St. Nicholas Day - My Favorite Holiday Memory

Have you heard of St. Nicholas? Everyone in my family has.

Celebrating his day was one of the most fun parts of the Christmas holiday in our house.

When Is It?

St. Nicholas Day occurs on December 6. Our holiday ritual was that we would hang our stockings in front of the fireplace on the eve, December 5. The next morning we would find them filled with candy, nuts, fruit, and a small toy.

"St. Nicholas came! St. Nicholas came!" The first kid up would announce, and the rest of us came running.

I don't know about my 11 brothers and sisters, but I was more excited about St. Nicholas Day than about Christmas Day itself.

Why So Fun?

Part of the fun was that it came almost three weeks before Christmas itself, so it went a long way toward calming down kids that were so impatient for the big day they could hardly stand it.

And there was something so visually stimulating about seeing all those red stockings! A large family's traditions by necessity are sometimes either overwhelming because of the numbers, or they're inherently more dramatic, like the parade line of Christmas stockings (hung by the chimney with care!).

The eatables in the stockings were as important a treat as the toy. Snacks and candies were rare in our family, so getting a "haul" to yourself was wonderful. Many years there was a tangerine in the mix and to this day I associate tangerines with St. Nicholas Day.

One special touch St. Nicholas included every year was to put some coins in each stocking. The amount was always one cent per year of age. That small personalization was worth its weight in gold to me. I think maybe St. Nick knew how tough it can be to feel noticed as an individual in such a large crowd.

Who is St. Nicholas?

As a kid I thought St. Nicholas and Santa Claus were the same person. I thought it was cool he came to our house twice a year. It wasn't until I was an adult that I was curious enough to do a little research.