Tonight is St. Nicholas Eve.Tonight we leave out our shoes, in hopes that St. Nicholas will leave a chocolate or other small gift. Tonight St. Nicholas rides his white horse, giving presents.
St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, is the patron saint of New York City. (That's why, in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Santa Claus arrives last in the train. It's a patron's celebration.)
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St. Nicholas is a saint in the Catholic and the Orthodox churches, and is honored among Protestants. When the Twin Towers fell, they fell on St. Nicholas' Orthodox church, which held some of his relics. Those relics were never found, and are now mixed with those of other New Yorkers from that attack.
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We should not speak here of Black Peter, who accompanies St. Nicholas on his rounds. Black Peter beats bad children with his cane. You were wondering what candy canes were all about, eh?
But we have all been good. We have put out our shoes.
I had no idea that St. Nicholas' Eve was celebrated in its original form anywhere outside of the Dutch-speaking part of the world. You learn something new everyday. Thanks, Jim at Making Light.
Addendum: Next year, we should use Krampus in the Chronicles of the Witch Queen Christmas special.
