A short explanation to those of you who are not familiar with the Nikolaus tradition:
Nikolaus von Myra, a bishop and priest who lived sometime around 300, was said to have come into a fortune after the death of his parents and being a generous and kind person who donated to the poor. With Luther rejecting the veneration of saints in the 16th century, the day of gift giving has changed from the 6th of december ( in honor of Nikolaus) to the end of december, Christmas. Since then people wait for the "Christkind" on Christmas Eve respectively the "Weihnachtsmann" ( Santa Clause) to bring presents, depending on their religion and the part of the country they live in.
Despite Christmas being the big event we still celebrate Nikolaus on December 6th as an additional day of giving gifts, mainly to the children, however it is not a legal holiday. The kids clean a boot or shoe the night before and put them outside in front of the door. If the child has been good all year, Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht ( his assistant and companion ) will fill the boot with apples, oranges, nuts, sweets and most often a little gift, whereas naughty kids will get nothing but a birch ( bunch of twigs) or coal.
That's it in a nutshell. The long version is much more complicated and the legends vary by region and religion.
Now let's take a look at MisterT's boot this morning.
It's filled!
Of course Nikolaus knows that my husband is always good and the saint generously ignored the fact that he did not clean his boot this year.
Lucky you, MisterT!
Oh, and i forgot to mention that Nikolaus was also known to be a huge fan of Martha Stewart and her recipes and so he brings homemade cookies in addition to the other treats.