St. Nicholas Day!

We celebrated St. Nicholas Day today. A European tradition, and one celebrated in many cities with strong German heritage like St. Louis! 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 in the world 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. 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.

So we shared this tradition with Sophie today! She was kind of confused as to where he "purple kitchen" was that she is hoping that Santa brings her. We just told her that St. Nick is one of Santa's helpers and that we are going to visit Santa today!

He packed the stockings extra tight!

A special note from St. Nicholas

Eager to dig in and see what he brought.

Sticks and coal...Think these were misplaced and supposed to be in Poppa's stocking :-)

Last year, St. Nick somehow managed to find us over the Pacific too!