St. Nicholas Eve is December 5th! Be sure to put your shoes out to see what he will bring!
When I was in elementary school I loved learning about all the international personas of Santa Claus.
The varied forms he takes with different names and visual appearances, were totally enchanting and heightened the magical feeling of Christmastime.
What is St. Nicholas Eve?
In many places in the world, St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas is viewed to be the gift giver during the Advent season.
His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6th.
On the eve of his day, on December 5, he pays nocturnal visits with his side kick Black Peter (or Zwarte Piet), his alter ego wielding coal for ne’er-do-wells who have not been so nice over the past year.
Children leave their shoes out in the hopes to find small gifts on the morning of December 6th.
The spirit of St. Nicholas Eve and day is one focused on giving over receiving, remembering those less fortunate and that St. Nicholas loved children.
Photo credit: Gaby Kooiman, CC BY-SA 3.0
When is St. Nicholas Eve?
December 5 is St Nicholas Eve. On that night children (but I say everyone should join in the fun!) put their shoes out (typically outside but due to voracious squirrels in our ‘hood, we make it an indoor thing) in the hopes of some sweets in the morning.
What Goes in Shoes for St. Nicholas Eve?
Some examples of what one might find in their shoes:
Oranges or tangerines are often found (as well as in Christmas stockings) as they symbolize the gold balls St. Nicholas would throw to the children.
I suspect as well before current day globalization of food, citrus fruits were scarce in winter therefore making them a prized treat.
Candy croziers, or candy canes, are shaped after bishop’s or shepherd’s staffs and are given out as a reminder of the care St. Nicholas had for people.
Gold coins, real or in chocolate, symbolize coins thrown through a window by St. Nicholas to free servant girls.
Often little toys or sweets are included too. I loved this DIY article on how to turn any brand chocolate Santa into a St. Nicholas!
Additional ideas include:
- Chocolate St. Nicholas figures
- Small solid chocolate St. Nicholas’s
- Spiced Speculaas Cookies
- Windmill Speculaas Cookies
- These St. Nicholas cookies even made Oprah’s Favorite List!
Feast of St. Nicholas (December 6)
December 6 is the Feast of St. Nicholas marking the day of the real saint’s death.
Many traditional foods are served. Speculaas, are a special ginger cookie typically done in beautiful molds though does not have to be done so.
This fun Speculaas Cookie recipe provides some additional background about St. Nicholas and the feast as well on their website.
St. Nicholas Around the World
The customs and tradtionals regarding St. Nicholas vary in countries around the world.
To learn more on the specific traditions, this list by country gives specifics on how traditions are celebrated.
Any readers who actively practice this tradition I’d love to hear more about what you do in your family or home!
briarrose says
Beautiful cookies. I'm going to have to give these a try with all that wonderful almond flavor.
Gourmande says
Winter is the season for natural citrus. If Nicholas really existed, he could eat some kind of tangerines or oranges in Turkey in this season.
The night visit is “unusual” for me, but I know each place has its customs and they do that in Alsace, but I don't think they do the shoes that day.
In my place (Lorraine), a purple bishop Saint-Nicolas visits in broad daylight, he does a procession in town in the afternoon, he gives bags of sweets to good kids while the Pere Fouettard (the bad butcher) gives sticks to beat bad kids. The real bishop would disguise and do it himself. Well, I think he did, because I didn't go to check behind the beard… What is sure is you want to drink vin chaud (spiced hot wine) after the parade as it's tradionnally a super-cold, windy and often rainy day.
When I was at school, they (people in costumes of Nicolas and the butcher) would come to all kindergartens and primary schools. I've heard they no longer do it as some extremists of other religions complained. The school celebration never had anything religious, and they have done the contrary, adding other celebrations from different cultures for fairness, well, that's done… That means the celebration is now dead.
My naughty brother was always sick that day as he feared the bad guy, so we'd collect his bag of presents. St Nicolas would bring us all sorts of ginger breads (see my blog next week). They were decorated with chromo images of St Nicolas and his donkey… I loved the packages more than the sweets. Unfortunately, I don't have the beautiful images now. Other sweets were all “good” things from the best artisan bakers, no junk at all.
In my place we were totally spoiled. St Nicolas was normally only for children, but adults would get us the treats they wished for themselves in hope we would share. And we did. I remember collecting up to a dozen of bags, as Nicolas left some for me at places of relatives, friends, even simple neighbors that liked spoiling us. There could be some chocolates (like hand-made florentins), nougats, caramels, macarons, meringues, madeleines, pates de fruits, massepains, calissons, sometimes liquorice. We had snacks for the next months. We had no oranges, too cheap and too perishable. My grand-parents would receive some when they were kids as that was an expensive sweet in their time. We would receive real money, from grand-parents and aunties.
We were also making posters, paper dolls and other decoration in shape of SN and about his legend. And we had to learn how to sing this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIJICTYWrSI&feature=related
There are other songs too, we knew a dozen. We sometimes played the story.
The funniest memory is when I was 15. I was in Catholic school and the priest was a merry guy, a grown-up kid. He loved the celebration. He came by surprise with his guitar and interrupted all the classes that afternoon to take everybody to the biggest hall and he started playing, singing, dancing on a table. We sang with him but we were ROFL all the time because his fly was wide open and his childish style underwear very apparent. Teachers tried to tell him, but he wouldn't stop singing during 2 hours.
We never had speculoos that day because we had them all the time, and that could be worse as in Belgium, they had them every single day as that was the only food available there… well, I believed that back then. Yours look good, even if that's not like “ours”. I have never tried to bake mines. I am afraid they would taste different as I don't have the same “cassonade” sugar. And they sell the Belgian ones even here in Osaka. I've often used some in recipes, like cheesecakes. Or can melt a few in the carbonnade stew.
Colleen says
Thank you, Boulder Locavore and Gourmande, for bringing back my childhood Christmas memories. My mother came from German stock, so we had Easter candies in our shoes, left by the bed overnight – but not from St. Nick. We did always have a huge navel orange and an apple, plus nuts, in our stockings. It's nice to know the history of these traditions.
Boulder Locavore says
Gourmande! Thank you thank YOU for this wonderful description of how the day is truly spent. What an great story and so many new things I've learned! I really appreciate your time in sharing it all!
Thanks Briarrose! I am going to try my hand at a gluten free modification of them today!
Dimah says
These cookies sound great! Fantastic combination!
My Kitchen in the Rockies says
I grew up in Germany with St. Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht. I still keep the tradition alive with my kids. They always put their boots out before the 6th. And, yes, Nikolaus came again tonight and filled the boots.
kita says
You brought me back to 2nd grade and our winter festival. It was a play of sorts we put on for our moms and pops where we reenacted and sang about all sorts of other holiday traditions. I had forgotten about this one until I saw the citrus!
celiacasaurus.com says
I love learning about different holiday traditions, thanks for sharing. I read it while cuddled up beside my daughter looking at our lit up tree and the snow falling softly outside. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…Chipmunks Christmas…one of my favorite traditions 🙂
Carolyn says
Ooo, your speculoos look amazing. My husband loves this tradition of St. Nick's day and has a few little gifties lined up to put into the kids' shoes tomorrow!
Cucina49 says
I remember putting my shoes out as a child–this brings back such nice memories!
Kiri W. says
I love the Dutch version of the holiday, but having grown up in Germany, I never understood why Spain, and why on a boat! For us, Sankt Nikolaus comes on the roofs, looking like a proper bishop, accompanied by a devil-like creature. Coals for naughty kids, chocolates and nuts for the good ones 🙂
Valerie @ From Valerie's Kitchen says
I really enjoyed reading about the tradition of putting the shoes out. Funny how these things carry through the generations in bits and pieces. We used to always put out our shoes the night before Easter so the Easter bunny would put an Easter egg in them. And, he always did!
nina says
st.nicholas comes to night i think two or one year ago i put out my shoes and foulnd money in them thats what st.nicholas gave me
Woerd says
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are actualy Dutch but the tradition is similar in Gemany.
Sue Hill says
My kids grew up with the tradition of St Niklaus and still today get German Spekulatius in their Advent boxes. A couple of years ago I was in a school in Slovakia for a week and the 18 year old students presented me with chocolate figures of St Niklaus and his little Devil assistant. I do miss Christmas in Germany but get to go into my grand children’s school to tell the little ones about Christmas traditions and show them our collection of Father Christmas/Santas from around the world. Hope you are all eating Lebkuchen while drinking the Gluehwein!