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You probably don’t know what that is, do you? Before I came out to DC, I thought that everyone celebrated or at least heard of St. Nick’s Day. Then, I came out here and no one had ever heard of it, so I had to explain it to everyone. I have celebrated it every year for as long as I can remember. What is it, you might ask? Well, here is a brief summary:
St. Nick’s day celebrates St. Nicholas, who is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, children, and students. Every year on December 6, children wake up to find treats and gifts in their stockings if they behave and a lump of coal if they misbehave. So, kind of like Christmas, but instead 19 days earlier. In fact, both Santa Clause and Father Christmas developed from St. Nicholas. It is mainly celebrated in Europe, but many German families in the U.S., such as families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have continued the traditions and brought it to these places. This, I realized, is why I have always celebrated it. When I was younger on December 6 every year at my house, we would have our stockings hung up over the fireplace and peek inside before school to see if we received gifts. Likewise, both in elementary school and high school, my teachers would leave candy canes and some type of little treat on our desks. In fact, yesterday I received a package from my high school in honor of St. Nick's Day (it was filled with candy) and it brightened my day a little bit.
So, in order to continue the tradition, I put up three stockings in my dorm room (one for each roommate, myself included) and this morning, I put candy and a little gift in each (which is how this relates to my life here at GW). I hope my roommates enjoyed the little surprise! It’s great when you can continue traditions when attending college. In case you want to read a little more on St. Nicholas, here are some websites:
http://hubpages.com/hub/St_Nicholas_Day
and little article about St. Nick's Day in Milwaukee:
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=391
-Christie
hello christie merry christmas to u too.my name is naa densua decardi-nelson a ghanaian wishing to transfer to george washington university from ashesi university.i wanted to know more about the school from an insider since i cannot really afford to visit the school now and thats how come i contacted you.hope you help me out and if possible tell me the stuff i need to know besides what is written on the schools website.thank you.
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