taking the backroad

On our final day of school before the holidays, we studied A Visit from St. Nick (1822) by Clement Clarke Moore (commonly known as The Night Before Christmas) and the origins of Santa Clause/St.Nicholas. The kids did a sweet little play of the poem and we made pop-up Christmas tree cards. Additionally, we conducted a survey asking for other's favorite Christmas traditions inspired by the life & work of St. Nicholas.
The options were...

- Candy Canes (represent St, Nicholas’s bishop’s staff) - Stockings (hung by the fireplace to dry each night, apparently gifts thrown in the windows in secret often found here or in shoes left to dry as well) - Oranges in Stockings (represents the gold St. Nicholas gave in secret…often in stockings) - Secret Gift Giving (St. Nicholas usually left gifts for the needy at night and in secret) - Charity (our tradition of helping the needy at Christmas came from St. Nicholas’s ongoing actions as bishop)

The front-runner changed over the course of the day, but the winner was Stockings left by the fireplace. The graph included shows what the kids found in their research. Whatever your favorite...we hope you have an enjoyable, blessed, peaceful holiday. Mery Christmas!