St Nicholas Day in Slovakia

 St Nicholas Day in Slovakia 

It is celebrated each year on 6 December. Small kids enjoy it very much. They clean their shoes or boots and they put it by the window or next to the front door before they go to bed on 5 December. Nowadays it is popular to use socks, too. 

PATRIK: "We don´t clean shoes but we use socks so we don´t have to clean anything. I give my sock to the window and I wait until the next morning. When I get up there is a chocolate in my sock."

MARTINA: "Day before St. Nicholas I clean my shoes and then I give them in front of a window. Next day I will get some sweets, fruit or nuts from St. Nicholas. If I did not clean my shoes well I would get coal to my shoes. On St. Nicholas´ Day I usually spend time with my family."

MARIÁN: "In the evening on the 6th of December, my younger siblings and I put the boots near a window."

ADRIÁNA: "We don´t clean shoes because we aren´t little kids anymore. We celebrate  St. Nicholas day before with the family. We give sweets each others."

In the morning they find a lot of sweets and some fruit. 

        

JUSTÍNA: "In the morning I woke up there were thing I like in my boot".

LENKA: "This year I had some chocolate, fruit and nuts in my sock."

VERONIKA: "In the morning on the 6th of December, I find some sweets, healthy food or fruits and socks." 

NATÁLIA: "In the morning on the 6th of December we got our sweets. It’s usually In the bag on my bed or on the chair when I get up."

Sometimes St Nicholas vistis the families with his helpers - an angel and a devil. They ask children if they were good or bad. Kids usually sing for them or tell a short poem. Then they get the present.

BARBORA: "Every year someone from our family dresses up as Nicholas, an angel and a devils. They go out and visit our friends and family and hand out packages of sweets."