Grab your shoes, it’s St. Nicholas Day!
Posted by staff / December 6, 2010
If you were really lucky growing up, you can remember getting a taste of Christmas by putting your shoes outside on the night of December sixth and waking up to a foot-full (or two) of candy. If not, then here’s an easy and relatively cheap tradition to start in your own home, or as a way of driving your naughty roommate crazy by filling their shoes with dirt.
The story behind Saint Nicholas is that he was a Turkish bishop in the fourth century who enjoyed surprising people in need with gifts. Good children traditionally received sweets or fruit, while the less-than-satisfactory got a lump of coal. Funny how they don’t sell lumps of coal anywhere, isn’t it?
Full story at Time Newsfeed.
I only recently became aware of the St. Nicholas day tradition of putting your shoes out for gifts. I am sad that my parents didn’t do this with us kids when we were little. I think I would almost prefer it to gifts under the Christmas tree…maybe I will start this tradition with my own kids.