About a week ago we celebrated St. Nicolas - a holiday extremely simlar to Noel in that it's a day for receiving gifts and eating lots of candy. St. Nicolas also resembles Santa Claus - or maybe it's the other way around. (see a picture of him below)
I asked around a bit and learned a bit the story of St. Nicolas. So, obviously, he's a Saint. He travels from house to house on his donkey, accompanied by a boy who is not black, but who's face is painted black - I believe he's called Pere Fouettard. If you're good, you leave your shoes out December 5 and the next morning St. Nicolas has left you candy and gifts. If you're bad... Pere Fouettard comes and whips you!
There are different stories about St. Nicolas, but I gotta mention this one becuas it's just so violent for a holiday story! So apparently, one night, three kids somehow ended up a butcher's house. I don't remember why - they had to buy something or maybe they were lost. Anyway, this butcher was an evil butcher. So he let the kids in, then killed them all and cut them all into pieces and hung them in room for storing meat. St. Nicolas came to the butcher shop and told the butcher he knew what horrible deed the butcher had done. He told the butcher to bring out the children. The butcher did, begging for mercy for what he had done. And St. Nicolas then revived the children.
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Hey everyone, this is my travel blog. =] (Now taking place almost entirely in Beligum)
