Old St. Nick

Being married to a Romanian definitely has its perks. For one thing, my Mother in-law's cooking will make any Chef on the Food Network cry. Her Dips, cabbage rolls, and desserts are yummy enough to be publish. Also, Eastern Europeans are famous for their DIY abilities. My husband had renovated 2 of the bathrooms, kitchen and recently build a stone fireplace in the basement. All with the help of Home Depot and his own personal ingenuity.

Along with his other great qualities, he also bring several traditions that I have adopted. One of the cutest tradition is celebrating St. Nicholas. Apparently, in European culture, St. Nicholas day is celebrated on the eve of December 6th. Children will polish their boots and leave them out next to the front door. In the morning, they will find small goodies that St. Nick had left for them in their boots.

This tradition is very similar to our Santa Clause leaving treats and small goodies in our stockings during Christmas. I think the efficiency traits of N. Americans just merged St. Nick and Jesus Christ's birthday together into one holiday and called it a day. My husband told me that when he was a kid, he will look forward to this day all year and take great care in cleaning his boot in anticipation for St. Nick. Then 3 weeks later, they will celebrate Christmas as it was intended (a religious holiday filled with gifts, families and a feast).

Well, on the night of the December 5th, I ran out to the local drug store in a panic and filled the boots up. Almost $100 later, I got what I need. Who said that this day was cheap?

I also finished decorating my tree. The kids "helped". They each took two ornaments, fought over it, "I'm going to tell mommy" twice, got bored and then promptly sat on the couch watching Dora while I finished the rest. Aaahhhhh... the holidays are finally here.