Origin of St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6^th and even though it’s not widely celebrated in the United States, in Northern Europe St. Nicholas Day it is a really big deal. Traditional celebrations include gifts left in children’s shoes which many say is where we got the idea for stockings from.

Good children receive treats – candies, cookies, apples and nuts – while naughty children receive lumps of coal. In Germany, children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and hope to find candy, coins and maybe a small gift in them on Dec. 6. In the Netherlands, children put their shoes in front of their chimneys in hopes of finding chocolate or a small toy in their shoe when they wake.

Can I just say ewwww?  Candy and cookies left in stinky shoes?  No thank you.  I will stick with our traditions that don’t involve making me gag. 

Regardless, celebrate however you like but if you ask me if I’d like a piece of candy, I may think twice!

R. K. Avery
www.rkaverybooks.com
@RKAvery1