Good Morning, Sw. Mikolaj!

It was adorable watching my children's faces this morning.  They woke up to find out that Sw. Mikolaj had left them small presents under their beds last night.  My younger child does not yet understand really about the details of it.  But it was a great opportunity again to discuss with them, especially my older daughter who understood better and asked great questions, about Poland, Polish customs, Christmas, Christianity, and Consumerism. 

Some of the questions she asked were "Why did I get a gift today instead of Christmas?", "Did my cousins in Poland get a visit last night from Sw. Mikolaj as well?", "What about Christmas day, does Santa come then also?", and "Why do Polish children get gifts on Dzien Sw. Mikolaj instead of Christmas?".

In the end, she understood that Christmas is really about the birth of Christ, not gifts, and that it's not the size of the gift, it's being thought of by someone enough to be given something at all.

Now, to go through their toys and discuss which should be donated to children who are less fortunate...



If you enjoyed this post about my family's celebration of Dzien Sw. Mikolaj this year, you might also enjoy my post explaining the tradition of Dzien Sw. Mikolaj http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/12/dzien-sw-mikolaj-or-st-nickolas-day.html

A great book that explains the tradition of Sw. Mikolaj is Wigilia: A tale about a Polish-American family on Christmas Eve