St. Nikolaustag

December 6th is St. Nikolaustag in Germany. Nikolaus was a 4th century Greek that was known to be quite religious from an early age. Interesting tidbit - he was one of the Bishops that signed the Nicene Creed. He was also known for secret gift-giving and would put coins in the shoes of children, thus becoming the model for Santa Claus.

Traditionally in Germany, children place a shoe or a boot at the front door or by a fireplace on the eve of St. Nikolaustag (Tag = day). In the morning, they find small gifts or candy filling their shoe. So we decided that "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" and had the boys place a shoe or boot by our front door. Noah and Josiah chose their boots in hopes that they would get more stuff. Micah chose one of his church shoes as they don't stink as much. If you are going to eat candy, you sure don't want it tasting like stinky feet, right??

Noah's class presented a play on the evening before the 6th. It was really fun to watch him in this play as he memorized his lines in German without knowing all of what he was saying at first. I forgot my camera so don't have any photos from the play, but he got to be one of the wise men and gave his gift of straw to Baby Jesus.

~ Boots by the Door ~

These chocolate eggs are quite popular with
children as they have a chocolate shell on the
outside and then a prize on the inside. The
boys have been itching to buy one of these
just about every time we are in the store
together. Josiah was so excited about the egg
that he took it to school with him on the 6th.

We had not tried these chocolates yet either,
but these are favorites among the kids as well.
They remind me of malt balls only more moist.

We have never done something like this
before but decided that the boys would
really enjoy having some extra cash to spend
at the Christmas Market. They were all very
excited to have this much to spend without
Tracy and me saying, "No!" So far, all the money
they have spent has gone to Schmalzkuchen - for
2 Euros, you can get a very large serving of
Schmalzkuchen, which are little fried dough
balls with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.
Very yummy indeed!

~ Schmalzkkuchen ~

This is what they woke up to on the 6th - chocolates and money in the shoes
and two packs of gum on top. When I give out gum, it's a half a stick at a time
if they are lucky. They love being able to make their own decisions about
gum! And I guarantee they don't ever chew just a half of a stick at a time
when it's up to them to decide. The little packages behind their shoes are strands
of colored Christmas lights. We had lights with us but didn't plug them in correctly
and ruined them the first time we used them. They are thrilled to have working
lights in their rooms each night as they go to sleep.

~ St. Nikolaustag Morgen - St. Nicholas Day morning ~