St. Nicholas

December has always been one of my favorite months of the year. . . Okay, I realize I say that practically every month, but you have to admit December is pretty awesome. Its a month of giving and a month of recieving. . . but even more than that it is a month of anticipation. I'll be the first to admit, by the time December 25 rolls around I start to get a little impatient.

Well one of the perks of being a temporary inhabitant of Belgium is that I didn't have to wait very long for Jolly Old St. Nicholas to pay his yearly visit.


Thats right, St Nicholas has already come to Brussels, and he left behind a few treasures.

A box FULL of chocolate. I've managed to keep exchange-student-weight-gain to a minimum so far, but I get the feeling that that is about to change. . .

St. Nicholas must really love me. My very own music box playing "La vie en rose"? Perfection.

But wait, it gets better. You see, here in this magical land of Belgium, St. Nick and Santa Clause are two COMPLETELY different people. (For my Belgian buddies reading this, back in the states we kinda fuzed the two together into one Super-Christmas-being.) That means that not only did I get a day of present opening three whole weeks in advance, but I don't have to give up my regularly scheduled Christmas to do so. St. Nicholas may have already come and gone, but Santa is still on his way!