St. James’ Church is celebrating St. Nicholas this year with our second annual St. Nicholas Festival on Saturday, December 1st.

       In the fourth century, Nicholas was Bishop of Myra (in Asia Minor on what is now the southern coast of Turkey). He had a generous heart for the poor, he was devoted to children, was especially concerned for sailors and ships and he took great risks in the pursuit of justice. There are many stories connected with his life of shepherding his flock that have given us some of our most beloved Christmas symbols including: the candy cane, Christmas stocking, and an orange in the toe of the stocking. The custom of gift-giving in secret and seasonal concern for the needy are also attributed to St. Nicholas.

        December 6th is St. Nicholas Day, for that is the day on which he died in 343 A.D. It is a day of celebration in most of Europe and involves gift-giving and merrymaking in the St. Nicholas tradition. Here at St. James’ we are celebrating by staging a St. Nicholas Festival. We hope to have everyone involved in some way. Beginning at 10:00 am and ending at 3:00 pm, we will have:

        Yes, this is an ambitious project and we need everyone's help. Please let us know how you can contribute to this effort. Some suggested ways are these: An item, or several, for the tables listed above? Cookies for the Cookie Walk? Baked goods for that table? An item to be raffled? Something that you no longer have room for but is too loved to be thrown away? A hand with the lunch? Decorations or gifts that you have made?

        Please contact the office at 668-2001 with your thoughts and offerings. We’re depending on you, and your generous heart, to make this day a success.

SPECULATIUS COOKIES
Traditional St. Nicholas Day spiced cookies

Mix in order:

1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
4 whole eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons ground cloves

Turn out onto a floured board and knead-in no more than one cup of additional flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should be easy to handle. Too much flour makes tough and dry cookies.

Put dough into a plastic bag and refrigerate until chilled and stiff. Next, you are ready to roll out and cut the cookies. Cut off a manageable piece and return the rest to the refrigerator to keep cool until needed.

For many little cookies, roll out the dough thinly. For larger decorated St. Nicholas cookies, roll to about 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes. Dough scraps may be used to decorate the cookies (beards, eyes, buttons, etc.).

Place cookies on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (the time will vary according to thickness). These cookies keep well in the freezer, and for about 2-3 weeks on the shelf.