Sunday, December 6, 2009

St. Nicholas Day






This year we celebrated St. Nicholas Day for the first time.  We don't include Santa in our Christmas traditions, even though the boys know who he is....or isn't, as the case may be.  Anyway, we wanted to incorporate the traditional elements, without confusing what we're really celebrating.  And so, enter St. Nicholas Day.  If you don't know about the origins of St. Nicholas, you can read about it here, particularly in the Legends and Folklore section.  The bottom line is that he was a real man who anonymously gave to those in need.  So, we decided to follow the tradition of putting our shoes on the hearth (or outside the door) on the night of the 5th and on the 6th we all opened our stockings.  It was a fun way to make Christmas seem longer.  And I appreciated having something to celebrate early in the month.

The traditional gifts for St. Nicholas Day are nuts, fruit, candy and/or a small gift.  

Here are some pics!


 

 

 



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