Saint Nicholas Day with Kids: Shoes, Coins, and a Very Old Story
A shoe by the door, a coin in the morning, and a story worth keeping.
On the night of December 5, in much of the world, children leave a shoe or a stocking by the door. In the morning they find it filled with coins, chocolate, or an orange. That is Saint Nicholas Day, kept on December 6, and it is one of the gentlest family traditions in the Christian year.
Why a shoe, and why coins?
Both go back to the same old story. Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop, is remembered for secretly giving bags of gold to a poor family by night. Some later tellings say the gold landed in shoes or stockings left by the fire to dry. The coins and the round orange in the shoe are small echoes of that gold.
A simple way to keep the day
You do not need much. Here is a version that works well with young children:
- On the evening of December 5, have each child set out one shoe by the door.
- After they are asleep, fill each shoe with a few chocolate coins, a real coin or two, and a clementine or orange.
- In the morning, tell the story: a real bishop named Nicholas who gave in secret and asked that no one be told.
- If you like, talk about one small, hidden kindness each person could do that day, without being thanked.
Keeping it honest
It helps to tell children plainly that the real Nicholas and the modern Santa are not quite the same person. The bishop of Myra is history; the reindeer and the North Pole came much later. Children can hold both, a fun story and a true one, and the true one is the better of the two.
A saint like this, every month
This is the sort of story in every issue of Saints by Mail: printed, reverent, and mailed to your door. A thoughtful gift for godchildren, families, and anyone who loves the saints.