So: Let this be your reminder! Put your boots out December 5th and Saint Nicholas might just stop by to tuck some shiny little goodies inside!
(Unless you've been naughty, of course. Then all bets are off.)
Since we speak some German at home, we like to learn about the culture as well. That's why we celebrate Nikolaustag, or St. Nicholas Day, each year.
Because the feast day of Saint Nicholas is December 6, empty boots (Nikolausstiefel) generally go outside the door the night of December 5, the eve of Nikolaustag (Nikolausabend).
Nikolaus is sometimes accompanied by a servant named Knecht Ruprecht, who hauls the bag and does some of the work of sussing out whether children deserve gifts or chastising. In some regions, children are literally quizzed or asked to perform some religious feat. Since we skip the whole naughty-or-nice bit with Santa, too, we just assume boots are going to be filled.
And they always are!
When I lived in Berlin in junior high, I always spent the night before Nikolaustag with a German friend and her family. Her mom did Nikolaustag up right! Just as we do here, they lived in a unit in a larger building so our boots (or shoes) just went in the hallway instead of outside — but Nikolaus always found us, anyway.
Usual gifts are fruit, cookies, nuts, candies, and little trinkets — much like a stocking. Kids are theoretically supposed to shine their boots first, but fire boots don't shine very well. You can also leave a carrot for Nikolaus' horse, but how would a horse get up our stairs?
When we can't locate boots, we go with shoes. Nikolaus is cool with that.
I love looking back at Alrik's baldie-mullet phase. I bet even at 2 years old, he will be thrilled to receive toothbrushes, an orange, and string cheese. Easy-peasy.
Photo by Richard Huber
Here's what a traditional Nikolaus looks like — a bishop, you see, same as the original Nikolaos. He's tall and thin with a white beard. This fourth-century Greek saint is the basis for various St. Nicholas celebrations around the world as well as the branching out into Good Ol' St. Nick:
He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of "Saint Nikolaos." {Wikipedia}
I think St. Nicholas Day is a nice time to remind kids to be secret Santas themselves — looking for little ways they can give at this season and the rest of the year, too. Maybe they could leave a little gift for a sibling or do someone else's chore without being asked. You could choose a giving tree or other charity in your town to brighten up someone's Christmas. You could prettily bag some clementines for friends to leave at their door, ring the bell, and run. You could choose a far-off loved one to receive a surprise care package. I was thinking a nice Nikolaus twist for us would be to make and leave goodies and an explanatory note at our neighbors' doors — even if they forgot to put their boots out!
For some extra fun, you could incorporate some other activities into your celebration:
- Polish or give a good scrub to the boots or shoes you're going to put out!
- Make your own boot craft — sew together two pieces of fabric or felt in a boot shape, or cut out a boot shape from construction paper and decorate.
- Bake cookies in the shapes of boots and mitres (bishop's hat).
- Draw Nikolaus in his red robes with his tall hat, long beard, and staff.
- Head to the St. Nicholas Center's kids page for printable crafts, story videos, and online games.
- Sing traditional Nikolaustag songs, such as "Lasst uns froh und munter sein" — both the German lyrics and an English translation are available here, along with recorded versions you can listen to and use to sing along. Here's sheet music of the melody if you or your children want to pick it out on an instrument. "Kind Old Man St. Nicholas" is an English version of a traditional German song. Here's the German and English and audio file for "Kling, Glöckchen" ("Ring, Little Bell"), a traditional song that's pretty fun to sing. Here's a more recent Nikolaus-Lied in German.
- Listen to German natives sing songs of the season, such as this Nikolaus-themed mp3 album, Kling Glöckchen Kling
that features the song "Nikolaustag."
- Read a St. Nicholas story, such as The Fiercest Little Animal In The Forest
or The Gift from Saint Nicholas.
- Bake something Germanic and yummy — maybe these Nutella & cinnamon cookies, hazelnut macaroons, traditional Pfeffernüsse (pepper nuts), Nikolausschnitten (fruit dainties), Schokoladekugeln (chocolate balls), marzipan carrots and potatoes (for the horse — but really for you), or bread baked in a boot shape and decorated with sweets. For breakfast or a less sugar-heavy delectation, slice and alternate bananas and strawberries in the shape of a staff or fry up some egg-based Pfannkuchen (pancakes).
Nikolaustag is fun and cultural. Give it a try with your kids this year!
Lauren blogs at Hobo Mama about natural
and attachment parenting and is the co-founder of Natural Parents Network. She lives and writes near the beach with her husband, Sam, and their sons: seven-year-old Mikko, three-year-old Alrik, and newborn Karsten. Lauren happily shares her knowledge of German customs and language with all three.This post originally appeared on Hobo Mama.
