On the eve of St. Nicholas Day, the girls and I lit lights in every window,
they lined their shoes in a row,
and, in the dead of night, St. Nicholas-- the real saint, mind you, not the slick modern incarnation-- filled their shoes with all manner of things he bought 90% off on Christmas clearance last year. (Yeah, he's so thrifty he even buys candy with a long shelf life a year ahead of time. Go, Saint Nick!)
I can't wait until he fills their shoes with bags of gold for their dowries!
(I'm waiting on the bags of gold, smarties, not for my little girls rushing off to get married.)
p.s. In case you're scowling with disapproval right now, we've never taught our children to believe in anything but the reality of the historical Saint Nicholas, but that doesn't stop us from taking great delight in pretending. Reindeer food, anyone?
ReplyDeleteCrunch.
(Delicious.)
I love the montage to the historical Saint Nicholas, and the cleverness of a wonderful Mom! I worked with an educator who grew up in Germany and he told great stories of their St. Nicholas celebrations (1940's). He spoke of the luxury of receiving an orange in his shoe, a piece of chocolate and sometimes a small toy. What a fun tradition, Abigail!
ReplyDeleteOur kiddo's only know of Saint Nicholas also & love listening to daddy tell about him.
ReplyDeleteLove the shoes! Awesome idea! You are a amazing woman!
Putting out shoes for St. Nicholas is still a lively tradition in Europe and in some Roman Catholic homes, and I think more should join in! All it took was a few coins, a few trinkets, and a few lollipops to make their week.
ReplyDeleteWe've only been doing this for a few years, because even with my Polish heritage, it wasn't a part of my Christmas celebration growing up. But, then, neither was celebrating Advent with nightly readings or, in the mornings, tracing Jesus' path to the manger through His ancestors, or having a Jesse tree that magically turns into a bespangled Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, and all of these practices have enriched my understanding of and appreciation for this special time.
I was just thinking this St. Nicholas Day, that I really need to celebrate my dutch heritage with a bit of shoe-filled fun on the day.
ReplyDeleteIt was always the tradition of my Oma and Opa to buy each of us children a chocolate letter from the Dutch Store each Christmas. Now that Oma has passed away and Opa is no longer able, I was thinking I would like to continue on in that tradition. No better time than St. Nicholas day!
(PS. Ever watched the movie Christmas Story? Not A Christmas Story. JUST Christmas Story. It is a Scandinavian tale about the beginning of St. Nicholas. Not at all historical, just fun. But it is beautiful from beginning to end if you love a good story and don't mind foreign lips speaking english words a few seconds behind.
It is my favorite Christmas movie now, since I discovered it last year. And every time I watch it I have this intense desire to make myself a bright red cape and dress my children in pilgrim bonnets and hats. I COULD, however, live without Matt copying the beard. ;-)
Ah, yes.
ReplyDeleteNothing like replying to month-old comments on a dusty blog.
So, you won't read this but...
1. You have the perfect shoes for it, too! (The klompen, of course, although the red heels would work in a pinch.)
2. Never seen the movie, but if it includes bright red caps and pilgrim bonnets, I'm in! You should indulge this desire. (Matt, of course, needs no encouragement.)
capEs.
ReplyDeleteAlthough red caps are nearly as nice.