This weekend in Gdańsk, Santa Claus, or, to be precise, Saint Nicholas, arrived on the boat amid fireworks and song to light up a huge Christmas tree, to take a ride in a special Christmas tramway, and to initiate a great motorcycle parade of Santa Clauses on motorcycles. Saint Nicholas' Day, observed on December 6 in Central Europe, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas - a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra revered for his goodness and generosity. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to his reputation as a bearer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of Mass or worship services. In Europe, especially in Germany and Poland, boys would dress as bishops begging alms for the poor. The night before, they put out a shoe in a hallway for Saint Nick to put a gift in it. In Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. In the Netherlands, Dutch children put out a clog filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse. On Saint Nicholas' Day, gifts are tagged with personal humorous rhymes written by the sender. Simple gift-giving in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child. In Gdańsk, December 6th is still the official beginning of the season for gift giving and merrymaking. Photos: Jerzy Pinkas -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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