St. Nicholas Day--from a book my family had

Growing up, you never knew what my Dad Roy Longwell would bring home from a garage sale. The book “Treasured Polish Christmas Customs” from 1972 must have been a great find to him. NOt Polish himself, he embraced his wife’s cultural heritage--especially in the celebration of the local Pulaski Days. The page about St. Nicholas Day has a beautiful illustration and describes the day: According to the book, St. Nicholas day . . . “brought a slight reprieve to gray monotonous days, especially for the children, who felt that the Christmas Gwiazda (Star) would never come. St. Nicholas was revered because of his compassion and love for orphans whom he often visited and comforted with little gifts.” “The one selected to represent St. Nicholas was usually driven in a sleigh to the homes in a Polish village. He was dressed in a long white robe, wearing a tall flowing beard, and in his hand he held the shepherd’s staff. The sound of snow bells and horses’ hoofs could be heard on the cobblestone pavement, while eager young faces with their noses pressed to the window panes shouted “He has come! He has come! Juz idzie! Juz idzie!” “Because he always asked “Have you been a good child?” there would be a hurried frenzied examination of conscience . . . ‘Have I been greedy?’ . . . ‘Was I lazy?’ ‘ How many lies did I tell?’ While the owner of all of these ‘dreadful’ childish sins shuddered and shivered, St. Nicholas entered, filling the room with not only his big presence, but with his smile, the twinkle in his eaye and his teasing booming voice. He rebuked the mischievous, praised the obedient, and passed around heart shaped pierniki, honey cookies, holy pictures and big red apples, which he produced magically from under his cloak. He left with the children’s shining eyes following him, the brightest, on the littles one hiding behind mother’s apron.”