Text:
“When I was in grade school, I went to a Catholic School, so they taught us about the history and the tradition of Saint Nicholas. Around Christmas time, we would all have a set time where we would put our shoes outside, and then we’d have classes normal. All of a sudden, the teacher would say, ‘Oh! Saint Nicholas was just here. He left you guys gifts.’ We’d go back to the hallway, and our shoes would be filled with candy and gifts.

Context:
A boy from Kansas City, Missouri discussing a Christmas tradition/legend he experienced in his Catholic elementary school, celebrating the holiday through Saint Nicholas.

Analysis:
It is interesting to see that rather than discussing Santa Claus, the more commercial version, the Catholic school was pushing forward Saint Nicholas. It also reminds me of a holiday/tradition that I used to celebrate (a Latina girl from LA), called Dia de Los Reyes Magos, otherwise known as The Three Kings Day, which is celebrated on January 6th, commemorating their long journey to baby Jesus. You place your shoes outside, overnight, and the Kings fill them with candy and gifts. Christmas is typically celebrated with family, so this Catholic school adapted and combined the tradition of Santa bringing gifts and The Three Kings filling shoes with gifts to create a new Christmas tradition each year at this Catholic school.