Thursday, December 6, 2012

St. Nicholas Day

Today we are celebrating our first St. Nicholas Day. There was a lot of excitement in the air last night as we read the story of St. Nicholas and talked a little about the story and its meaning.

Let me share this lovely story with you:

Once upon a time there lived far away in the East a pious man, the Bishop Nicholas. One day he heard that far in the West was a big town. In this town all the people had to suffer hunger, the children also. Then Bishop Nicholas called his servants who loved him and said to them 'Bring me the fruits of your gardens and the fruits of your fields that we can still the hunger of the children in that town.' The servants brought baskets full of apples and nuts, and on top lay honey cakes which the women had baked. And the men brought sacks of wheat. Bishop Nicholas had all these things taken onto a ship. It was a beautiful ship, quite white and the sails of the ship were as blue as the sky and as blue as the mantle of the Bishop Nicholas. The wind blew into the sails and sped the ship along, and when the wind grew tired the servants took to the oars and rowed the ship westward. They had to sail for a long-time; for seven days and seven nights.

When they arrived in front of the big town it was evening. The roads were empty, but in the houses there burnt lights. Bishop Nicholas knocked at a window. The mother in the house thought a late wanderer had come and she asked her child to open the door. Nobody was outside. The child ran to the window. There was nobody outside the window either. But instead, there stood a basket filled with apples and nuts, red and yellow, and a honey cake lay on top. By the basket stood a sack which was bursting with golden wheat grains. All the people ate the gifts and once again became healthy and happy.

Today St. Nicholas is in the heavens. Every year on his birthday he starts on his journey down to the earth. He asks for his white horse and journeys from star to star. There he meets Mother Mary, who gathers silver and golden threads for the shift of the Christ Child. Mother Mary says to him: "Dear St. Nicholas please go again to the children and bring them your gifts. Tell them, 'Christmas is nigh and soon the Christ Child will come.'"

The earth is wide and great. There, where St. Nicholas cannot go himself, he asks a good and pious person to go to the children and take them apples and nuts and tell the children of the coming of the Christ Child.

By Margaret Meyerkort 

Doing for others without them knowing, it is one of the most wonderful gifts for both giver and receiver. It is also a wonderful reminder at this time of year.

Last night, once Reece was tucked into bed, Justin and I put the final touches on the little St. Nicholas gift we created for Reece...a little chicken coop, fence and knitted hens.  We can't wait to see what he thinks.


And in the spirit of St. Nicholas, Reece and I will shop for some hats, mittens and scarves for those in need today. A simple, small act of kindness we hope will give warmth to some little ones this winter.

33 comments:

  1. Happy St. Nicholas Day Kim! The boys love this day. The chicken coop is beautiful, I am sure Reece will love it. I find this day a good time for explaining that this time of year is just as much about giving and sharing as it is about receiving and that true joy can often be found more in the giving. Hope you have a wonderful day.

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    1. Same to your Jennifer. And thank you, Reece loved it. We had such a great day and enjoyed a few conversations about giving and how good it feels.

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  2. what a beautiful way to celebrate and bring meaning to the day!

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  3. That coop is amazing! What a meaningful excursion to take Reece on today.... enjoy it!

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  4. How wonderful! I love how you make everything so special and give it meaning for Reece.

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    1. Thanks Melissa, I appreciate your words :)

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  5. I love that story, and what a perfect way to celebrate!

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  6. you and justin made such a sweet present! i'm sure R will love it!

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    1. Thanks Lisa, he loved it! It actually came to the grocery store with us today and he shared it with one of the ladies who works there.

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  7. What a beautiful coop. And thank you for sharing the story.

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  8. Amazing gift for your boy. You all are so kind and wonderful, enjoy your adventure in giving. :)

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    1. He loved it Sara. We had a great day and when asked about his favourite part of the day the buying and giving of the hat and mitts was one of the things he mentioned :)

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  9. What a lovely family tradition. Thanks for sharing :)

    Oh - and that chicken coop! Loooovely!

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  10. We started this tradition last year! Such a good one! I love the gift that Saint Nicholas left for Reece! What did he think when he saw it?!

    Happy Saint Nicholas Day, dear friend!

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    1. We was thrilled Shel, played with it all day. Right now the chickens are roosting and the coop is sitting under the Christmas tree in his room :)

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  11. This is about the coolest little coop I've ever seen! Reece will love it for sure. Sounds like a lovely tradition. I have friends who are Swiss and were celebrating this, too.

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    1. Thanks Kristen. Reece does love his coop and chickens and has taken everywhere we have gone. I am enjoying watching him play with it...love his imagination.

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  12. Thanks Ami, and yes such a wonderful reminder.

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  13. You seriously need to make a few more chicken coops and put them in your shop. They are amazing!

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  14. What a lovely tale. And a great way to teach kindness and the gift of giving to your little man. x

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  15. Beautiful job on the chicken coop & little chickens :)

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  16. Just beautiful, Kim! You guys are super talented.

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