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December 6 When we arrived home late last evening an activity had overtaken our apartment building. I was exhausted and therefore passed it off as some sort of silly Czech tradition. Come to find out, all the commotion from yesterday evening was in celebration of St. Mikulas Day, which is today. I always thought St. Nicholas was a fat guy with a white beard and a red suit who delivered presents on Christmas morning. That, however, is not the image that people have here. Saint Nick, who goes by the name of Mikulas in Prague, lived in the 2nd century in present-day Turkey where he was Bishop of Myra. He lived during troublesome times, being persecuted by those outside the Church (through the hands of Emperor Diocletian) and within (through the false teaching of Arius). Aside from the part he played in church history by helping to write the Nicene Cree in 325, Nicolas was known for his generosity. One story in particular stands out. A poor man with three lovely daughters was on the verge of deciding between starvation or sending his daughters into prostitution. To help with this situation Nicolas anonymously placed a bag of golden coins in the man’s house. Many people think this is the origin of giving gifts at Christmas.
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The present-day Czech custom is that
every year on this day a large group of adults dress up as either white angels
or red demons and go around to all the apartments and houses in the city. As
they knock on people’s door, they ask the parents whether 
the children have
been naughty or nice. The nice ones then receive lots of candy, thanks
to Saint Mikulas. However, if a child has been reported by a coach or teacher
or neighbor as being naughty, they receive sticks and black coal. Wow! I guess I
know now why some Czech kids have such low self-esteem!