Comments on: How to Celebrate Saint Nicholas Day

on 9/6/2008 My family has celebrated St. Nicholas Day for as long as I can remember. But it was a prelude to Christmas, we would leave out our shoes near our bed the night before. St. Nick would come and fill them overnight, maybe a small gift and candy or just some candy. We would try leaving out boots, they hold more, y'know !!

on 12/6/2007 Wonderful. A lifelong Christian, I had never known about the December 6th festivities. Thank you.

on 12/6/2007 The primary idea I got from this article on St. Nicholas was to celebrate Christ's Birthday on December 25th and honor the true Father Christmas on December 6th or 19th, whichever we can all agree with.

on 12/6/2007 I plan to celebrate. I am president of Center Of Unconditional Love at www.unconditionallovelive.com. We celebrate National Forgiveness Day on the last Saturday of October of each year. Will you help us celebrate NFD in 2008 and beyond? For the record, Jesus was born on August 21, baptised on Jan. 14, and resurrected on April 9. Should God's people celebrate these days?

on 12/10/2006 This is when my children put their letter to Santa in the stockings...it put an end to their asking for more and more and I picked a few things from the lists so they did get something they asked for.

on 1/4/2006 The official day is the 6th of December. Because he was such a good man, he gives rather than receives presents on his birthday and these presents are distributed on the eve of his birthday, i.e. the 5th of December (pakjesavond).
The tradition is also to put out your shoe (by the fireplace) some nights before the 5th with a carrot or hay for St Nicholas' horse and to sing him a traditional song. The next morning there will be a small treat in it.
Lots of traditional foods and drinks are associated with this feast. As children, this was a much bigger thing than Christmas.

on 11/22/2005 Saint Nicholas died on December 6, 343 according to the old calendar. Therefore, Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 19th among Orthodox Christians.

on 11/22/2005 We celebrate St. Nicholas by giving special tree ornaments to each other in the family. We decorate the tree on the 5th of December and share the first holiday treats, plus a large chocolate initial. My father tells stories of his childhood in Holland.

on 11/22/2005 I think that St. Nick's Day is also a good time to put the finishing touches on your Christmas decorations: put the angel on top of the tree, turn on your outside lights, hang your ornaments. To my family, it is the beginning of the holiday season.

on 11/22/2005 In Germany, the Netherlands and parts of France, children believe that St. Nicholas visits their home on the eve of his day. If they're good, he puts cookies, nuts and candies in their shoes before they awake on Dec. 6. If they're bad, they're punished.