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St.

Nicholas’ Day: Stories and Symbols


A)
The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born to a wealthy family during the third
century in an area that is now known as Turkey. He was a __________ Christian, and gave all that he had to
the poor, the sick, and the suffering. Later when he was Bishop of Myra he became famous for these saintly
deeds. The anniversary of his death, December 6th, became a ____________day of celebration. There are
many stories concerning St Nicholas of which some may be fact and some legend, but all tell us about his
character and explain why he has always been so popular.

In the past and still today in many cultures, the parents of a woman who wants to marry must offer money
and other gifts, called a dowry, to the potential __________ family. At the time of St Nicholas a woman who
had no dowry could not get__________. One story about St Nicholas involves three sisters who had no
dowries, and who were destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of
gold appeared at their home, providing the necessary funds to save them from such an unfortunate fate. It is
said that the bags of coins were _________through an open window and landed in _________ or shoes left
before the fire to dry. So began the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out their clogs awaiting
gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold, which is why
three gold balls or oranges are a _________ of St.Nicholas’ Day.

St. Nicholas carried out many kind and generous acts, which he did in secret, expecting nothing in return.
Stories tell of his rescuing sailors, relieving famine, _________the lives of children, and protecting the
innocent. Within a century of his death he was named a saint and came to be regarded as a special friend of
children, bakers, sailors, merchants, as well as many others. Saint Nicholas’ feast day on December 6th came
to be celebrated in many European countries, keeping alive stories of his __________ and generosity.
Traditionally, in mid-November, St. Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands on a ship from Spain to ride a white
horse while making his rounds to check children’s’ behaviour. During these weeks, children put out their
shoes, filled with carrots and ________ for the horse, hoping to find small gifts and treats left by St. Nicholas.

stockings married hay tossed bridegroom’s

devout saving goodness symbol feast

B)
Waves of European immigrants brought St. Nicholas and his beloved traditions to the New World. Colonial
Germans in Pennsylvania, for example, celebrated St. Nicholas’ Feast. Santa Claus is a natural phonetic
alteration from the German Sankt Niklaus and the Dutch Sinterklaas. Americans merged St. Nicholas with the
English Father Christmas as part of December 25th Christmas celebrations. Coca-Cola and Pepsi __________
by artists Haddon Sundblom and Norman Rockwell in the 1930s completed St Nicholas’ _________ into the
Santa we know today. Originally dressed in a bishop’s ___________ carrying a crosier (shepherd’s _______),
St. Nick came to be dressed in a red suit with white fur trim. As Santa, St Nicholas began turning up in
shopping centres and on street corners, as a benign source of seasonal _________.

Such commercial success helped to lead the North American Santa Claus back to Europe where he has
continued to enjoy increasing popularity. In some areas of the Netherlands, however, Santa Claus is legally
__________from appearing until after December 5th. In this way the Dutch hope to preserve their unique
national _______.

It’s been a long __________from the fourth century Bishop of Myra to today’s jolly Santa Claus, but St.
Nicholas’ generous surprises continue to __________the true spirit of giving. Just as Nicholas shared what he
had with those who were less fortunate, the beginning of the __________ season asks us all to do the same.

transformation robes advertisements exemplify journey

charity tradition staff festive prohibited


Sheet 2
Lesson Plan

This lesson is intended for Upper Intermediate level students. Focusing on the theme of St
Nicholas’ Day (6th December), this lesson aims to practise both reading and speaking skills, as
well as to develop topic-specific vocabulary.

1. Introduce the topic of the lesson, St Nicholas’ Day, asking - who is Santa Claus? Elicit ideas from
the class and write them on the board.

2. Explain that they will read about the historical figure of St. Nicholas who is celebrated in many
parts of the world on the 6th December, separately from Santa Claus.

3. Divide the class into 2 halves and name them A and B; hand out A cards to each student in one
half and B cards to each member of the other half.

4. Allow the two teams approximately 12-15 mins to read through and complete the cloze exercise
for their card. At this stage, the teacher can check the answers with each team. Extension activity:
allocate a word to each student in the team and ask them to write a definition and/or an example
sentence so as to check understanding; students can then share these verbally amongst their team.

5. Group the students into pairs (A+B) and hand out one picture sheet per pair.

6. Inform the students that they should decide together how the pictured symbols relate to the story
of St. Nicholas, e.g. what do they represent? It is important to emphasise that this is a speaking
activity, so the students should aim to tell their partner which of the elements they can find in their
half of the reading and discuss how they believe these connect to St Nicholas’ Day.

7. Once the students have had time to discuss the pictures/symbols and have collected vocabulary
on sheet 2 as required, ask them to create 5 quiz style questions about the whole text.

8. Put the pairs into larger groups (4-6 students) and ask them to exchange their questions in the
form of a mini quiz; this can be done as a competition, depending on the class.

9. End with a group discussion on these topic:s.


• Why do you believe the image of St Nicholas was changed in the 1930s?
• Do you think St. Nicholas’ Day will continue to be celebrated in the future? Why/why not?
• Can you think of any festivals that may be similar to St Nicholas Day? In which ways do they
compare?
Answer sheet
A)

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born to a wealthy family during the third
century in an area that is now known as Turkey. He was raised as a devout Christian, so Nicholas gave all that
he had to the poor, the sick, and the suffering. Later, when he was Bishop of Myra, he became famous for
these saintly deeds. The anniversary of his death, December 6th, became a feast day of celebration. There
are many stories concerning St Nicholas of which some may be fact and some legend, but all tell us about his
character and explain why he has always been so popular.

In the past, and still today in many cultures, the parents of a woman who wants to marry must offer money
and other gifts, called a dowry, to the potential bridegroom’s family. At the time of St Nicholas a woman
who had no dowry could not get married. One story about St Nicholas involves three sisters who had no
dowries, and who were destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of
gold appeared at their home, providing the necessary funds to save them from such an unfortunate fate. It is
said that the bags of coins were tossed through an open window and landed in stockings or shoes, left
before the fire to dry. So began the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out their clogs awaiting
gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold, which is why
three gold balls or oranges are a symbol of St.Nicholas Day.

St. Nicholas carried out many kind and generous acts, which he did in secret, expecting nothing in return.
Stories tell of his rescuing sailors, relieving famine, sparing the lives of children, and protecting the innocent.
Within a century of his death he was named a saint and came to be regarded as a special friend of children,
bakers, sailors, merchants, as well as many others. Saint Nicholas’ feast day on December 6th came to be
celebrated in many European countries, keeping alive stories of his goodness and generosity. Traditionally, in
mid-November, St. Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands on a ship from Spain to ride a white horse while
making his rounds to check children’s’ behaviour. During these weeks, children put out their shoes, filled
with carrots and hay for the horse, hoping to find small gifts and treats left by St. Nicholas.

B)
Waves of European immigrants brought St. Nicholas and his beloved traditions to the New World. Colonial
Germans in Pennsylvania, for example, celebrated the St. Nicholas Feast. Santa Claus is a natural phonetic
alteration from the German Sankt Niklaus and the Dutch Sinterklaas. Americans merged St. Nicholas with the
English Father Christmas as part of their December 25th Christmas celebrations. Coca-Cola and Pepsi
advertisements by artists Haddon Sundblom and Norman Rockwell in the 1930s completed St Nicholas’
transformation into the Santa we know today. Originally dressed in bishop’s robes and carrying a crosier
(shepherd’s staff), St. Nick came to be dressed in a red suit with white fur trim. As Santa, St Nicholas began
turning up in shopping centres and on street corners, as a benign source of seasonal charity.

Such commercial success helped to lead the North American Santa Claus back to Europe, where he has
continued to enjoy increasing popularity. In some areas of the Netherlands, however, Santa Claus is legally
prohibited from appearing until after December 5th. In this way the Dutch hope to preserve their unique
national tradition.

It’s been a long journey from the fourth century Bishop of Myra to today’s jolly Santa Claus, but St. Nicholas’
generous surprises continue to exemplify the true spirit of giving. Just as Nicholas shared what he had with
those who were less fortunate, so the beginning of the festive season asks us all to do the same.

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