St. Nicholas Day is Almost Here! Are You Ready? (He's Coming to a Home, Church, Town Near You on December 6th!)

Our family and parish has always loved celebrating St. Nicholas Day, and today I'd like to tell you about a website that I know you'll find invaluable for your own family's celebration of this special saint and his day.

Why St. Nicholas vs. Santa; and why Dec. 6th vs 25th?

Was St. Nicholas a real person?

Why secret gift giving?

You can find answers to the above questions and more here, on this incredible website, devoted to families and all things St. Nicholas on the St. Nicholas Center website.

When you visit stnicholascenter.org and you'll also find:

crafts
recipes

online books & stories

celebrating at home
st. nicholas and our american christmas customs
around-the-world celebrations

How about an 8 year old's perspective? I hope you take time to listen to this fun interview, "The Real St. Nick", about the difference between St. Nicholas and Santa - from the perspective of an 8 year old boy: http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/closetohome/the_real_st_nick

And don't miss this beautiful picture book, "Saint Nicholas & the Nine Gold Coins" by Jim Forest. This beautifully told story of St. Nicholas and the dowry gold, seamlessly includes historical background and Jesus' teachings. Illustrated by Vladislov Andrejev, with rich, full-color iconographic art - available here.

You can also read my past posts from my Advent and Christmas Resource Page: 

• "A Timeline for St. Nicholas" here
• JRR Tolkien's "Letters from Fr. Chistmas" here.