Other Traditions
Did your family or friends also celebrate other traditions during the holidays such as Hanukkah or Kwanzaa? Did your immigrant ancestors have holiday traditions from their native country which they retained or perhaps abandoned?
We grew up celebrating the German tradition of observing the feast of St Nicholas. On December 5th we would leave our shoes either outside the front door or just inside the door. To our amazement in the morning there was an orange, some nuts, and a small toy inside the shoes. I'm sure that my brother Tom thought this was an extension of his birthday since his birthday was also December 6. This tradition continued with my children and down to my grandchildren. Last week our church did candy canes in the shoes of children in the religious education program. The children had lined their shoes up in the hall outside of their classrooms. Even the High School kids get into the act. When I did this for my children, I used to save the prizes from their cereal for St Nicholas Day.
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When I was teaching in a small Catholic school the children were very excited on St. Nicholas Day. They put out their shoes and were thrilled to get sweet little treats.
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Yes Colleen, my grandchildren do attend a Catholic religious education program. Thanks for reading my blog.
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