When I was a child and lived in Germany, on December 6th we used to celebrate Saint Nicholas Eve. In the evening we placed our shoes or boots outside our bedroom door in the anticipation of gifts of candy, or fruit. If we had been naughty, there was a possibility of receiving coal, and/or switches. The coal and switches were a warning to shape up before Christmas. I never received switches or coal but I remember once my brother did.
In the Netherlands the children celebrate this on the eve of the 5th. They believe if they leave carrots and hay in their shoes or clogs for Sinterklaas’s horse, that they will receive candy, or some kind of sweets. The term Sinterklaas is where we American arrived upon our name of ‘Santa Claus.’(1) There they also believe that Sinterklaas rides a white horse and arrives with a ‘Zwarte Piet’ (a soot covered Chimney Man, called ‘Black Peters’) who will climb down the roof, or through their window, to deliver their goodies. They also believe that if they have been very naughty the ‘Zwarte Piet’ will punish them by putting them into a bag and taking them to Spain where they will be taught to behave for a year.(2) I remember seeing Zwarte Piet on a regular basis since they were hired to clean chimneys. They usually carried a tall ladder with them. They were often covered in soot unless it was very early in the day. When I lived there we even went out to buy milk in a tin jug, so things were quite different than they are now, at least here in the US.
In Bari, Italy the sailors carry a statue of Saint Nicolas out to the sea in a traditional celebration of St. Nicholas Day in hopes that the Saint will continue to bless the waters for their safe passage. (3) Apparently there had been a terrible storm in Turkey and several sailors were afraid they would die. They had prayed to St. Nicholas to save them and they saw him appear on the boat and he calmed the waters. (4) St. Nicholas, who had been a Bishop during the time of the 4th century AD, died on December 6th. (5) During his life he had been a wealthy man who was known to be a kind and generous person, which is how he became associated with gift giving. He often gave gifts in secret. (6) During the 16th century in Europe for some reason the stories and tradition of St. Nicholas became unpopular. (7) There was still a need for figure to deliver gifts at Christmas time so the various countries of Europe came up with different names. In France Santa is referred to as ‘Pere Noel’, in Germany “Christ Kind’, and in the UK ‘Father Christmas.’(8) Later on, during the Victorian Era the stories of St. Nicholas became popular again. (9)
It seems every country celebrates Christmas slightly differently. Some countries celebrate St. Nicholas Eve on Dec. 5th, and others on the 6th. I always loved this simple tradition of setting out our shoes for St. Nicholas Eve for it was unique, a different part of Christmas that stood out from the traditional American Christmas that I know.
Footnotes: (1)-(5) and (7)-(9): http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml for kris kringle- st. nicholas
(6) http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/
