6 Dec 2011

Happy Saint Nicolas!

Look what I got in the mail yesterday from a wonderful friend:

merci Kyt!!!

Yummy Belgian chocolate!!! Just in time to celebrate Saint Nicolas today! :o)

What's that? You didn't know today was Saint Nick's day? The original guy behind Santa Claus? Well, I did! You can't have lived in Belgium and NOT know it! Saint Nicolas is a very big deal for kids in Belgium, northern France, Luxemburg, the Netherlands... He comes to their house (and their grandparents' and other family members' houses) and leaves them candy and cakes and toys. It's a good thing the kids never stopped to ask why he doesn't always show up on his day (Dec. 6th, not an official holiday) but conveniently drops off his packages on the closest weekend... ;o)


When I lived in Liège I lucked out a few years as Saint Nicolas often left a little something for me at a friend's house!

merci Val!!!

So for me the Christmas period really starts today, with Saint Nicolas. And ends on January 6th, the Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (big deal in Spain). One month of holiday cheer, yay! :D

Oh, in Liège the University students celebrate their own crazy Saint Nicolas holiday (he's the patron saint of students as well as children), and I just wrote a post about it on my travel blog here. Enjoy! Hope you aren't too shocked! ;o)

4 comments:

  1. I left a post and it disappeared.
    :-( Anyway, its really fun to see and hear about customs from around the world! You have a very nice friend - those chocolates look yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cris: Email me, I need your email address.
    busybee2@comcast.net

    I have a post going up tomorrow, Dec 7th on Our Lady of Guadalupe and I need some spanish translated. So stop by tomorrow and translate for me, would you? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yayy! St. Nick's Day? I thought it was soon, so thanks for reminding me. It's a perfect excuse for having a it of holiday cheer, right? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those chocolates ARE yummy! :o)

    DJan: any excuse is a good excuse for Holiday Cheer! ;o)

    ReplyDelete

Hey there! Yes you! The quiet one in the back... I'd love it if you hung out for a bit and shared your thoughts!

I might stop by your place with an answer, but I'm more likely to reply right here so click on "email follow up comments" if you'd like to see what I and others have to say and come continue the conversation! ;o)