December 6th is the feast day of St Nicholas.
My family, being of Norwegian origin, has always celebrated it. Mr. Fro had never even heard of it, and while I've tried to get him into it in past years, he just doesn't get it. (It is often the cause of our yearly Yuletide Disagreement which results in our bride and groom ornaments winding up on opposite sides of the tree.) Now that we have a child, I'm reinstating it.
On the night of December 5th, we hang stockings (by the chimney with care) and put our Christmas letters to Santa into the stockings. We leave cookies and milk for St. Nicholas and carrots for the reindeer. During the night, St. Nicholas comes, takes the letters, and fills our stockings with little goodies. The morning of December 6th is quite fun, waking up to see what things St. Nicholas brought. It's like a Christmas appetizer and usually marks the beginning of the holiday season for me.
The gifts St. Nicholas brings are very small. New pencils, an ornament, chocolates, Pez dispensers, socks, tic tacs, hair bows, matchbox cars, tangerines, nuts, etc. Very little stuff, but just enough to fill up a stocking and be fun.
I am going shopping tonight after Lauren is asleep for her stocking contents. I think she will probably get an ornament, some bibs, a box of cookies, and maybe a new little toy. Whatever I can find. I will shop for stocking goodies for Mr. Fro, too, Since I'm sure he has not done so, I'll pick up a few things for myself and then probably fill mine up with some of the Lush stuff I bought last week.
I am very excited to have my tradition back this year. I'm hoping that it will get me into the holiday spirit, which I just haven't been feeling, yet.
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13 comments:
That sounds like a lovely holiday tradition. Just don't put the bibs in Mr. Fro's stocking by mistake.
I love your tradition and that you are reinstating it for Lauren. I'm sure she'll remember her stockings for years to come.
My mom always put stockings out for us on Christmas eve and I always loved it. I continue the tradition with my two step-sons and even though they are 20 and 21 years old and live in Calgary, they still love that I fill their stockings up and bring them with me when I visit them at Christmas time.
For years, I always had to fill my own stocking. DH finally figured it out and now he usually puts a music CD or DVD.
Put some coal in Mr. Fro's stocking. *giggles*
I love it. And even if Mr. Fro doesn't get into it this year, I bet he will as the years go by because of Lauren.
I think I have heard of this before, except that it was done with shoes. I think my neighbor does this.
The shoes is Dutch and they should be wooden. *grin* I'm dutch so I know that one.
I agree with Boo, Mr Fro will get into it now with Lauren around. The look of wonder on a child's face is a huge motivator.
Oh fun!!
So what did you get?
Mmmm, holiday appetizer.
Peeps were just talking about this yesterday and couldn't remember if it was the 5th or 6th! Well, Happy St. Nicholas Day, Blogland!
I'm glad you have reinstated your tradition. *smooch*
*opens up my imaginary stocking*
Mmmm, Fannie May Trinidads, B&BW lotion and a LUSH bubble bar!
I think that's a great tradition. I like putting the letters to Santa inside the stockings too. Be sure to save all those letters!
I like St Lucia Day, when Swedish girls set their hair on fire, lol.
I have never heard of Swedish girls setting their hair on fire. Ouch.
My mom always filled her own stocking, too, Schnookie. That is, until I figured out that she was doing it and started getting her a few things to go in her stocking.
I actually thought about getting Mr. Fro some candy coal, but I'm glad I didn't. The Grinch's heart grew three sizes today, and I found my stocking filled up with some goodies. I got a Caribou Coffee gift card, a page a day desk calendar with mom quotes and stories, some Hershey's kisses, a photo frame ornament, a datebook for my purse, and some peanut butter penguins.
St. Nicholas brought Lauren some squirtey bath toys, a pink sippy cup, some socks with sticky treads on the bottoms, two Christmas books, cookies, and an angel ornament.
Mr. Fro got a big plastic cup with a Bears tshirt inside, some chocolate santas, arch supports for his shoes, an issue of Scientific American with a big germ on the front, a football ornament, and a bottle of Bailey's Chocolate Mint liquor. St. Nick said that he has to share that last item with me.
It was really fun. Lauren was smiling the whole time we were unpacking her stocking, and she immediately grabbed for the books. It was very cute. I didn't think to take a photo (darn).
I forgot to mention that the nice, practical side of celebrating St. Nicholas day with the letters in the stockings is that it gives, um, St. Nicholas a lot of time to actually shop for the items on the list. :)
Sounds like Hanukkah Harry but for Christians.
*smooch*
What us moms have to go through; giving presents to ourselves. Sigh.
Yay for Mr. Fro! I giggled at the arch supports.
On St Lucia Day a teenage girl from the Swedish Lutheran congregation is chosen to represent St Lucia and lead a procession of young girls down the aisle of the church. She wears a garland of white on her head, and by tradition this crown is bedecked with lights so it becomes like a halo.
Anyway, mostly they use battery-operated lights, but surprisingly often the girl wears the "traditional" beeswax candles, since the St Lucia ceremony predates electricity by many many years. Thus every couple of years or so we get to read a story about some young girl whose hair was briefly set on fire by a rogue candle.
Being non-religious I am kind of weak on the religious St Lucia story. I think she was sentenced to burn by a rejected suitor but her heart was so pure that when she prayed to be saved she didn't burn. Or something like that.
St Lucia Day is Dec 13th.
Swami, that's kind of funny. And sad. But mostly funny.
I looked up St. Lucia. You're right, she was sentenced to burn but she didn't burn. Good on her.
I also found this, about her. She's celebrated in Italy, where, on St. Lucia's Day, she brings gifts to good children, coal to bad ones. Children leave a sandwich for her flying donkey. If a child sees St. Lucia she throws ashes in their eyes, temporarily blinding them.
Um. Nice girl, that Lucia.
I love the stories of the saints. Some of them are completely bizarre.
Yay! We also celebrate St Nicholas. We call him Sinter Klaas. (Dutch). We put our shoes by the fireplace and leave some sugar cubes for his horse, and cookies for him and his helper.
I was told that in Holland Sinter Klaas is when the gifts were exchanged, and Christmas was mainly a holy day. But since my parents were in America, they did both, so growing up we got lots of prezzies for both! Of course, my kids do too.
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