St. Nicholas Day

December 6th

 

In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children’s wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come. Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day. Parties may be held on the eve, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself. 

In Germany….

Customs Around the World

Aruba	Hungary	Poland
Austria	Iceland	Romania
Belgium	Ireland	Russia
Bulgaria	Italy	Serbia
Canada	Lebanon	Slovakia
Croatia	Liechtenstein	Slovenia
Czech Republic	Luxembourg	Spain
England (UK)	Republic of Macedonia	Switzerland
France	Malta	Turkey
Georgia	Netherlands	Ukraine
Germany	Netherlands Antilles	United States
Greece	Palestine

 

St. Nicholas and American Christmas Customs

Christmas stockings by the fireplace
And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there, goes the oft repeated Christmas rhyme. In the story of Nicholas rescuing the poor maidens from being sold into slavery, the gold dowry money, tossed in through the window, is said to have landed in stockings left to dry before the fire.

Orange or tangerine in the toe of filled Christmas stockings
The gold Nicholas threw to provide the dowry money is often shown as gold balls. These are symbolized by oranges or even apples. So the orange in the toe of the stocking is a reminder of Nicholas’ gift.

Candy Canes *
These are really candy croziers, one of St. Nicholas’ symbols. All bishops carry staffs, hooked at the top like a shepherd’s crook, showing they are the shepherds who care for, or tend, their people.
St. Nicholas Day Blessing of Candy Canes

Gift-giving in secret, during the night
Stockings are filled while children are sleeping. Nicholas did his gift giving secretly, under cover of darkness. He didn’t want to be seen and recognized as he wanted those he helped to give thanks to God.

Seasonal concern for the needy
St. Nicholas gave gifts to those in greatest need—the young and the most vulnerable. Christmas gifts and baskets given to those in need, along with other seasonal contributions to charity, reflect St. Nicholas’ unselfish concern for others. He never wanted or expected anything in return.

 

* A crozier, or bishop’s staff, is a common symbol for a bishop and is often used to identify St. Nicholas. Symbolizing a shepherd’s staff, it is a visible reminder of a bishop’s responsibility to care for people as the Good Shepherd cares for his sheep.

Information, thanks to: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/

A Celebration of Women

sends our blessings to all that honor this Day.

Celebrate St. Nicholas Day!