Nicholas the Wonderworker

For the last several years, I’ve given my husband gifts of fancy chocolate on the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra, better known to many people as “Santa Claus” or “Father Christmas,” and sometimes known as “Nicholas the Wonderworker.”

This ritual started, in part, out of some vague sense of wanting to establish our own family tradition, and maybe also to commemorate my husband’s Polish roots — Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated widely in Europe, and particularly eastern Europe.

Also, Saint Nicholas Day emphasizes small, special gifts; it’s a nice pause in the non-stop “bigger, better, more expensive” messages that prevail during this time of the year.

But mainly it’s just that my husband is a super-nice guy, and I like giving him little things to let him know he’s appreciated.  (I realize that’s incredibly sappy, but it’s true.)

And Saint Nicholas was a pretty nice guy as well, or at least the stories handed down about him make him seem that way.

So December 6th just seems like a good day to celebrate good eggs.

I make small cards to accompany the chocolate.  This year’s theme just seemed to suggest itself.

Designs from previous years:

Best wishes for the holiday season to one and all.

Save