Thursday, December 09, 2010

St. Nicholas Day

I admit, I'm already behind this month, the month that seems to sneak up on me and say, "Surprise!  Bet you forgot I come around each and every 11 months!  Ha ha!"

In all the busyness of the season I completely forgot that Monday was St. Nicholas Day.  I'd never paid much attention to the day until I was introduced to the real story of St. Nicholas. And even after learning the story of how Nicholas secretly gave gold to a poor man and his family, a story that celebrates giving that only God knows of, I spaced on the day this year.

Until our doorbell rang.

We weren't expecting anyone.  It was freezing cold and I couldn't imagine who would be at our door after dark in that crazy weather.  When we opened the door no one was there.  Rebecca ran out to look down the street but she didn't see anyone.  What we did find was a gift bag, tied with a red and white bow.

We opened the bag to find a it filled with chocolate gold coins and a paper explaining the history of St. Nicholas.

I don't have any idea who stopped by that night. But it was an awfully fun reminder of the story behind our modern day Santa Claus.

And just in case our Secret Nicholas ever stops by here - thanks for a fun discovery.  If you'd like to own up to your kind deed I'll keep it a secret!


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5 comments:

  1. Now THAT is a fun tradition to start!

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  2. I had totally forgotten about St. Nicholas' Day too! I used to get involved in a celebration at a local historic site in New Jersey when I lived there.

    What a great reminder about giving that only God knows about. Could you scan and email the story to me, Christy? I don't have the official version.

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  3. Anonymous12:59 PM

    What a sweet gesture - and such a fun way to be reminded!
    I've never actually celebrated St. Nicholas' day - I'll have to look into it. Please let us know if you find out who played the part of St. Nicholas for you!

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  4. WOW how fun!
    I don't know if you guys ever did the ghost tag thing around Halloween - putting a bag of candy and a copied picture of a ghost saying they'd been tagged - but that was really big in our neighborhood when I was in middle school. Every night I would hope we'd wake up "tagged" so we could tag some people :)

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