Saint Nicholas Day Surprise
December 5th, 2012
Today is the eve of Saint Nicholas Day. What is Saint Nicholas day you ask? Well it was a holiday created by the Catholic church to celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas, patron saint of children. St. Nick was the man who inspired the legend, Santa Claus. My family and I were fortunate enough to live in Germany (Germany KNOWS how to do Christmas) and while we were there we adopted many traditions. On the eve of Saint Nicholas day children in Germany put their shoes outside, when they wake in the morning the shoes have been filled with treats by Saint Nicholas himself. I remember having a lot of fun with this tradition. I thought I would teach some American kids the tradition as well. I had my co-worker Amanda's little sisters put out shoes. I had my boyfriend Jason's nephew put out shoes. I also had my friend Mandie's nephew put out shoes. The kids are all around 8, which is the perfect age! I made
sure their parents did not say why they needed to do so. Then after they all
went to bed I drove to their houses and filled their shoes with treats
and a little story about the tradition. Here is the story
Today is Noel, Kris Kringle, or St. Nicholas Day!!!!!!! Before
there was Santa Claus, there was St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was a very wealthy
man. His parents left him loads of money, more money than he knew what to do
with. St. Nicholas was also a kind and giving man. He traveled the lands and
would drop gold and presents into the chimneys for families in needs. He also
would fill the children’s shoes with goodies and toys. Nicholas was made a
saint because of all his charity. He is the patron saint of all children. In
many countries around the world people still celebrate St. Nicholas, or as you
know him better, Santa Claus, the man. On the eve of December 6th,
children put their shoes outside and if they have been good St. Nicholas will
fill them with treats! Looks like you have been good this year! If you ever
have any doubt that Santa is real, just remember St. Nick is real; he is in the
history books! Also, if you get gifts on St. Nicholas day there is a good
chance you won’t get coal on Christmas. Merry Merry Christmas to you!!!
I had lots of fun being a little elf. I am excited to hear about their reactions tomorrow. I can remember how purely excited things like this made me as a kid. I hope I am able to ignite that feeling in these great kids. Part of what makes Christmas so fun is the traditions. It takes effort to keep traditions alive. I hope I was able to pass along my families traditions to theirs!
The haul
This is Mandie's nephew Caleb's little shoe He only left out one shoe but it got stuffed full.
I used to freak out when we did the shoe thing outside our classroom at school during nap time...trying to stay awake to catch a glimpse! See? He IS real!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful surprise for those children. This would be an awesome thing to do at an orphange or at a children's hospital. Maybe the girls and I will look into the possibility for next year. Love the quote!
ReplyDeleteThis was so much fun. The kids totally FREAKED!!
ReplyDelete