St. Nicholas Day in Germany

Today, December 6th, marks the celebration of St. Nicholas Day in many Christian countries around the world. I had never heard of it before when living in England. That was until I met Vanessa… and now she showed me exactly how it is celebrated in Germany every year since!
Different countries mark the day in different ways but Germany does it with lots of sweets and candy. German children will put a Nikolaus-Stiefel (a Nikolaus-Boot) or a pair of shoes outside their house during the evening on 5th December. Then, St. Nicholas will come along during the night and leave a little surprise in the shoes depending on your behaviour during the year.
If you have been a good boy/girl, then you wake up on the 6th to shoes filled with sweets, chocolate, candy and other lovely treats. If you’ve been bad however, there is no lump of coal for you here in Germany… you’ll find a Rute (stick) in your shoes instead!
I’m very glad to report that St. Nick has judged me to be a good boy every year so far and this morning I woke up to my shoes filled with all sorts of goodies!
Later in the day, we went to the shops and it seems like stores across Germany like to celebrate as well by giving all their customers a small little chocolate. We stopped by the pharmacy and the local supermarket and were rewarded both times with some Lindt choccies!
Speaking of which, I think we may have forgot to pick up some things earlier so might just have to pop back to the shops once more…! Happy St. Nicholas Day everyone!