A little bit confused

It's almost December 6, the day of Saint-Nicholas. Although the girls no longer believe in the existence of the holy man, they still like to be surprised. This year, the celebration of Saint-Nicholas is a little different from other years. We have an Italian student among us. It's almost time for her to go back to Bari, Italy. But not before she has enjoyed the feast of Saint-Nicholas and his Black Peters. She was really curious about our habits. I told her my childhood memories. I remember how frightened we were, when we heard someone pound on the front door. Sitting in our pajamas and listening to Saint-Nicholas songs, the old man would come to our house, carrying his big book full of comments on us children. We were digging through our memories, to persuade ourselves that we had been good kids. The Black Peters were always funny but nevertheless they scared us. Our hearts were pounding in our bodies and our eyes were like saucers that big. The Saint-Nicholas album had probably come to an end, because our father would turn it over to play the other side. I was startled by the voice of the holy man and his sincere way of speaking. The Black Peters opened their bag of toys and handed out whatever we had written on our letter.. wow.. those were magic moments. Our student was all ears and thought it was a great story. They don't celebrate this feast in Bari. I think she would like to have it too...

Since Ilaria is leaving next week, we had an early Saint-Nicholas party and on the same day, she and the girls decorated the Christmas tree. I took her shopping and she got to pick out the new decoration. And she did well, because the tree looks fab! It's a bit too soon for presents, since Santa Claus has to wait for his friend to leave the country, but there will be plenty of surprises.

Enjoy the holiday season. We will do the same..