Sunday, December 07, 2008

NIkolaus

Nikolaus came!

He always comes - he always finds us. Nikolaus never forgets.

We were first introduced to Nikolaus in Germany. Early in the morning of Dec. 6, Nikolaus comes to the homes of all German children and leaves gifts in their shoes. If the shoes are clean. He leaves chocolate and nuts and clementinas and a little gift of some sort.

The first year we lived in Germany, we did not know about this tradition. I answered the phone that morning - must have been a Sunday - and it was my friend Susanne, telling me about Nikolaus. I had read about this tradition but didn't even think about it for my kids. No worry, she said - if we would put the shoes on the porch, Nikolaus was on his way over (driven, I presume, by her boyfriend, Carsten).

And sure enough, the shoes were filled with goodies. It's a moment of kindness I will never forget.

This year, Nikolaus found the girls again. It's a special reminder of our time in Germany.

And another way for the girls to cash in.

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