, cookies, apples and nuts, while naughty children receive switches or lumps of coal. Sometimes coins were left in the shoes, reminiscent of the the life-saving doweries the saint provided. Today - especially in families of German extraction - children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and expect to find candy and coins or small gifts in their shoe on December 6th."
Also see:
Who is Saint Nicholas.
Saint Nicholas Day Cookies, Stories and Coloring Pages
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4 comments:
I have some friends out here that do this. That's how I learned about it. I'm of mostly Scottish descent and we weren't raised with St. Nick Day, but Mama told me that when she was growing up in rural Southeastern NC, Santa Claus visited on Christmas Eve, but they celebrated on "Old Christmas", Janury 6th. They exchanged presents then.
Ever heard of that before?
Elizabeth
I have ALWAYS love St. Nicholas day!! We celebrate it in our home ever year. I love the picture you posted.. I think you meant to put Sunday instead of Friday for St. Nick's day- right? Sunday is the 6th.
Thanks for such a great blog! I am an avid follower!
Sincerely,
Jo
Thanks Jo Shabo!
Sure, January 6th is the Epiphany, and the real 12th day of Christmas, AKA: Twelfth Night. The Irish celebrate it from the old Gregorian calendar. I'll have to post about this again...I love the different Christmas traditions! Thanks for the reminder. :)
The shoe sounds like fun for the kids.
Mama was just telling me how she and her 10 brothers and sisters put shoeboxes under the tree and got fruit, nuts and chocolate drops in them. They each also got a toy and an article of clothes. The girls got a doll and she couldn't remember what the boys got. Of course this wasn't on St. Nicholas Day, but your post reminded me of her story.
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