Sankt Nikolaus is on Saturday, 6th December. Traditionally children place their shoes before the door on the eve of St. Nikolaus and await gifts such as chocolates, nuts and mandarines if they have been good all year.

When we were children, we used to go to my aunt’s house where about 25 or more cousins gathered in anticipation of Sankt Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht. We girls usually had nothing to fear and were rewarded with goodies such as chocolate and other edibles.

Often the boys would be anxious and sometimes one of them would get a beating by Knecht Ruprecht, Nikolaus’ right hand, so to speak. Ruprecht used birch rods or some other twigs to carry out the punishment. More than once a reminder of fear was left in form of  a puddle on the wooden living room floor. These were the glorious sixties in Germany!!

We carry on with this tradition by asking our children to put their boots in front of our apartment door this evening. We tell them Sankt Nikolaus will drop off the presents during the night and has no time to come in. My children have never met Knecht Ruprecht either.

I am off now to do my shopping to stuff my family’s boots.