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  • Natural Home

The Tradition of St. Nicholas Day Around the World (December 6th)

Katie WellsDec 1, 2018Updated: Oct 10, 2019
Reading Time: 5 min

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Home » The Tradition of St. Nicholas Day Around the World (December 6th)
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Who Was St. Nicholas?+−
    • Why the Gift Giving?
  • St. Nicholas Day Around the World+−
    • Shen'Kollë in Greece
    • Sinterklaas in Belgium & Netherlands
    • St. Nicholas and Père Fouettard in France
    • Sankt Nikolaus and Krampusnacht in Germany and Austria
  • How We Celebrate St. Nicholas Day+−
    • Leaving Shoes or Boots Out on December 5th
    • Random Acts of Kindness
    • The Traveling Christmas St. Nicholas (or Angel)

Thanks to a European influence on both sides of the family, my husband and I both grew up celebrating the tradition of St. Nicholas Day on December 6th.

Many people just know St. Nicholas by the name Santa Claus. While the modern figure of Santa derives from St. Nick, you’d hardly find this patron saint of children making toys in the North Pole.

Who Was St. Nicholas?

The real man behind the fictitious modern day Santa Claus was St. Nicholas of Myra. Born in 280 A.D. in Asia Minor, he lost his parents at an early age, though they left him great wealth when they died. He was known for giving anonymous gifts to help those in need and was eventually made a bishop.

The good bishop died on December 6th; thus this day is now St. Nicholas Day.

(For a fascinating explanation of how a man with a beard, reindeer, and the North Pole came to be associated with St. Nick, see this podcast episode about Santa Claus and the roots of the story in Finnish culture.)

Why the Gift Giving?

The history of leaving shoes or stockings out for St. Nicholas likely stems from the story of him leaving small bags of gold for a man and his three daughters. During those times women had to bring a dowry to a marriage in order to find a good husband.

St. Nick heard of a man who had three daughters but could not afford the dowry. Without it, the daughters would most likely enter a life of prostitution instead of being able to marry. According to legend, St. Nick threw three bags of gold through their window at night, saving them from a life at a brothel and cementing his place as the patron of gift giving.

St. Nicholas Day Around the World

The feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated around the world in various cultures. Our own family tradition is a hybrid of several cultural traditions related to St. Nick.

This is how some cultures around the world remember this day:

Shen’Kollë in Greece

In Greece (as well as Albania, Serbia, and Bulgaria), St. Nicholas is celebrated on the eve of his feast day, December 5th. This day is known as Shen’Kolli i Dimnit (Saint Nicholas of Winter). In these cultures, this day is one of fasting, not gift giving. In fact, on this day, most people abstain from meat or fast completely or prepare a feast to eat just after midnight.

Sinterklaas in Belgium & Netherlands

In these countries, children leave their boots in front of the fireplace for St. Nicholas. Often, they include a carrot or a treat for his horses, as legend has it that he arrived with his horses via sleigh or steamboat in these areas.

St. Nicholas and Père Fouettard in France

In France, St. Nicholas arrives on December 6th and gives children small gifts and chocolates. In the weeks leading up to this day, parents and grandparents tell stories of the legend of St. Nick, including a disturbing but popular one. The story goes that three children wandered away and got lost. A butcher lured them into his shop where he killed them and salted them away in a large tub. According to legend, St. Nicholas revived the boys and brought them home to their families. (At least there’s a happy ending!)

This story earned St. Nicholas his reputation as protector of children in France. The butcher (known as “Père Fouettard,” meaning “Father Whipper”) is imagined to follow St. Nicholas in penance and leave lumps of coal or even whip misbehaving children. In France, statues and paintings often portray this event, showing the saint with children in a barrel.

Sankt Nikolaus and Krampusnacht in Germany and Austria

The way our family honors St. Nicholas mainly centers on this tradition. In Germany and Austria (and some other countries in this region), children leave out a boot for St. Nicholas and receive small toys, coins, or candy. In these areas, St. Nicholas still dresses like a bishop and often is portrayed on a horse. Like the French story, a sinister companion accompanies St. Nick, in this case the even more terrifying demon-like Krampus.

In these areas, they don’t mess around with an Elf on the Shelf to encourage kids to be good: they invoke the legend of the Krampus! This beast is thought to punish children who misbehave and to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair. The Krampus has roots in Germanic folklore and its influence has spread to Austria, southern Bavaria, South Tyrol, northern Friuli, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, and Croatia.

December 5th is known as Krampus Night, or Krampusnacht, in which the hairy devil appears on the streets. Traditionally young men dress up as the Krampus on the night of December 5th and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells.

How We Celebrate St. Nicholas Day

Spooky stories are fun in their own way, but never fear … there is a more cheerful way to celebrate St. Nicholas Day! He was a good bishop known for helping others, after all. We honor St. Nick’s feast day in our family by celebrating in a few ways, adapting a mix of celebrations from around the world.

Leaving Shoes or Boots Out on December 5th

We leave out a shoe or boot in the hallway on the evening of December 5th for St. Nick’s arrival on December 6th. This is similar to the idea of doing stockings, though we do that as well on Christmas Day. In the boots, our kids usually find:

  • Coins: Each child receives some quarters in their shoe to signify the money St. Nicholas gave.
  • Healthy Treats: We also give some healthy treats like dark chocolate, small bags of nuts,  or homemade marshmallows.
  • Oranges: These signify the gold St. Nick gave away and our kids love oranges this time of year (which we don’t usually get because they aren’t in season).

Random Acts of Kindness

The most important lesson from the legend of St. Nicholas is his generosity. To help us all remember this, we make a point to do random acts of kindness this time of year. We brainstorm creative ways to help those in need in our local area, and set about our “secret” mission to bring some joy to others.

In the past, we’ve done things like:

  • Drop off grocery store gift cards to families in need.
  • Give a big box of wrapped gifts and clothes to families who need them.
  • Anonymously pay the utility bills of someone in need.
  • Wrap gifts or donate items to local foster programs.

The list of possibilities is endless, and it’s always a good lesson in gratitude for all our blessings.

The Traveling Christmas St. Nicholas (or Angel)

This is perhaps the most fun tradition and one I hope you’ll consider starting in your own area. In the spirit of St. Nicholas Day, we start a traveling Christmas St. Nicholas (or Angel) tradition to spark generosity all over our area. Here’s how it works:

  1. Get some kind of small St. Nicholas statue or angel statue.
  2. Think of another family in your area you want to pass on the statue to and something kind to do for them. This could be a small gift, a family activity, or just an act of kindness.
  3. Anonymously leave the statue on their front door mat one evening with a letter indicating that they’ve been touched by the spirit of Christmas generosity and that it is now their turn to pass on a kind act to another family in the area. We also print out a paper that “We’ve been visited by St. Nicholas” that they can post in their front window so others know they’ve already been visited.

Whether you celebrate St. Nicholas Day or not, a random act of kindness is a great way to honor the Christmas season and we certainly need more of it in the world. Happy Feast of St. Nicholas, from my family to yours!

Does your family celebrate St. Nicholas Day? What are your traditions?

Category: Natural Home

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (24 Comments)

  1. Tima

    December 6, 2020 at 10:51 AM

    I come from a town in the Veneto region bordering Friuli, as a child I used to put my shoes out on the evening on Dec 5th and then find small gifts the morning after. We called him San Nicolo’ he will come with his donkey late that night.
    I celebrated the same tradition here in the States with my son when he was little.
    Such great memories

    Reply
  2. Kristi

    December 6, 2019 at 1:07 PM

    Yes! My family has always celebrated this tradition. My husband did not and thought I made up a holiday. It wasn’t until I moved away from home that I learned I was in the minority. We always received candy and a small toy at home and a new ornament and Grandma and Grandpa’s house. My mom also let my brother and I pick out our own wrapping paper for our Christmas gifts and we would leave it for St. Nick to take back to Santa!

    Reply
  3. Ann Stokman

    December 6, 2018 at 5:52 AM

    Lovely article detailing all about St. Nick’s day..I always celebrate the day with my parents..

    Reply
  4. Tija

    December 2, 2018 at 7:27 PM

    Hi,
    I really like the post about St Nicolas. People in North America, at least the one I know, are not very familiar with the story of St. Nicolas. However, there are few things here that are not correct. Serbian Orthodox and Macedonian Orthodox celebrate St. Nicolas day on December 18th, and it is a patron saint of many Orthodox families there. Greeks and Bulgarian have accepted a new calendar, thus they celebrate on Dec 5th, and they have a village or a city St. celebration. Romanian Orthodox are also celebrating on Dec 18, but I don’t think they do it as a patron day.
    Albania is a Muslim country, and if someone celebrates St. Nicolas there, it would be Orthodox or some other Christian group.
    Orthodox don’t fast for St. Nicolas deliberately, they have a Great Fast of 40 days that last till January 7t or December 25th, depending on following old or a new Callander. St. Nicolas always falls on a fasting day, since it is during the Great Lent, and you can eat fish, but no meat, eggs, dairy products or anything from an animal rather than fish.
    So St. Nicolas has nothing to do with the Great Fast itself, it is vice verse.

    Reply
  5. Jenny

    December 8, 2017 at 8:44 AM

    Thank you for sharing this info, I was curious about the 6th December traditions! We are expats living in France and today my son will receive a gift from Saint Nic in his slipper at school under the Christmas Tree (it’s a lovely Montessori school).

    Reply
  6. Min

    December 7, 2017 at 4:35 AM

    Yes, the Fest of the Three Kings (Heilige Drei Könige) is still alive and well in the Catholic parts of Germany. It’s celebrated on the 6th of January, and normally childreen dress up like the three kings and go door to door in groups singing songs and collecting money for different charities. They also mark your door with chalk to show that you have been visited by the three kings.

    Reply
  7. Rochelle

    December 6, 2017 at 2:27 PM

    I just have to say that I love that your blog is becoming more and more Catholic! Thank you for your family’s beautiful witness and for sharing the beauty of our faith, homeschooling, and intentional natural living. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Maggie

    December 6, 2017 at 12:13 PM

    We love St. Nicholas and love celebrating his feast day! Kids (and adults!) enjoy receiving small gifts and chocolate in their stockings today; I really like how you tie in the random acts of kindness as well. Great article, thanks for sharing this wonderful information, Katie 🙂

    Reply
  9. Beth

    December 6, 2017 at 12:56 AM

    What an informative article! I really inspired me to look into St Nicolas Day. As a note, however, one of your subtitles reads “St. Nicholas Day Around the World” and you went into details about how various regions and countries in Europe celebrate the day. I know you mean well, but Europe is not the whole world.

    But now that we are talking about obscure holidays, have you ever heard of Wise Men’s day? I am not sure what the Low German word is actually, but my Mennonite husband claims his family used to celebrate a day int he First week of January commemorating the coming of the Wise Men and the gifts they brought Jesus. This was the day of merry making, and Christmas, which they held weeks before was a solemn holy day of church going and hymn singing all day long.

    Reply
    • Rachel

      December 8, 2017 at 1:34 AM

      If I’m understanding your description correctly, Wise Men’s Day sounds like it’s Epiphany.

      Reply
  10. Jane

    December 4, 2017 at 5:23 PM

    My mom is German/Austrian and my father is Polish. Our family of nine kids celebrated St. Nicolas when I was growing up and I continue this tradition with my kids. We set our stockings out the night before St. Nicolas comes and the kids receive small gifts and treats. It’s a fun way to start the Christmas season!

    Reply
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