Monday, December 6, 2010

St.Nicholas Day 2010

The girls are wondering if St. Nikolaus (St. Nicholas) is coming today.

Although they have accepted that St. Nikolaus is just a normal man in a costume; they are still hopeful ro find a glimpse of him. The excitement didnt dim just because they realize someone is only playing a role.

It has been a tradition that they meet St. Nicholas personally to receive their gifts. But this year, we dont have the time to prepare and the energy to really work on it. So we just thought of something else; which would be great for them, too.

We already informed them that St. Nicholas wont be able to personally come,  but that they would definitely get their gifts. This time, it would be a game, they need to find the gifts themselves. That made the girls more excited, a treasure hunt! I am glad they forgot their disappointed.

The night before, IC cant sleep and was just tumbling around, MC's a little bit out of the weather so she's already in bed but cannot sleep because of IC's excited chatter. When finally it was quiet on their side, I slipped out of bed and scattered Christmas chocolates around the house and placed their gifts in not-so-hard-to-find-places.

This morning, they were both up and ready for the treasure hunt. You could hear IC's squeals of delight, MC was taking it slowly. What tickled me was when they opened our house door and there were more gifts for them (Those were surprise gifts for the girls from our landlord)! IC cant help herself and shouted with glee.

I guess our St. Nicholas Day is a success!

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

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