Anyone Celebrate St. Nicholas Day?

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I was just wondering if anyone else here celebrates St. Nicholas’s Feast Day? This time last year I was just starting RCIA so I didn’t really do anything, but this year I’m planning a big meal (it is a ‘Feast’ Day…) and I’ve made my family all felt green shoes that I’m going to fill with nuts, ornaments, chocolate coins, candy canes, little chocolate St. Nicks (Santa Clauses technically) and a poem that’s written by ‘St. Nicholas’ apologizing for intruding into their home but wishing them a happy Advent. They don’t even know about any of that yet, I’m going to sneak them into their houses/bedrooms while they’re at work on Thursday and leave them where they’ll see them. I’m finding I’m really looking forward to it; I keep thinking of it as the Little Christmas. I also bought them all Advent Calendars.

What do y’all do?
 
We do! The kids put out their shoes and each gets a small gift. St. Nick day is also when we put up the Christmas decorations. We leave them up til Epiphany.
 
My bf’s family celebrates it; all the kids set out socks the night before, and ‘St. Nick’ comes in the night and fills them with little goodies. I think it’s kind of a neat idea. 😛
 
duskyjewel said:
We do! The kids put out their shoes and each gets a small gift. St. Nick day is also when we put up the Christmas decorations. We leave them up til Epiphany.
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Our kids at home are 21 and 16. We still put shoes out! (my 19 yr old is in the Navy and I sent him a box 🙂

Now that they’re older, I give them each candy and a tree ornament. —KCT
 
We put our shoes out and find them filled with candies on the morning of Nov 6th… so much fun! 👍
 
My family and I used to be part of a local Byzantine parish and St. Nikolas was always a big feast day.
 
Anyone have any special foods that they make?

My family is all protestant, but they’re getting well fed so they don’t mind! I told my mom it’s a “Feast Day” and we’d have a feast dagnabit. We’re having Stuffed Chicken with an Apple Glaze and Potato Soup, Crandberry Sauce and I’m making fresh bread. For dessert we’re having the traditional speculaas cookies. As an appetizer I’m going to roast some chestnuts. (In our oven, we don’t have a fireplace for an ‘open fire’ )

Pictures will be on my blog tomorrow evening hopefully. I’m excited! 😃
 
This evening we were going to attend Great Vespers with the Saint Nicholas festivities afterward. The kids sing a song and Saint Nicholas comes out and distributes toys and gifts. But my two oldest are sick:( Ah, next year.
 
Our Catholic Community is! Tomorrow night, we’re leaving our shoes outside our dorm doors to get candy:)
 
Well of course we do! And how timely I should read this thread, as I just stuffed the kids shoes with some speculaas and chocolate coins(aka Hanukah Gelt) to symbolize the money St. Nicholas gave needy girls for their dowrys. The kids and I always go over the story of the ‘real’ Santa Clause, and every year they are intrigued.

I grew up going to St. Nicholas parish and school, so needless to say it was always a big deal. Next to Santa Lucia it’s our favorite Advent Feast Day!

Your festivities sound great, can’t wait to see pictures!🙂
 
I’m too old for the “shoe” tradition, so a few years ago I started buying little small gifts for my sister’s kids and my brother’s kids. This year I feel bad cause I didn’t get anything in time for my sister’s three kids. For my niece who loves the Disney Princesses, the last few years I got her a puzzle - Ariel or Jasmine or Cinderella. This year I got her and her sister a Snoopy that plays music (its the linus and lucy theme but its to “We wish you a merry Christmas” in the tune). Then I got them each a little bag of m&m cookies for their shoes.

When I was little and put my shoe out, I got my Christmas list finished, rolled it up, and placed it under the tree skirt. In the morning it would be gone ( 😉 ) and I’d have some candy in my shoe. I think we did this at school, too, the shoe thing that is. And then I think the Principal came by and put something in each of our shoes. Fun times. 🙂

Saint Nicholas is the patron of children. 🙂
 
We’re doing it for the first time this year!

We’re going to open our stocking presents tomorrow morning - nothing too fancy or expensive, and the kids put out their shoes tonight before bed. I’m going to fill them with some candy treats tonight after they fall asleep. We also read a story which was really cute, explaining how “Santa Claus” is really “St. Nicholas, Bishop” and that the baby Jesus is his best friend.

We’re not going to have a huge meal, unfortunately, but the kids will have hot chocolate as a special treat, it’s apparently one of St. Nicholas’s favorite drinks. 😉

We got most of our ideas here:
amazon.com/Advent-Christmas-Epiphany-Domestic-Church/dp/0898708591

I also found this website though too late for this year. They have cute cookie-cutters that are in the shape of a St. Nicholas, Bishop:
stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23
They do have ideas though for supplementing your St. Nick celebration!
 
This morning I discovered my MIL had come by and put out plates of chocolate for myself (dark), DH (milk), and my sister-in-law (white). Just had a mini Sinterklaas with my coffee 😃 It’s a thrill for me, as an American having my first Christmas season in Europe.

I had bought DH a traditional large Sinterklaas (accompanied by the kids in the tub of acid) and my MIL a white chocolate cat (she’s a cat nut). DH got me a chocolate teddy bear, since they were out of St. Nick’s by the time he remembered to go to the bakery, and Black Pete freaks me out 😃

I think SIL is coming over for dinner tonight, and we’ll be putting up decorations/singing some songs. I REALLY get a kick out of the Dutch St. Nicholas=Santa view of things - he’s not the jolly, secular fat man I grew up with, but in his full Bishop’s regalia. I may get nostalgic for Santa Claus in awhile, but right now I’m enjoying the depictions here.

All the chocolate is going to blow my diet though - DH says his boss will be giving them tons to take home as well.
 
St Nick’s Day has been and almost gone here - we’re on the other side of the International Date Line remember - and I just realised not a single mention of him at Mass today 😦

Oh well, at least I WENT to Mass so indirectly honoured him at least - and it’s not too late to say some prayers and light a candle in his honour!
 
We did it for the first time this year.
DD gets up at 0530 so we can get out the door by 0600 or 0615.
She is usually surly in the mornings (what 3 year old wouldn’t be surly after being roused from a warm bed?), and this morning was not exception.
As we were finished getting ready, I told her to go get her shoes on. She talked over to her shoes, whining, and then stopped. I looked over and asked if she was ok. She goes “There’s a cookie (Little Debbie gingerbread man) in my shoe, Mama!” “There is?!” “A cookie, Mama!” “It’s from St. Nicholas” “OOOOO” (I don’t think she gets it, that’s ok). Then she took out the cookie… “CHOCOLATE!” (3 chocolate gold coins were underneath the cookie).
Having a cookie and chocolate for breakfast in the car made her one happy little girl.
 
PatienceAndLove said:
Having a cookie and chocolate for breakfast in the car made her one happy little girl.
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I bet it did!! We had snow yesterday so school was delayed today. I told the kids that was their St Nick present! 😛 I did make muffins for breakfast and they ate their advent calendar chocolate.
 
PatienceAndLove said:
Having a cookie and chocolate for breakfast in the car made her one happy little girl.
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My boys got their M&M’s after breakfast this morning too! 😃 Amazingly they gobbled up their vitamins without a fight… apparently bribing DOES work… 😉

It was so funny this morning… I was downstairs eating breakfast and I heard footsteps upstairs (one of my boys getting out of bed)… but no talking at all…

Then all I hear is <>><>> of candy wrappers…

I marched upstairs and my 2 1/2 year old (barely awake, hair standing up, pacifier barely hanging on his tongue) had FISTFULS of M&M packets in his paws…
Apparently he had found his brother’s shoes too! :rolleyes:
 
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