Feast of Saint Nicholas: Stockings, Candy Canes and So Much More!

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December 6th is the feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra but the fun begins the night before when you pull out your shoes in hopes that Saint Nicholas will fill them with treats and goodies. I normally have the children put out their church shoes but they had already put out a pair of Crocs and Running Sneakers before I had the chance to ask! I think that may be because Buddy the Elf gave the boys a heads up this morning.

The boys found our Elf on the Shelf named Buddy, hiding in a stocking with a note. The note reads: 

Today is the Eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Remember to put out a pair of shoes tonight and maybe you'll get some goodies. Remember to keep up with your Advent sacrifices. Behave for your parents. Love Buddy

If you utilize the Elf on the Shelf, it can be used to draw attention to the liturgical aspects of the Advent season. Interested in ideas? Checkout #BuddyKongElfAdventures  where I'll be sharing Buddy's Liturgical Adventures this Advent season.

It is tradition in our home that the boy's old shoes will be replaced with new or some slippers will appear. This year the shoes remained the same but the boys each received a new book, a chocolate Saint Nick, chocolate coins, candy canes and oranges (not pictured). The oranges were actually brought home by my husband because I COMPLETELY FORGOT to pick some up on my way home yesterday! OOPS! Either way, daddy came to the rescue! Another neat fact is that all of these gifts and goodies came from the Dollar Tree so it was inexpensive but super memorable.

It just so happens that this feast day fell during the school week so there was no problem with the boys staying up too late from excitement but we did have a blast watching Saint Nicholas: The Boy Who Became Santa and Veggie Tales Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving together. We also read The Legend of the Candy Cane before bed because it is traditional to bless candy canes on the feast of Saint Nicholas. 

This morning the boys woke up bright and early! They actually got into their treats and cutting up their oranges for school before I had a chance to snap any pictures. They are getting to quick for me lately. They devoured their oatmeal and we dropped the boys off at school since the weather is going a little crazy around here. We are suppose to be hit with a pretty big snow storm tonight so we will see. 

After school we were able to do our Candy Cane Blessing! It had been on the kids' minds all day and they shared their excitement with teachers and fellow students. As you can see from the picture above we had tons of candy canes to bless. Have you ever done a candy cane blessing? If not, I highly suggest checking out the Saint Nicholas Center: Candy Cane Blessing! We have used it several times and the whole family loves it.

Something you may not know about one of the most famous saints of all time is not only is he the patron saint of children, especially young boys, but is also a patron for travelers and brewers! You read that right! Brewers! That means the adults in the house can raise a glass to Saint Nicholas tonight too. There is a legend about Saint Nicholas that ties him to beer. The story says that 3 church scholars, who stopped for lodging at an inn, were killed by the innkeeper for their money. Saint Nicholas disguised himself and invoked God's help to resurrect the church scholars. This is how he became a protector over travelers and brewers. In honor of this amazing story we enjoyed some Beer Bratwurst with Onions and Peppers for dinner.

Now that we are stuffed! The boys decorated the Christmas Tree with our blessed candy canes and I am about to make the boys some hot chocolate while I enjoy a Blue Moon: Cappuccino Oatmeal Stout! A nice root beer float would be a fun way to celebrate tonight but it is too cold for ice cream here!

I hope your family enjoyed the feast of Saint Nicholas as much as mine did! I would love to hear about your traditions and see your beautiful pictures!

Children's Prayer to Saint Nicholas:

God Our Father we pray,

That through the intercession of St. Nicholas,You will protect our children.Keep them safe from harm,And help them grow,And become worthy of Your sight.

To keep their Faith in You,

And to keep alive their joy,

In Your creation.

Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Give them strength,

Amen.

St. Nicholas, pray for us!

Feast of Saint Luke: Patron of Beer

Saint Luke the Evangelist is celebrated every year on October 18th. He is one of four writers that wrote the Gospels. He is the patron saint of physicians, butchers and brewers! So as you can see, he's not really the patron saint of beer but I am sure that enjoying a nice cold one in honor of Saint Luke would make him proud. As I was researching the interesting link between Saint Luke and beer I came to find that it is possible that this connection was made because in his time, beer was safer to drink than the water available to most people and so it was not uncommon for medicines, herbs and other remedies to be mixed with beer. If you really think about it, beer was considered a type of medication in times before modern medicine made huge advancements so it is possible that Saint Luke, among four other saints, were using beer as a way to medicate with the healing drink. Yep you read that right, there are four other saints that are also patrons of beer (in some sort of fashion): St. Arnulf of Metz, St. Augustine, St. Wenceslaus and Saint Nicholas of Myra. Make sure to come back and read all about these saints as their feast days approach!

Please ignore the Broncos glass though, we received these glasses as a gift and although we currently reside in Colorado we are Kansas City Chiefs fans!

As you can guess I did not waste this opportunity to enjoy a nice seasonal blend beer in honor of Saint Luke. Drinking some season brewed beers was already on my Autumn Bucket List and because it honored Saint Luke, it was a must for the evening festivities. Your children can always join the celebration with a small brew Cream soda or Root beer too! My boys personally enjoy a nice root beer float. If you thought this feast day couldn't get much better, do a beer blessing before you enjoy your libations!

Beer Blessing:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

R. Who made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Bless, O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

In addition to enjoying some deliciously brewed beer, we were going to enjoy a nice apple onion pork roast for dinner. Well, this week is Goalie's birthday and he made the special request that we enjoy the roast for his dinner Thursday because he said it was his favorite. So I will share some photos of our roast Thursday. Goalie insisted that Saint Luke would like us to enjoy some chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs because Saint Luke really liked dinosaurs. I don't know how much Saint Luke liked dinosaurs, but who am I to deny such a sweet request like that? Especially to the birthday boy! Any dinner with a nice cut of meat would be a great way to celebrate Saint Luke because he is also the patron saint of butchers. If you wanted to combine your dinner and beer, I would suggest cooking some beer marinated Brats in the crock pot or on the grill!

Prayer to Saint Luke:

Almighty God, you inspired Your servant St. Luke the Evangelist and Physician to set forth in the gospel the love and the healing power of your Son. In faithfully detailing the humanity of Jesus, he also showed the divinity of Jesus and His genuine compassion for all human beings.

May St. Luke intercede for us that we may deepen our understanding of the gospel and grow in compassion of Jesus. May his intercession enable our new parish to follow Your way and plan for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. 

Amen.

Saint Luke, pray for us!