This may seem stupid, but what day does Saint Nick come?

Question

Sorry, we are getting ready to put up stockings and lights and we were all curious.. I think its the night of the 5th to the morning of the 6th but please let me know.. if you have any random things about christmas please post as well to get best answer.

Santa and Saint Nick are two different ideas. Saint Nick comes earlier.

Thanks Rabssp

Answer 1

Saint Nick? As in, Santa Clause? He comes Christmas eve night/Christmas morning, the 24th/25th of Dec. That is, if it's Santa Clause you're talking about, I can't think of any other St. Nicks.

Answer 2

In our Culture we have the Three Wisdom Kings that come on the night of the 5th of January. The kids put their shoes next to the tree or window and for when they arrive they put any treat in the kids shoe- could be money, a toy or even just cookies it all depends on the parents. We are Hispanic. So when the kids wake up on the 6th they are full of surprises. In Mexico there is no Santa Claus or any tree decorating only the baby Jesus decor so on the night of the fifth the Three Wisdom Kings come and leave gifts like they did to baby Jesus.

Answer 3

dec 7 and stocks childerens shoes as in santa clause dec 24& 25 when everyones asleep

Answer 4

St. Nicholas Day is December 6th.

So, St. Nicholas Eve would be Dec. 5th. :)

Answer 5

I would think it could depend on how he has been treating Mrs. ST. Nick.

Answer 6

he comes the night of the 5th . You were right!

Answer 7

He comes December 6, St. Nicholas Day

The Legend of St. Nicholas By Anise Hollingshead
Strictly speaking, the tradition of St. Nicholas is not synonomous with the role of Santa Claus in the U.S.. As practiced in many European countries, the celebration of St. Nicholas is separate from the Christmas holidays, and occurs during the 2 weeks prior to December 6th, which is St. Nicholas's day. Sometimes St. Nicholas Day is the main holiday for gift giving, and not Christmas.

In the Netherlands, legend has it that Sinterklaas (Dutch name for St. Nicholas) arrives in the Netherlands by way of steamboat from Spain 2 weeks before his traditional birthday, December 6th, along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who will help disperse the gifts and candy to all the good children. Sinterklaas, along with the zwarte piets, will go abroad at night and stride about the countryside wearing his red mantle, his mitre, and his golden crosier and sporting a long, white beard. Referring to his book that lists all the good and bad children, Sinterklaas will deliver presents to all the good children, but watch out if you've been bad! The bad children may be taken back to Spain with him. The Low Countries (Belgium and Luxemburg) have basically the same traditions surrounding St. Nicholas, but not to the extent of the Netherlands. Children in Luxemburg call him Kleeschen, and his helper is Ho˜seker (Black Peter). Belgian children know him as Sint Niklaas.

In Germany, St. Nicholas is also known as Klaasbuur, Sunnercla, Burklaas, Bullerklaas, and Rauklas, and in eastern Germany, he is also known as Shaggy Goat, Ash Man and Rider and is more reflective of earlier pagan influences (Norse) that were blended in with the figure of St. Nicholas, when Christianity came to Germany. After the reformation, St. Nicholas's attire began to change, maybe as a reflection of the change from the Roman church, and he started to wear a red suit with fur. His dark-skinned helper is most often known as Knecht Ruprecht. Although he still visits many homes on Dec 5th/6th and leaves candy and gifts in the children's shoes, more recently St. Nicholas has begun showing up on Christmas Eve in Germany and is called Father Christmas.

In France, he is now called Pere Noel (Father Christmas) and he travels in the company of Pere Fouettard. Pere Noel leaves presents for good children, while Pere Fouettard disciplines bad children with a spanking. Pere Noel only sometimes leaves presents on St. Nicholas day, more often now on Christmas. St. Nicholas day was celebrated formerly in Russia, but under Communism he was changed to Grandfather Frost and wore blue instead of red. In Sicily, he comes on Dec 13th and is called Santa Lucia.


The History

St. Nicholas was born in 271 AD and died around December 6, 342 or 343 AD near the Asia Minor (Turkey) town of Myra,. where he later became Bishop. He performed many good deeds and was a friend to the poor and helpless, and upon his death, myths soon sprang up about him all around the Mediterranean Sea. He was reputed to be able to calm the raging seas, rescue desperate sailors, help the poor and downtrodden, and save children. He was soon named as the patron saint of sailors, and when Myra was overthrown, his bones were transported by sailors to Bari, a port in Italy, where a tomb was built over the grave and became the center of honor for St. Nicholas. From here the legend spread on around to the Atlantic Coast of Europe and the North Sea to become a European holiday tradition regardless of religion.


The Holiday Today

In anticipation of St. Nicholas's nightly visits, children in several European countries put their shoes in front of the fire place. They sing traditional songs and provide a carrot or hay for the horse. At night Black Pete puts gifts and candy in the shoes.

In the Netherlands, families celebrate St Nicholas's birthday the night before his feast day (December 6th). At one point during the evening, a loud knock will herald the arrival of Sinterklaas and at the same time candy may be thrown from upstairs; when the door is opened, a bag of gifts will be on the doorstep.

For families with older children and adults, different twists are added to the gift giving and may include gag gifts or the drawing of gift ideas or names, and most times are accompanied by poems with a "personal touch" that poke fun at the recipient in a gentle way (or not, depending on the families ;) ). Wrapping the presents up in odd packages and planting a trail of clues is also part of the general fun, and can sometimes be pretty tricky to get to, depending on the squeamishness of the recipients.

Answer 8

I would say that you should know....if you're really looking ...