Feast Day of St Nicholas

The sixth of December is the feast day of Saint Nicholas. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with St Nicholas seen as a bringer of gifts. In Europe, especially in Germany and Poland, boys dress as bishops begging alms for the poor. In the Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that they have been good during the year. Children who behaved badly can expect to find a piece of coal instead. In the Netherlands, Dutch children put out a clog filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse - rather like us leaving out sherry and a mince pie for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.