About Saint Nicholas Day
Saint Nicholas of Myra — a 4th-century Greek bishop in modern Turkey — became the patron saint of children, sailors and the unjustly accused, and the prototype of the Western gift-giving Christmas figure. In much of Continental Europe his feast day on 6 December (or its eve, 5 December, in the Netherlands) is the children's gift-receiving holiday — Christmas Day itself is for church and family meal, not presents. Children leave their shoes by the chimney or door, often with a carrot or hay for the saint's white horse, and wake to find sweets, oranges, nuts, and small gifts.
For a deeper historical treatment, see Saint Nicholas Day — Wikipedia.
The Dutch Sinterklaas — riding a white horse, dressed as a red-mitred bishop — sails into Amsterdam by steamship from Spain in mid-November, kicking off three weeks of speculaas biscuits, pepernoten and gedichten (rhyming poems). The German Nikolaustag is more domestic; the Czech Mikuláš makes his rounds with an angel and a devil. Cards sent for the day tend to be warm, child-focused, and quite distinct from Christmas cards.
Traditional greetings
The phrases below are the ones most often used to mark Saint Nicholas Day in person, by phone, and on cards. The native-script column shows the greeting as a recipient would read it; the transliteration is for those who would like to say it aloud; the English column is a literal rather than a poetic translation.
| Language | Greeting | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch | Fijne Sinterklaas | Happy Sinterklaas | |
| German | Frohen Nikolaustag | Happy St Nicholas Day | |
| Czech | Šťastný Mikuláš | Happy Mikuláš |
Design tips for printable Saint Nicholas Day cards
Hand-printed cards for Saint Nicholas Day reward restraint and specific reference. The notes below distil what the most thoughtful cards in the tradition tend to do — and what the most commercial ones tend to get wrong.
- A single bishop's mitre or crook in foil gold against deep crimson — distinct from Santa-imagery.
- A pair of small wooden shoes (klompen) by a stove — the Dutch reference is unmistakable.
- Speculaas biscuit motifs (the windmill, the horse, the saint himself) make a beautiful repeating pattern.
- Use red, white and warm gold; avoid the secularised Santa-red palette.
- For Dutch cards, leave room inside for a four-line gedicht — Sinterklaas gifts are traditionally accompanied by a teasing rhyming poem.
A starting palette:
Five verses for Saint Nicholas Day cards
Each verse below is short enough to copy onto a folded card by hand. They progress from formal to intimate; pick the one that best fits the relationship and the year you are writing into.
- Shoes by the door, carrot for the horse, and the small gift in the morning that you almost forgot to ask for. Fijne Sinterklaas.
- May the bishop find your chimney, the sweet biscuits be still warm, and the year ahead be kind to children.
- Frohen Nikolaustag. From a 4th-century bishop in Myra to a 21st-century shoe in your hallway — some traditions travel well.
- May the gifts be small, the rhymes be funny, and the speculaas hold up under tea.
- From our family to yours, on a quiet December morning — the carrot is gone, the shoe is full, and all is right with the world.
Related cultural holidays
Other holidays observed in the Europe family of traditions: