St. Nicholas Background

St. Nicholas Day, observed on December 6th, celebrates the life of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint known for his acts of generosity. St. Nicholas’s story traces back to the ancient city of Myra, located in present-day Turkey, where Nicholas served as a bishop. Find the full story in our book, The Joy of Advent: Family Celebrations for Advent and the Twelve days of Christmas, and watch a longer animated video here. For a shorter introduction, see below!

Nicholas dedicated his life to helping those in need, often giving anonymously such as in the famous tale where he tossed bags of gold through a struggling widower’s window, providing dowries for his three daughters.

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated worldwide, but is most popular in Western Europe. Many of our beloved traditions originated in Germany and surrounding countries. Read on to discover recipes, activities and more.

St. Nicholas Activities

Setting out Shoes

While a number of my Dutch friends share all their Christmas gifts on St. Nicholas Day, I grew up with gifts on Christmas Eve, as usual*, and on December 6th, a Mini-Christmas in my shoes!

Each St. Nicholas Day in my small Christian school, all the children joyfully set our shoes in a tidy row along the hall outside the classroom door. At some point during the next hour, bells would jingle in the hall. We’d twist in our seats, beg to “go to the bathroom,” or otherwise try to sneak a glance into the hallway.

We were never successful!

After the jingling faded and the bell rang to signal recess, we raced to our shoes to find chocolate coins, a candy cane, and a clementine. Even better, the whole celebration happened again at home the next morning!

We’ve continued the tradition with our own children (despite Stephen’s family never having heard of it!). In ages past, children polished their shoes carefully before placing them by the door on the eve of St. Nicholas Day. Sometime during the night, St. Nicholas (aka Mom) fills the shoes with small candies, chocolate coins, a traditional orange or clementine, and perhaps a small gift.

*Do you know in what movie a character says to the children, “We will open presents on Christmas Eve, as usual!” (1984 George C. Scott A Christmas Carol)

Read on to discover a new tradition for our family: the letter from St. Nicholas!

Letters from St. Nicholas

Many parents encourage children to write letters to Santa (or St. Nicholas), often with their Christmas wish list. What if St. Nicholas wrote a letter to the child first?

Find out more about the Letter from St. Nicholas with the download below!

Visits from St. Nicholas

Many of the traditional churches we’ve been a part of have hosted St. Nicholas Day celebrations. We’ve had pot-lucks with Speculaas cookies, readings of the story of St. Nicholas, lectures on the history and significance of St. Nicholas, and visits from St. Nicholas himself complete with a gift for each child and a photo-op that was far more meaningful than the typical shopping mall Santa!

Some churches have a blessing of stockings, a special story time, crafts and other activities. Host your own celebration with the delicious treats below.

A Full Menu for St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day Entreés

Try a traditional Bulgarian Ribnik, which is carp wrapped in dough. Why is fish a St. Nicholas day tradition? St. Nicholas is patron saint of sailors and fishermen!

If you’d like to celebrate with breakfast for supper (or at breakfast time), one of our all-time favorites is this recipe for German Pancake. Warning: German Pancake is NOT like a traditional pancake! It’s dense, not fluffy, more like a custard that can be cut into squares. It’s also full of protein and is absolutely addicting, as is the buttermilk sauce. This Taste of Home recipe is the exact one we’ve been cooking since I subscribed to their (print!) magazine back in the early 2000s!

For those less excited about fish or wanting to celebrate St. Nicholas of Myra’s origins in now-Turkey, here’s a fabulous recipe for Mediterranean Pot Roast.

St. Nicholas Day Side Dishes

We like to match our sides to the cuisine. So if we’re having a German roast or Bavarian Ribnik, we’ll pair it with red cabbage and potatoes. Or we’ll serve the Mediterranean Pot Roast above with rice and flatbread.

Another option: PICKLES!! Why would pickles be a great side for St. Nicholas Day? Check out this sculpture of one of St. Nicholas’s most curious miracles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to find out!

St. Nicholas Day Speculaa’s Cookies

And for the Ultimate List of traditional St. Nicholas spiced cookie recipes, check out the St. Nicholas Center.