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A Visit From St. Nicholas

December 6, 2016 By Elizabeth@ Pine Cones and Acorns 7 Comments

ALL IMAGES FROM St. Nicholas Center

Do you know what today is? The eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas. Tonight is the night you put your shoes or socks out so that St. Nick fills them up with all sorts of treats!

 I have been celebrating St. Nicholas for my entire life, and my mother before her, and her mother too, it is a custom that my family brought over from Germany. In many places where St. Nicholas is prominent his feast day is the day you receive your gifts, not Christmas. 

For those of you not familiar with St. Nicholas, here is an abbreviated history, Nicholas was born in the third century in the village of Patara. His wealthy parents died while he was very young and being the devout Christian that he was he set about giving away his inheritance, to the poor, needy and suffering people in his town. He was raised by his uncle who was a member of the clergy and he dedicated himself to serving God, while still young he became the Bishop of Myra. He became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need and his love for children as well as his concern for sailors and ships. In fact he is the patron saint of children and sailors.

There are many tales and legends of the life and deeds of St. Nicholas which help us to understand why he was so loved and revered. One famous story tells the tale of three young girls who had no dowry, their father was a mean and nasty man and said that with no dowry he could not keep them, he would have to sell them as slaves. Nicholas heard this and tried to think of ways to get them money, without offering charity, as he knew the father would not take it. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, money appeared in their home.  The bags of coins where thrown in an open window, and  landed in their shoes drying by the sill. Hence the reason we put our shoes out!

Some people say it was bags of money, some people say gold balls , that is why you see three gold balls sometimes represented as oranges as the symbol of St. Nicholas, hence the reason  you always find an orange in your shoe or sock along with your other goodies. It is also the reason St. Nicholas became known as a gift giver.

The anniversary of the death of  St. Nicholas also became a celebration of his life, December 6th or if you follow the Julian calendar December 19th. So on the eve of his celebration we leave out our shoes or stockings and a few carrots for his horse or donkey and hope that in the morning we will find some treats, if your bad all you get is a few twigs or some coal.

We do also celebrate Christmas, this was just a little visit from the great man to make sure that we were being good. Apparently we were because we always got an orange, and lots of treats.

What about you? Do you celebrate St.Nick? What are your family traditions? I love hearing all about other peoples traditions or traditions from your country so please do share.

I hope you have a great night, get your shoes or your stocking out, you never know if you are going to get a visit from old St. Nick!

This is from the St. Nicholas site but you can make your own at Wordle.

If you are interested there are tons of books written on St.Nicholas, and also how the Saint transformed into the modern Santa Claus, Pere Noel or Father Christmas. 

Here are a few of my favorite: 

The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving   

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend

The Legend of Saint Nicholas

The Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale 

Whatever you know him by, he was a lover of children whatever your age. You can also find lots of information at the St. Nicholas Center where there are images of the man, a history of his life and of course suggestions for celebrating his life. You can also find information HERE.

All images from the St. Nicholas Center HERE

If you would like to whip up a tasty treat this week check out The Best Chocolate Cheesecake I made recently. It is fabulous! 


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Happy St. Nicholas, Happy St. Nick

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    December 5, 2016 at 7:01 am

    Saint Nicolas is celebrated in northern France but not in the south. Husband says that as a kid, he got a present for Saint Nicolas but not for Christmas. I once was in a little town in the Netherlands when St. Nicolas and Zwarte Piet came sailing into the harbor. It was quite the festival.
    I'm bookmarking your cheesecake recipe!

    Reply
  2. Castles Crowns and Cottages says

    December 5, 2016 at 10:47 am

    It is truly a wonderful time of year, celebrating the goodwill of man and the divine gift of God. Hallelujah!

    Reply
  3. Preppy Empty Nester says

    December 5, 2016 at 12:24 pm

    As always, you leave me drooling for that chocolate cheesecake. St. Nicholas is one of my favorite saints. Have a great week.

    Reply
  4. Decor To Adore says

    December 5, 2016 at 3:07 pm

    Oh I absolutely loved this post. So much wonderful information. It brought back lovely memories of when I lived in Germany for 3 years. Blessings of the season to you!

    Reply
  5. Splendid Market says

    December 5, 2016 at 5:07 pm

    Ahh, we used to do this with the kids when they were young. Thank you for the reminder and all of the history, you gave me an idea on how I can continue the celebration with my grown kids today.

    Reply
  6. La Contessa says

    December 5, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    IN ITALY it is the BEFANA……….JANUARY 6,th.SHE is a witch and delivers coal and or candy and fruit!I have a SON NAMED NICHOLAS……………perhaps I need to forward this POST on to HIM!

    Reply
  7. William Kendall says

    December 5, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    It's also common in the Netherlands.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Elizabeth. I'm "mad for plaid", a good book, a cup of hot chocolate and my pups. Join me as I find the beauty in life and elevate the everyday.

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