My post was delayed this morning due to an argument with youngest child. I hate children back chatting. I hate rude children, and this morning my youngest chanced his arm just a little bit and stepped over a few boundaries. Needless to say after putting him on the naughty step, having words with him, he went into a complete strop, refused to apologise for his behaviour, was downright rude to his brother and it all spiralled out of control until I had to raise my voice to him to get him to stop. This did help a little but by the time I had read the riot act, he was in a temper and refused to say goodbye when I dropped him of at school. Warned his teacher he was in a mood, she apparently asked him what was up when she saw him and he said "mum just in a mood, must be time of month!!"
So today is St. Nicholas day. A lot of our Polish students were off today to celebrate, so between them and choir rehearsals going on, most of the classes were quite sparse.
St. Nicholas was a a Lycian saint and Bishop of Myra in Anatolia. He was born during the third century in the village of Patara. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, but is now commonly identified with Santa Claus. Nicholas was never officially canonised; his legend simply evolved among the faithful. In 1087, his remains were abducted and removed to Bari in southern Italy, so that he is also Saint Nicholas of Bari. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his great kindness and his generous aid to those in distress. Among the kind and miraculous acts attributed to him are saving three young girls from prostitution by secretly providing them with dowries, raising three murdered boys from the dead, and saving sailors caught in stormy seas. For these reasons, he is considered the patron saint of children, unmarried girls, and sailors, among others.
Traditional celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day in Northern Europe included gifts left in children's shoes (the origin of Christmas stockings). Good children receive treats - candies, cookies, apples and nuts, while naughty children receive switches or lumps of coal. Sometimes coins were left in the shoes, reminiscent of the the life-saving doweries the saint provided. Today - especially in families of German extraction - children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and expect to find candy and coins or small gifts in their shoe on December 6th.
In some households the father of the family may dress up as Saint Nicholas on the eve of his feast. He comes in, sometimes with his sidekick, Krampus or Black Peter, and helps each child examine his conscience. He admonishes the bad and rewards the good.
For more information this is a good website to look at:
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23
Right better get off here, need to cook dinner and then get my youngest to church as he is in the school carol concert!
Happy ST. Nicholas Day
