St. Nicholas, the Golden Angel, and the Devil
In my experience we don't do a lot to recognize this holiday in America. In the Czech Republic it is a fun event that most families with small children celebrate.
On 5th of December family members and teenagers from the community dress up as St. Nicholas, the Golden Angel, or the Devil. They go to homes of family members and ask the small children to recite one of three poems associated with the day. They also ask if they've been good. If the children recite the poem they get some type of candy, if they cannot or if they have been misbehaving the are told that the devil is going to take them away. It looks like Halloween outside on this evening with people dressing up and going house to house.
In my English class the students were telling me about their childhood experiences. It's really pretty scary for the young kids who believe it is the devil visiting their house! But it's all in fun.
They have some more info about it's origins and how it's celebrated here.
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