Saint Nicholas Day blessed at church or at home. The host wafts incense over the table, then lifts and breaks the bread. Bulgarians also observe 6 December as the name day for those with the names Nikola, Nikolay, Kolyo, Nikolina, Neno, Nenka, Nikoleta and Nina. In the Netherlands the primary occasion for gift-giving is 5 December, when his feast day is celebrated. In Belgium they celebrate Sinterklaas on the morning of the 6 December. In the days leading up to 5 or 6 December (starting when Saint Nicholas has arrived by steamboat around mid-November), young children put their shoes in front of the
St. Nicholas of Myra, South Ockendon St. Nicholas of Myra, South Ockendon St Nicholas of Myra is a Grade I listed parish church in South Ockendon, Essex, England, 20 miles east of London and 8 miles south-east of Romford. It stands on the south side of the green in the middle of the village as it has done for 860 years. The church is dedicated to St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (now Demre in modern Turkey) in the 4th century; a signatory of the Nicene Creed; patron saint of Russia and Greece, and of children, merchants, pawnbrokers, sailors, scholars and travellers. St Nicholas is part of