St. Nicholas Day - Nikolaustag

Creation by Kathy Avakian - PillowBeach

Each year on December 6, German children celebrate 'Nikolaustag'.

Saint Nicholas "Lipensky", 1294 Russian icon

The true story begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara.

At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey.

His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian,

died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young.

Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor",

Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.

He dedicated his life to serving God and was made

Bishop of Myra while still a young man.  Bishop Nicholas became known

throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children,

and his concern for sailors and ships.

He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church.

Painting by Utrahec  (wikipedia)

Stories about St. Nicholas were first told while he was living,

as sailors already claimed him as their patron saint.  Sailing to different ports and along rivers,

they carried Nicholas stories throughout Europe.  As stories were told and retold,

imaginative and sometimes miraculous details were added -

details which vary in different accounts of the same episode.

Only a unique and special person inspires such a rich legacy.

These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character

and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.

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One story tells of a poor man with three daughters:

In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value - a dowry.

The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband.

Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry.  This poor man's daughters

were therefore destined to be sold into slavery.  Mysteriously, on three different occasions,

 a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries.

  The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, 

are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry.....

 The dowry for the three virgins

Gentile da Fabriano, c. 1425, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome

....This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes,

eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.

Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls,

 sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas.

And so St. Nicholas - unser guter lieber Nikolaus - is a gift-giver.

St. Nicholas, created by the highly talented  Daryl McMahon

to see more please visit his blog:     here 

Creation by  Daryl McMahon

In Germany, children put a boot called Nikolaus-Stiefel (Nikolaus boot),

or a stocking, outside the front door on the night of 5 December.

St. Nicholas fills the boot with gifts and sweets overnight, and at the same time

 checks up on the children to see if they were good, polite and helpful the last year.

If they were not, they will have a tree branch (Rute) in their boots instead,

though shoes or stockings will suffice for those without boots.

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Beautiful creations of Christmas stockings....

each one unique and original....

....made of old German grain sacks and French textiles

by  Kathy Avakian - PillowBeach

available at Etsy:      here

So, all you "Girls" and "Boys".....

don't forget to get your shoes or stockings out this evening,

St. Nicholas is waiting for you!