Why Celebrate St. Nicholas Day?
December 6 or December 19 on the Julian Calendar

Illustration from envelope, Bar-le-Duc, France St. Nicholas Center Collection

• To learn about the true Santa Claus and Father Christmas: St. Nicholas, a man of faith who lived his life in devotion to Christ
• To focus on giving more than receiving: St. Nicholas cared for the needy
• To emphasize small treats and family fun: St. Nicholas loved children
• To provide a bit of special festivity early in the waiting weeks of Advent: St. Nicholas points to Jesus, the heart of Christmas
• To offer a spiritual dimension to gift giving
• To tell the story of a Christian saint, whose model life inspires compassion and charity
• To honor St. Nicholas honors the Christ Child who selflessly gave the greatest gift of all—himself

Nativity of St. Nicholas, St. Nicholas Hussite Church, Prague St. Nicholas Center Collection

Celebrate at Home 
Celebrate at Church 
Celebrate at School 

BC ©2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc. By permission of John L. Hart FLP, and Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Studies* with young children (ages 4-7) in the Netherlands show that St. Nicholas encourages positive, sharing behavior:

"One may think that traditions like the Dutch Saint Nicholas tradition makes children materialistic, greedy, and less likely to share with others as they are spoiled with gifts and candy. However, our results clearly show that children in The Netherlands still associate Saint Nicholas with 'sharing with others'  . . . .

"Significant others, such as family members, friends, and Saint Nicholas, are pre-eminently the people that influence us and that teach us what is good, and what is bad, and what the social norms are in our society. . . . Give Dutch children a coloring picture depicting the attributes of Saint Nicholas (a book, miter, and a staff) and they will give away more of their candy."

Resources for Celebrating St. Nicholas
ACTIVITIES • APPEARANCES • ARTICLES • BOOKS • CLIP ART • COSTUMES • CRAFTS • HANDOUTS • HYMNS, PRAYERS, SERMONS & MORE • MUSIC • PLAYS & SCRIPTS • RECIPES • STORIES & POEMS • ESPECIALLY FOR TEACHERS

* "Staff, miter, book, share: How attributes of Saint Nicholas induce normative behavior" by Janneke F. Joly and Diederik A. Stapel, European Journal of Social Psychology, volume 39, pp. 145-153 (2009). Published online 14 January 2008 in Wiley InterScience.