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Candy Canes and St. Nicholas Cookies
St. Nicholas' Day
Dec 6
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"Jolly old Saint Nicholas
Lean your ear this way;
Don't you tell a single soul
What I'm going to say,
Christmas Eve is coming soon;
Now you dear old man,
Whisper what you'll bring to me;
Tell me if you can."
~ Traditional, 1881
Happy St. Nicholas' Day with a twisting and turning reel inspired by that most recognizable of holiday treats, the candy cane! If you successfully avoided the Krampus last night and left out your ghillies, you might have woken to find them filled with delightful treat from St. Nicholas himself! On St. Nicholas Eve, many children prepare their shoes with carrots and hay for St. Nick's horse or donkey, hoping to find small gifts in return—perhaps fruits, nuts, chocolates, candies, cookies, coins, poems, riddles, or even a candy cane! Legend has it that the iconic candy cane traces its shape back to a 17th-century German choirmaster, who bent the hard candy into the form of a shepherd’s staff to remind children of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. As the patron saint of children and shepherd to his people, St. Nicholas is often depicted with a crozier, a hook-shaped staff symbolizing his role as a spiritual guide. In addition to candy canes, the feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated with other traditional treats, like St. Nicholas cookies. These spiced holiday cookies, reminiscent of gingerbread, feature warm flavors such as cloves, anise, pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice—though notably without molasses! ❤️ 🤍 ❤️ 🎅🏻 🍬🍬🍬
The Candy Cane Reel
Saint Nicholas, also known as Nikolaos of Myra is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students. A 4th century bishop, Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift-giving and became the model for the modern Santa Claus.
Traditions associated with the Feast of St. Nicholas, December 6th, include the giving of gifts and treats, including traditional St. Nicholas cookies, gingerbread, nuts, candy canes, apples and oranges, often left in the shoes of expectant and obedient children.
Naughty children could expect coals or switches instead!
Many regional variations of St. Nicholas cookies abound, which often call for special cookie molds or stamps.
Click the links to peruse the recipes:
Speculaas Koekjes (Dutch Spice Cookies)
Speculatius (German Spice Cookies)
St. Nikolaus Speculatius (Kris Kringle) Cookies (German Spice Cookies)
Pepernoten (Dutch Peppernuts)
Pepernoten (Dutch Peppernut Cookies)
Pfeffernuesse (German Peppernuts)
Ciastka Miodowe (Polish Honey Cakes)
Janina's Piernik (Polish Honey Spice Cakes)
Luzern Lebkuchen (Swiss Bar Cookies)
Mykolaichyk or Mikolajczyk (Ukrainian Molded Cookies)
Ukrainian Christmas Honey Cookies
Saint Nicholas Icon Cookies (molded with artos bread seal)
Pains d'épices de la Saint-Nicolas (French Spice Cookies, French video with recipe)
Another St. Nicholas Day tradition is the blessing of candy canes, another Christmas treat with a religious association. Its distinctive shape is attributed to a 17th century German choirmaster, who bent the candy into the form of a shepherd’s staff and gave it to children attending church services. The crook symbolizes the gentle image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. As shepherd of his people and patron saint of children, images of St. Nicholas the bishop often include a hook-shaped staff called a crozier.
Postcard below: Candy Cane by William B. Steenberge Bangor (1844-1922)
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
