Today, December 6th, is the day of St. Nicholas in the Catholic calendar. St. Nick, of course, is (one of the) origin(s) of the American Santa Claus (the other is a pre-Christian Old Man Winter figure who shakes snow out of his long white beard), and in many countries in continental Europe, the old guy still delivers his gifts to children the night before the 6th. (Children get gifts for Christmas too–but these are attributed to Baby Jesus or little angels).

The Hungarian version is called Mikulás (a Slavic form of Nicholas, clearly indicating the line of transmission), or Télapó (Father Winter). They both refer to the same guy in the red suit, and can be used alternatively. Children are supposed to clean their winter boots and put them in the window, and Mikulás flies by (it is not traditionally stated how, but I suspect most children today, having seen plenty of American movies, would name reindeers), and deposits small gifts inside them. (Hey, you’ve been told to clean them.)

In the not-so-distant past, these gifts used to be things like apples and nuts–oranges and tangerines in a good case. I’ll give you three guesses as to what constitutes the bulk now (tiny token apples and a few peanuts or walnuts are still usually added out of tradition). He may also bring small toys and books–which will have to go next to the boots. He’s also a bit of a meanie–bad children receive not a lump of coal, which can even be useful if they’re cold, but a hickory switch with which they are to be corrected. (Before you call Children’s Services, I should clarify that the modern version, added to all Mikulás packages just in case, looks more like gilded dried flowers than instruments of corporal punishment. You can see them on the picture, sticking out of the packages.)

Our kids’ boots are not in use except when we specifically go and look for snow up in the Sierra, so no cleaning was actually needed. On the other hand, it appears that St. Nick has miscalculated their size, and he couldn’t actually fit the even the basic packages inside. In such a case, he usually just puts everything next to the boots. He is also fairly flexible on the window requirement–we don’t have windowsills, so it’s fine with him if the boots are somewhere in the general proximity of the window.

The picture in the link is a reenactment: St. Nick didn’t think it wise to use flash photography in a room with sleeping children.

Mikulás