St. Nicholas Day Tradition

Day 54: Happy St. Nicholas Day! For me, the 6th of December marks the start of the holiday season. As a youngster, the occasion meant a visit from St. Nicholas...not Santa Claus, not Father Christmas, but a figure somewhere between the two, with a blush of St. Francis of Assisi thrown in for spice. I pictured St. Nicholas as physically resembling Father Christmas: tall, thin, heavily and luxuriously robed, bearded, and with a wreath of holly and mistletoe on his head. His companions were the forest creatures, chipmunks at his feet, birds on his shoulders, deer following adoringly behind as he made his evening rounds to the children of the world. He did not bring toys, clothes or the other trappings one would expect from Santa's bag. Instead, he brought sweets and fruit: mandarin oranges, chewy dates and figs, ribbon candy, crystallized maple sugar in the shape of leaves. I never knew which door he'd open, but it always seemed to be the one farthest from where I was waiting to hear the "thunk" of a sackful of goodies hitting the floor when he tossed it inside. And oddly enough, my father always seemed to miss the event, having excused himself to visit the kitchen or bath. Today, I celebrate St. Nicholas Day with a tradition I began in adulthood. To open the holidays, I bake one of my favourite cookies, either Spritz or Russian Tea Cakes. I think St. Nicholas would approve.