It’s Nikolaus day!
Even though I live in the U.K., I like to celebrate St Nikolaus day with my children in the same way I would were we to live in Germany. I grew up with the tradition of putting my welly boot outside the front door during the night of 5 December, in hopes that St Nikolaus would stop by on his sleigh and drop off some sweets and perhaps a small present. Last night, my kids put their wellies by our fireplace alongside a little treat…
…and hoped for the best. Inevitably, they watched out of the window half the night to see if there was a sleigh, or even simply sleigh marks on the lawn (there’s no snow, so the sleigh marks would be pretty spectacular!). Inevitably, they rose even earlier than normal to race downstairs and see if the mysterious, red-coated Saint had indeed made the journey and….
Success. It’s such a joy to see their little faces aglow and it sweetens the Advent season and waiting for Christmas no end (pun intended).
My favourite memories of St Nikolaus day? Well, I have two. On one occasion, St Nikolaus didn’t just bring sweet treats, but actual snow. So much so in fact that the primary school closed and Mum took me sledging. A magical day!
The other occasion is even more mysterious. I six and was just beginning to doubt the veracity of the man and the event, but I wisely held my tongue. (Amazing how kids have an innate ability to sit on the fence when it comes to sweet traditions, right?) Well, that night, a book appeared alongside the sweets in my welly. A dedication had been written in the book ~ it said, “From the Unknown Nikolaus.” I was unbelievably excited and the provenance of the book remained a mystery. Today, I have an idea, of course, but I still remember the magic and the excitement.
Nicky Wells: Love & Thrills 
I wish I could be that six-year-old kid again and have the fun of St. Nikolaus Day one more time. Those were good days. Thanks for the reminder of how it was. Nice that you’re carrying on the tradition with your kids.
Hi Anneli, I thought you might enjoy this post and wishing you a very Happy Nikolaus day indeed! You are right, oh to be six again, oh for the innocence and excitement… ah well, we get to do it all again through our children! Thanks for visiting. 🙂 xx
Yes, I did enjoy reading all about it. Have a good one yourself.
When I was eight or nine our Sunday school would visit the local villages during the evening in the weeks leading up to Christmas and sing carols. My ‘now’ favourite is the Advent candle, lit daily and showing the countdown to Christmas. It’s lovely that you have passed on your magic childhood experiences to your children Nicky. Things like that are so essential as today Christmas is so commercial!
Hi Jo! Oh yes, I remember visiting local people as well; the church youth group would gather with recorders and candles and visit the old people all over our ‘village’ and sing and bring them biscuits. That was magical!
I love the advent candle ~ and have you heard of the advent wreath? Four candles, one to be lit on every one of the last four Sundays before Christmas (the Sundays of advent) so every week, it gets a little lighter. We do that, too. Lovely! Thanks for visiting and have a great day!! xx
Thanks for sharing this with photos, Nicky.
carol xx
You’re welcome, so glad you could visit! 🙂 x
I love the ribbon with which you decorated your blog for us, Nicky! And St. Nick’s? ‘Course we celebrate it! Two children trapped in adult bodies and we put our boots on the balcony and don’t want to go to bed… because you never know, the big ol’ red guy might just make it again this year. And he did! Can you imagine our surprise?
Ho Ho Ho! Thanks for stopping by and so glad St Nick’s came to visit you this year. You must have been a good girl!! Thank you for noticing the Christmas decorations… just a little experiment, but if you like it, I shall leave it up. Have a great week! xx