St. Nikolaus

[Lorchen]

I don't know if you follow the tradition of some European countries, but in my family we always do. Their are two roots to this story - one historical one, and one pure fantasy.

Historically, St. Nikolaus was a bishop somewhere in Europe in the Middle Ages. His patron saint day was the 6th of December, and normally he would have expected gifts from family and friends on that special days. But this man cared about his community, so every year on the 6th of December he went out and took food, clothing, and fire wood to the poor of his town.

Now for the other one: As we all know, Santa lives at the North Pole with Mrs. Claus and the elves. But he can't do all the work himself when it comes to Christmas. So he has a helper called St. Nikolaus. Every year it's mega-important that Santa knows where all the children in the world live, so that he can deliver the gifts during the night before Christmas Day. To make the task a little easier Santa has a big golden book with all the names and addresses. On the evening before the 6th of December Santa gives the book to St. Nikolaus (also called 'Knecht Ruprecht' in some areas of Europe) and asks him to go and check that all the names and addresses are correct (no internet access at the North Pole yet). So, St. Nikolaus puts on his long and warm winter coat which has lots of pockets. In order to leave the North Pole he has to go through the workshops of the elves who are particularly busy at this time of the year. St. Nikolaus is quite cheeky, and so he picks up small toys and chocolates as he walks past the busy elves. He fills his pockets to bursting and then leaves. As he checks on all the children he leaves behind some of the goodies he has pinched from the elves. But he can only do that if the child has left a clean, empty shoe on the bedroom window sill or outside the bedroom door. So when the children wake up in the morning they find their shoes filled with little treats.

St. Nikolaus still visits my sons, by the way, even though they are 31 and 34. And he has a new child to spoil - little Eva. This year St. Nikolaus asked me to help a little, and right now Eva is fast asleep, and next to her is a very fluffy and soft little lamb, covered with its own little quilt.

[Renata]

Thank you for the lovely story--it parallels my experience of growing up in Europe . What a sweet fluffy lamb in a quilt for Eva to wake up with! By the way, Lorchen, this is the first photo of Eva where it is so clear to me she bears a strong resemblance to Oma, nicht wahr?

[RGold]

Great story, Lorchen!! And little Eva is precious as ever! Thank you for the smiles. Hugs, Robin

[RGold]

What a lovely picture of a happy Eva with her new lambie!! Warms the heart to see the sparkle in her eye! St Nikolaus sure made this little one happy!

[Margo]

Ohmygosh! Eva is getting so BIG!!! :shock:

[lotti]

Oh yes, we used to clean those shoes to sparkle! And we're never disappointed with the fillings in the morning.

I love it that your sons are still getting their nikolaus visit

[twiglet]

Precious moments Lorchen

[Zarah]

Eva is still such a beautiful child. I love the little lamb with its own quilt. What a nice story you told, Lorchen. This was new to me, we don't have that tradition in Denmark.

[Zarah]

you can see eva is shining from joy! i am sure your sons too! (my cats get things from st. nicolas as well, they are so happy too )