Tonight is the eve of St. Nicholas Day. Nicholas was born in Lycia, which is now part of Turkey. Legend says he was a kind and generous man, who protected the poor and did many great deeds.In Holland St. Nicholas is called Sinter Klaas (he is the original Santa Claus). Children in Holland leave their shoes by the fireplace on this night, and in the morning they are filled with marzipan and small toys. Also, Sinter Claus often leaves larger gifts tonight or during the next day.
When my children were younger, we read stories about St. Nicholas, and celebrated with the shoes and gifts because- well, why not?? Any excuse for giving gifts and eating chocolate is a good one!
Now, my children are grown, and I don't usually have the opportunity to fill their shoes. Today, I look instead for opportunities to fill my heart- with kindness, generosity, and the joy of giving. All I need to do is wake up, and become aware of the people around me: Every encounter with another person is an opportunity to give a gift of patience, acceptance, and unconditional love. These have no cost, and will bring me closer to grace.
Agenda today:
1. Joy of Giving meditation:
- Center, and open your heart.
- Think about all you have to offer- time, love, skills, information and wisdom, patience, smiles, and the things you make with your hands.
- As you breathe out, picture giving to everyone you meet. As you breathe in, feel the joy of giving fill you in return.
How can I get all the right gifts, and still retain the peace and lightness I want for myself this season?
3. Donate a toy to Toys for Tots:Any small, secret kindness is a gift from St. Nicholas. Today I bought this cute puppy, and felt again the gentle joy of choosing the perfect gift, and offering it to an anonymous child.
4. Make pfeffernüsse:
In Holland children get pfeffernüsse on St. Nicholas eve, but when I was young we always got them closer to Christmas, from our German neighbor Bill Rueter. Bill brought us a small bowl of these every Christmas when I was a child.
Pfeffernüsse means “pepper nuts”, and they are supposed to be as hard as nuts! To eat them you need to suck on them until they soften. They improve with age- they get harder- so make them well in advance.
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| One full batch- 150 small cookies. |
This recipe comes from Bill Rueter's Grandma Ott.
Ingredients:
1- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2- Mix together all the ingredients, and add flour until the dough is very, very stiff. Grandma Ott said, “When you are sure it’s stiff enough, add some more.” When you can’t stir any more in, use your hands to kneed it in.
3- Form the dough into logs, and then roll one log into a thin rope. Break the rope into small bits and roll these into balls about 1/2-inch thick. (If they are too large, they will be hard to suck on.)
- 1 c. dark Karo corn syrup
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 1/4 c. milk
- 1/2-Tbsp. anise oil
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. each of cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper
- many cups of flour
2- Mix together all the ingredients, and add flour until the dough is very, very stiff. Grandma Ott said, “When you are sure it’s stiff enough, add some more.” When you can’t stir any more in, use your hands to kneed it in.
3- Form the dough into logs, and then roll one log into a thin rope. Break the rope into small bits and roll these into balls about 1/2-inch thick. (If they are too large, they will be hard to suck on.)
5- Bake 10-12 minutes- the cookies should be cooked through and lightly browned. If you added enough flour, they will be soft at first, but get hard pretty quickly.
Check out this story about St. Nicholas’ donkey and the pfeffernusse.
5. Make small gifts:
Today is a good day to start to stockpile small gifts to give to neighbors and friends, and to use as stocking stuffers.
I got inspired to make small houses this year, using some of the great scrap fabrics I've collected.
Supplies: Fabric scraps, felt, iron, scissors, thread and needle, yarn for hanging
1- Cut a house shape from felt for backing.
2- Cut scraps for front of house, windows, doors, and roof.
3- Sew scraps in place (I used a sewing machine this time, but I expect I will sew some by hand as well.)
4- Sew yarn at the top to hang.
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