In many European countries, December 5th is the Eve of Saint Nicholas, the Patron Saint of children and sailors. Instead of putting up Christmas stockings, children put out their shoes in hopes that Saint Nicholas will fill them with goodies. Only the children who have been good during the year can expect this, naughty children might find their shoes filled with twigs or in bygone eras, lumps of coal.
In Czechoslovakia, Saint Nicholas walks along the streets of cities and towns, accompanied by the Angel of Good and the Devil, representing evil. Dressed in costume, they stop children and ask them if they were good during the year. Children usually say yes and are given treats by the Angel.
In Switzerland, Saint Nicholas Eve starts off with a procession of men dressed in white sheets and wearing large cardboard bishop mitres. They carry torches and dance through the streets. They are followed by Saint Nicholas, who is accompanied by dark-robed assistants. Behind them come hundreds of men in white shirts and neck ties with noisemakers, horns and whips.
Other countries have similar events throughout Europe, although each locale has their own traditions.
Behind these traditions is the real Saint Nicholas, universally known and loved for his kindness and charity. As the Bishop of Myra, he is thought to have attended the famous Church Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. and he has his own shrine in Myra, which is in Asia Minor, which dates back to at least the the 6th century.
He is the subject of many legends and honored as a Saint by the Protestant Churches, Roman Catholics, and Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. There are many Churches in Europe named after him and people from all walks of life claim his as their patron saint and protector.
His kindness and gift giving lives on in our modern day Santa Claus, in other parts of the world spreading the spirit of charity and belief in miraculous events during the Christmas season.
Saint Nicholas Visting a Sleeping Child
Vintage Postcard circa 1909
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Printable Greeting Cards
Put all the ingredients into a silver cup, regulating the proportion of ice by the state of the weather:
if very warm, a larger quantity would be necessary. Hand the cup round with a clean napkin passed
through one of the handles, that the edge of the cup may be wiped after each guest has partaken
of the contents thereof.
