Saint Nicholas Day

The "Feast of Saint Nicholas", observed on 6 December, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra. In the Rhine Valley area where we live, Nikolaustag ("Nicholas Day") kicks off the Christmas holiday season, especially for children. The celebrations often begin the night before, on December 5th. On this evening children clean their shoes and place them outside their door or on a windowsill, eagerly awaiting St. Nicholas’ arrival. According to tradition, St. Nicholas visits the homes of children, leaving treats like chocolate, nuts, oranges, and small toys in their shoes. But of course, these gifts only come to children if they’ve been good!

I was curious about this tradition and not many of my friends / coworkers over here had much of an idea where it started, so I did some research. Based on my extensive 15 minutes of Googling, Nicholas was born in Patar in Asia Minor. He is said to have made a pilgrimage to Egypt to study theology after which he was consecrated the Bishop of Myra. Nicholas of Myra was known for his generosity through a Christian legend, in which he gave a poor father money in order to prevent his daughters from being taken into slavery, as the father did not have the funds for his daughters' dowries. It is said that Nicholas of Myra threw the money through the family's window, which landed in their shoes, which were drying near their fireplace.

After much discussion about which pair of shoes would be Saint Nicholas' favorite, we determined leaving our black "high heels" and gold glitter boots out would be the best option. The girls placed their shoes out before bed and were surprised with a cutie orange and some small chocolates the next morning.

Swiss bakeries and homes prepare for Nikolaustag by baking traditional Grittibänz, bread figures shaped like little men. At school, both girls got to bake Grittibänz with their classmates and enjoy the celebrations. They came home excited to show off their creations.

It has also been determined that the raisin eyes on on a Grittibänz are basically the same as the ears on an Easter bunny -- you have to eat them first.

One notable aspect of Nikolaustag in Switzerland is the tradition of visiting Nicholas in the forest. The meeting is an interactive experience, where Nicholas may read from his Goldenes Buch (Golden Book.) This book records each child’s good deeds and areas for improvement. In some locations, children also recite poems or sing songs in exchange for small gifts, most often oranges & gingerbread. We had the opportunity to go visit Nicholas in Schellenberg which is only about a 10 minute drive from us (plus the 30 min walk to get up the mountain through the forest!)

At the top, you are rewarded with the beautiful scene of kids playing, adults enjoying each other's company, the goats and donkeys grazing (in pens!), warm soup and drinks for the young and old.

We visited with Nicholas and got our gingerbread then toured his little house.

We worked our way to the drinks stand and obtained some OJ & tea for the kids and mulled wine for the adults, then settled near the fire pit to enjoy the evening.

We walked back down the mountain in the dark full of happy memories.