St. Nickolas Day

December 6th was St. Nicholas Day, the day designated by the Catholic Church to honor the man named Nicholas who was Bishop of Myra, which is now a part of Turkey, and noted for his saintly life.

His birth date is unknown, but December 6th is the generally agreed upon date of his death and it is this date that is celebrated in Churches as well as a secular holiday in many countries.  Nicholas lived in the fourth century and died in 342 A.D. He was the son of a wealthy family who became a monk in his teens and later a priest and Bishop. Following the death of his parent's he used his inheritance to help those in need. His acts of kindness and mercy were legendary and he became known throughout Christendom as a saintly man.

During the Middle Ages the harsh dreariness of everyday life was mitigated somewhat by the festivities that surrounded the feast days of popular, well known saints. Our word holiday is derived from holy day, the days set aside by the Church to honor and remember various saints on their feast days. These holy day celebrations were a combination of both religious and secular elements which included a Mass in honor of the saint whose feast was being celebrated as well secular activities like having the day off from work, serving of special foods, singing, dancing, etc. Nicholas, as patron saint of children became very popular and his feast day widely celebrated.

Lucky for us, St. Nicholas continues to bring candy, little treats or gifts and leaves them in empty shoes on the doorstep as he makes his rounds during the night.  

My kids had learned about this fun German holiday in their German classes at school and were sure to remind me (especially Megan) that they needed to put a shoe outside on St. Nikolas Eve.  Sure enough, in the morning the shoes were filled with yummy German chocolates and a 2 euro coin.  So fun!  Next year I think Chris and I will put our shoes out too!