On the 6th day is St. Nicholas Day. Do you know the story why we put the presents in front of the door? In some regions we also put the presents in the shoes or boots. The story comes from Greece and my father told it to me when I was little. Whether it is true or not, we will never know - but that is not the point. But read it for yourself ...

A long time ago, Greece was occupied by the Turks. The Turks had regents they called sultans and spread them all over the country so they could collect taxes and force people to work. When foreign people have power over other people they do not know, they have no relationship with them and can become very cruel. This is what happened in a city where the sultan stole from his subjects and made them so poor that they had nothing to live on. While the sultan partied, gambled and enjoyed himself every night, the people outside the palace died of hunger.
One day a wanderer came through the village and sat down at the well. There the wanderer was asked who he was and what he wanted. He explained that he was just passing through and did not want to stay long.
He saw the misery that was there and asked what had happened. They explained to him that the Sultan had not only levied too many taxes, but had also exploited the people through fraud and gambling so that they could barely survive. The Sultan had taken everything from them, whether it was money, gold or other possessions.
The wanderer listened to all these stories, and when it became late, he packed his things and went to the palace.
He went to the servants and asked if the Sultan would dare to play a game with him, because unlike the residents, he would be a challenge.
This pleased the Sultan, and he accepted the offer, and they played half the night. The wanderer was very skilled and through all the stories of the people he knew what to look for and what strategy to use. The Sultan lost everything - everything he had laboriously taken from the villagers and much more. The servants saw that the Sultan had lost, that he no longer had any power over them, and chased him out of the city ... but no one knew what to do now. The Wanderer wanted to give the people back their wealth, but no one knew who owned what anymore. So the wanderer had the cooks woken up by the sultan and brought to him. He ordered them to make a large amount of dough that would be enough for all the inhabitants of the city. When they finished making the dough and divided it into small pieces to bake the dough, the wanderer had them divide up all the jewels, money, gold and other riches and put them in the pieces of dough to bake. When one was finished, he had the servants distribute these loaves all around the door. (in some stories they were also hidden in the shoes or boots).
After everything was distributed, the wandering man wanted to move on. The servants asked him where he wanted to go, he still had so much wealth there. He answered that he could not buy himself free with the wealth and that it was only a burden ... Then he went away. The next morning, when the people were carrying to the door, all had something to eat ... After cutting it open, they saw the surprise that had been prepared for them. But no one ever saw the wandering man again, and no one could thank him.

This story is told in Greece in this way or somewhat modified ... whether it is the Greek Santa Claus "Agios Vassilis" - translated from ancient Greek: The Holy King - or not, I cannot say. It is also a different story than the one of Saint Nicholas. But that does not matter, because sometimes a beautiful story is a beautiful story ...

In this sense ...

Have a nice St. Nicholas Day