Saint Nicholas day

Happy Saint Nicholas day one and all. Saint Nicholas day has been a family tradition going as far back as I can remember and longer. In several European countries this is the time to leave your shoes (or stockings ) out in anticipation that they will be filled that night in the spirit of Saint Nicholas (or Black Pete depending on who you talk to). When we asked our Mum who was leaving the gifts she would just smile and say, "Some one who loves you very much". She never lied. when we were older we discovered that it was indeed 'someone who loved us very much'. The stockings in our family began with my Great Grandmother. The pattern is from a 1920's McCall catalog and labeled as "Vintage Stocking". I don't know how old the original pattern is. The stockings are made with several colors of good thick felt, vintage beads and sequins, sewn and beaded by hand. My Grandmother kept the tradition going and when she died I became the stocking maker in our family. This is the first Saint Nicholas day that Bear and I are celebrating as a married couple. Yesterday I presented him with his stocking made in the same tradition as the rest of our family's stockings. I had been working on it in secret for the past few months; some of the patches I have saved for years for my future husband from an unfinished stocking that my grandmother had started. This was a labor of love and all he could do was sit there and smile; his eyes however, were full and said so much more than words ever could.

Happy Saint Nicholas day every one, from my family to yours. What are some of your family traditions this holiday season?