St. Nick's Day

A couple years ago I rambled a bit about St. Nick's Day. Here we are again. While we don't do Santa at our house, we do set out our stockings on December 5th. The boys all know it is not actually St. Nick who leaves special treats but it's still fun to get a little something when everyone is excited about Christmas yet the big day is still a ways off.

St. Nick's Day was just something we always did in my family growing up. This was how we got our lists to Santa. We didn't mail them... St. Nick picked them up. No lists these days, it's just for fun. But you know me, I turn just about anything I can into a learning experience! Since we're not Catholic I don't really know much about "saints". So when I looked it up online I found it this part of the Wikipedia article about Saint Nicholas interesting:

Celebration in the United States

While feasts of Saint Nicholas are not observed nationally, cities with strong German influences celebrate St. Nick's Day on a scale similar to the German custom. On December 5, the Eve of St. Nicholas Day, each child puts one empty shoe outside their bedroom door or on a staircase before they go to sleep. The following morning of December 6, the children awake to find that St. Nick has filled their footwear with candy and small presents (if the children have been good) or coal (if not). The tradition of St. Nick's Day is firmly established in the Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Cleveland and St. Louis communities. Widespread adoption of observing the tradition has spread among the German, Polish, Belgian and Dutch communities throughout Wisconsin...

St. Nick's Day is celebrated more in other countries, but here in the U.S. we are part of a select few! Why would we participate in St. Nick's Day even though we don't "do" Santa? That's a good question. Because it's fun? Yes. Family tradition? Yes. But as Christians maybe should make it into something more.

When Wesley asked about it the other day, we had a little discussion about how Nicholas gave money to the poor. I think Nicholas was the kind of man most Christians would hope to be more like. He was devoted to Christ. He cared for the needy and he shared the love of Christ with others. As the kids get older, I hope that is what they get out of the whole Christmas season... first, loving Christ themselves and second, sharing that love with others. Actually, I hope that for them, not just at Christmas time, but all year round.