S02 Ep14 - Folk Customs - St Nicholas Feast Day Joys and Scares

Croatia Underrated

There are many symbols of the Christmas season, and the joy of children is definitely one of them. That joy is often connected with receiving gifts. Here in Croatia, the first important gift-bringer is usually St Nicholas. He visits the homes somewhere in the night before his feast day, and that’s December the 6th. He leaves gifts for good children and ceremonially opens up the joyful Christmas season.
We could call St Nicholas Day an overture to Christmas. Small gifts, children’s anticipation, seasonal magic, even a saint, so the religious side of Christmas doesn’t slide through. On St Nicholas Eve, children will clean their boots and put them in their windows. In the morning, they will find a present inside!
Oh, wait! There is something else in those boots! Golden twigs? What's with that? The answer will unlock the secret of that concerned look in the children's eyes. St Nicholas never travels alone...

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