St. Nicolas day

[RollerCoasterMama]

Can we talk St. Nicolas day?  I've known about it since taking German a million years ago...but we've never done it.  This year, I'd like to and I started talking to DS a little bit about it.  He's not quite 4 so introducing a new holiday doesn't throw him for a loop at all.  :) 

Any picture book recomendations?  I couldn't find any.

Anything special the night before putting the shoes out?  Or just talk about St. Nicolas and then put your shoes out? 

Anywhere with a 4-yr-old appropriate version of St. Nicolas' history? 

I picked up a little felt dragon when we were at a holiday fair at the local Waldorf school, and figured I'd get a honey stick or two, or maybe some fruit leathers---shoe sized treats! 

Any special little projects getting ready in the days before? 

I usually forget about the extra celebrations until it's TODAY.  I'm making a definite effort to do better about it.  I have the All Year Round book to use for ideas now.  But I need to spend some time digging in! 

Thanks!  I think the dust of the past year is finally settled and I'm ready to dig in and do more fun things at home with DS! 

[nanette0269]

Depends...will you be putting one shoe outside the front/back door?  Or near the fireplace?  Or will you use the stocking?

If the shoe, maybe make it a ritual to clean the shoe?

Feast, for sure.

Great stories leading up to the day are here:

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=441

[nanette0269]

Saw this:  "We will remind them that giving and sharing are more important than receiving.  We will encourage and help them give a gift in secret.  They will hang up their stockings and tomorrow morning they will be full of chocolate coins, a clementine, a candy cane and a few other little treats."
 

So, maybe consider it a tradition to collect canned goods from neighbors the night prior and deliver to a place of need?

That would be a nice addition to the tradition.

[nanette0269]

Another baking tradition...maybe you can make a slightly more americanized one?

"A special kind of cookie made for the day, called Speculatius, stems from a tradition from Holland. Dough is rolled very thin and then cookies are cut in the shape of St. Nicholas and decorated with icing and fruit.  In Amsterdam, a special parade marks St. Nicholas Day, where St. Nicholas and a group of “Black Peters” (symbolizing the trusty companion of St. Nicholas of Myra) make their way through the city to the Royal Palace. The mayor then joins in a discussion about the children’s behavior over the year."

[boatbaby]

Some of my favorite bloggy bookmarks on St. Nick's Day...

http://gardenmama.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/-in-celebration-of-saint-nicholas-day-.html

and

http://mamaroots.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-st-nicholas-day.html

and

http://frontierdreams.blogspot.com/2008/12/twas-night-before-stnicholas-day.html

and

http://naturenest.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/st-nicholas-christmas-stories-poems-links/

and

http://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/11/26/saint-nicholas-day-in-the-waldorf-home/ 

I will post more as I think of them... anyone else?

[AngelBee]

Taking notes...planning on celebrating.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Oh wow!  Thanks for all of the terrific info!!  I have reading to do tonight for sure!! 

My googling wasn't coming up with much so I really appreciate it!!

[RollerCoasterMama]

We're going to do shoes.

I had a chance to peek at some of the blogs and links and the special clogs are SUCH a cute idea.  I popped over to my go-to shopping place (etsy) and there are lots of people selling vintage wooden clogs for not very much.  :)  I may need to snag that idea too!  DS could use a little magic this holiday season!  He's been such a patient little guy with all of the changes of the past year (divorce and moving and me taking online classes, and now I'm carrying a baby for another couple)...I want to give him some of the magic he deserves. 

Thank you all for the links and info!!!

 ETA:  http://www.etsy.com/transaction/38200801  :) 

Edited by RollerCoasterMama - 11/22/10 at 12:41pm

[mommabeehilly]

Here is the St. Nicholas story that we told in our house last year on the eve. http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=300

On St. Nicholas Day we had honey cakes (honey pancakes) and nuts and apples. 

These resources are great. Thanks boatbaby!

Edited by mommabeehilly - 11/22/10 at 1:08pm

[boatbaby]

A good source for wooden shoes!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/restingrabbits?ref=pr_shop_more

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by boatbaby 

A good source for wooden shoes!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/restingrabbits?ref=pr_shop_more

Cute!  I ended up getting the carved ones I linked.  I just loved the old weathered look.  :) 

[RollerCoasterMama]

How was your St. Nicholas Day?  We did it yesterday.  He's an obliging fellow who understands that a bunch of treats on a Monday morning would have made it nearly impossible to get out of the house on time today!  So when DS got home from his dad's, he went into the living room and we heard him yelling "Oh my gosh!!!  Is it St. Nicholas?!?"  http://www.flickr.com/photos/30975615@N08/5235256807/

St. Nicholas went a little overboard with the treats, but we'll dole them out a bit at a time (and Mama intends to share the chocolate orange!!).  Last night he carefully picked out a reindeer chocolate and set it on the cupboard so I would remember to pack it in his lunch-box this morning. 

DS's theories on St. Nicholas:  he's very tiny.  That's how he snuck in the house while I was napping.  Very tiny and magic.  And he must have been watching us because that's just the same dragon as we saw at the Waldorf school festival last month!!!  And he knew that DS loves knights and dragons!!!  I think he's a fan.  :)

Yay!  Thanks for all of the brainstorming you all did with me!  This was a fab little bit of holiday magic! 

[nanette0269]

Well, our days are screwed up...so St. Nick is coming tonight. 

I ordered some simple shoes from etsy.  I then used watercolors on them.  For my DD, blue near the top and then slowly transitioning to green at the bottom.  I used a seasonal puncher and punched out some small snowflakes and mod-podged them to the top and then some green evergreens near the bottom. Then, I used the cricut to make her name in bright red cursive and mod-podged it all to give it a slight sheen..  All wrapped up with a red ribbon under the tree awaiting for St. Nick.  For DS, similar color scheme, but I had a shoe with a simple carving that was more like a "wingtip" ...no decoration except for the watercolors and his name in strong blue letters, as a result....and again with a slight sheen.  They were quite excited to see them!

I'll put something that would have been destined to their stockings in there tonight, along with some chocolates...they are not allowed to bring sweets to school, so it will just be enough to take a few bites after breakfast.

We have been reading the stories every night....and we have one left.  DD is really interested in them, but DS has no interest (just too young to hear a story without pictures!).  She is already asking questions about the difference between St. Nick and Santa, as she did think they were the same.  I do hope that she will be able to separate them more.  I keep telling her that St. Nick is a real person, while Santa is magical.  I think that has differentiated them enough.