St. Nicholas’ Day falls on the 6th of December each year, but the holiday celebrations actually start the day before (on December 5th) on St. Nicholas’ Eve. Also known as Sinterklaas, this day isn’t a public holiday, so businesses remain open and most people have to work.
Even so, this holiday is one that captures the public’s imagination and is a day during which there are plenty of familygatherings. The celebration begins even before this day, as children start leaving shoes by the fireplace and sing songs asking for Sinterklaas to bring them gifts some three weeks before the day even arrives.
Some historians believe that the main elements of this holiday are derived from the Germanic traditions used to celebrate the god Wodan — a Germanic god from Norse mythology.