Happy St. Nick's Day

Do you celebrate St. Nick's Day? I've met people from different religions, ethnicities, and geographical areas who celebrate St. Nick's Day, all in a similar way, but I know it's not a universally recognized holiday.

Perhaps because my family is from Milwaukee (a city of strong German heritage), or maybe because we're Catholic, or maybe because we're of Eastern European descent, or maybe it's a combination of all three, but my family has always celebrated St. Nick's Day. We leave out our shoes or stockings on the night of December 5th and awake with our shoes or stocking filled with treats on December 6th. Based on stories from friends and family, this is a fairly common way to celebrate St. Nick's Day (in the United States).

Even if you're not familiar with the history of St. Nick, you probably are familiar with his most famous derivative - Santa Claus. But the real Saint Nicholas was a raised by wealthy parents who died while Nicholas was still young. He dedicated his life to Jesus, became a bishop, and used his inheritance to help the needy. There are many stories about him - that he rescued a young boy who had been kidnapped and the boy was returned to his family on December 6th; that he tossed gold through windows that landed in the shoes of poor, young girls and this money was used as a dowry so they could marry instead of being sold into slavery; that he entered homes in the middle of the night and left fruit, candy, and/or small toys for poor children. These stories built his legend, and his generosity and good deeds are celebrated and honored by sharing candies and small gifts on his feast day. In parts of Europe, St. Nicholas day includes dressing as bishops and begging from neighbors (kind of like trick or treating in the US, but for money for the poor). Of course, some believe kids now keep the money for themselves but let's not ruin the nice story with cynicism.
At least not today.

Like I said, my family celebrated with treats in our shoes or stockings. When we lived nearby, my Grandma also gave us a stocking. After we moved away, my Grandmother sent us a gift, and often that gift was an ornament. She would go to Hallmark in October when the ornaments were released, or hit up the craft fairs throughout the year to find the perfect ornaments for each of her grandchildren. My one male cousin (on that side of the family) received a classic car every year since he turned sixteen, and even after my grandma passed away, my aunt (not his mom) gave him one last car ornament because it was the last in the series, and my grandma had told my aunt that she wanted to finish the series for him. Grandma listened to what we were interested in, and always tried to find ornaments that reflected our interests at that time in our lives.

My ornament collection from my grandma is very reflective of who I was growing up - softball players, Olympic medals, violins, and roller blades. These are all incredibly special to me, and remind me of my Grandma every year when I put them on the tree. Perhaps the most special to me are the last ornaments she gave me, weeks before she passed away.

My grandma was in the hospital that Christmas, so imagine my surprise when I, as a second year graduate student, arrived at my parent's home on Christmas with my fiance to find a gift from my Grandmother that contained an entire set of Sesame Street characters. I immediately burst into tears, and sobbed, "I can't believe she remembered."

Months earlier, my Grandma had asked me if I collected any ornaments. In retrospect, I think she was asking because she had forgotten whether she got me a series every year, like she did for some of my cousins. I told her I didn't collect any, but that I wanted to collect all the Sesame Street characters. My high school class mascot was Elmo (just for our class, not the school), and I had collected a few Elmos through the years. (In fact, my nephew and then my niece have both cuddled with one of my Elmos, and I'm pretty sure they think he is theirs - he's not and I want him back!). Aside from Elmo, I had great memories of watching Christmas Eve on Sesame Street as a kid, so Sesame Street always had a special place in my heart. When I told her that I'd always wanted the Sesame Street characters, I had no idea she would remember or even think about getting them for me.

My Sesame Street characters have not faired so well over the years - poor Burt has a broken nose - but my husband doesn't even suggest that we toss him out. He knows how important the whole set is to me, and he'd never ask me to give them up, broken pieces and all.

This is the reason I have continued this tradition, passed down from my Grandma. I've always bought ornaments for my husband and me every year, but now I also get ornaments for my family too. It started with just my nephew, but then grew to include an ornament for everyone - something special that reminds me of that person or couple. There have been Star Wars, engagement rings, Starbucks cups, gym bags, cell phones, and Packers ornaments, Batman, ballet slippers, baking tools, Peanuts characters, and Sportscenter Santas. Each special, each representing the receiver.

I'm sure giving ornaments isn't exactly what St. Nick had in mind, but I believe the spirit of St. Nicholas is alive every time I find a perfect ornament to give to my family - a small gift given to show them that they are loved very much.