St. John's Missionaries in Slovakia: St. Nicholas Day and Christmas

St. Nicholas Day is December 6th. The night before, the children left their shoes out, in hopes for goodies to eat (and not coal or a stick.) Many students gave me a treat that day.

It was a school day and Gary was still in the hospital,for tests. So these pictures were taken on the way to and from the hospital where I visited him. On the way there, the square was filled with children and their parents. Joy was on their faces.

There were several people dressed as St. Nicholas (who was a bishop) and they carried bags. They would stop young people and dig into their bag for a small booklet and I believe some other gift. The young lady at the far right of the first picture is in a fourth grade class that I am in twice a week.

On the way back (about 4:30 PM) the square is still filled with people. Most of the time as we walk through the square, mothers and dads are pushing their babies and toddlers in baby buggies or strollers. This evening, the square had several inches of snow covering it. There were many small sleds with toddlers that are being pulled through the square. I almost missed this one with three little ones riding.

The square has been decorated with beautiful lights. There is also a two horse open sleigh, carrying people around for a fun ride. This is St. Nicholas Day.

There are several church services for Christmas. The first was on Christmas Eve at 3:30 PM. I walked in with the choir at 3:15 and wondered if I could get to front of the church where we were to sit. The church was packed. There were two rows of chairs down the aisle, and each was occupied. The side aisles were filled with people who were standing. The balcony was packed. And the two sets of pews at the front of the church on either side of the altar are filled with part of the choir. Many families with young children attend this service.

The second service was almost as packed. It was filled with more of the regular church members. This service also had both singing groups. One difference was that Pastor Jon gave the message for the first service and the second service was Pastor Milan’s message. Although the Gospel reading was the same, each pastor chose a different reading on which to base his sermon.

The American couple who are from Vancouver, WA are in Germany visiting with friends during Christmas week, and Emily flew back to MN for Christmas with her family. This is the second Christmas for these people. We had planned to stay here, in Martin, for Christmas, so we did. We were invited by two families to have Christmas Eve dinner with them. We had dinner with Pastor Milan and his wife Zuzana and family.

After dinner, it was time for presents. Apparently, this is the time that the children get to open their gifts. The girls had gifts for their parents, also. Unfortunately, Gary had been fighting a cold and by this time he had been up, long enough. So we had to leave early. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve.

The next day, Christmas, had an 8:30 and a 10:00 Christmas service at the church. The first was more traditional, with no choir. In the second service, the choir had two different songs to sing. Also, the children in the parish had part of this service with many memorized passages and a couple of songs.

Brrrr, it's cold out here!

The next day was Sunday, and there was only one service. The choir did not sing at this service. There will be a service on New Year’s Eve and one on New Year’s Day, two on Sunday and another on Epiphany, January 6th. The choir will sing at these services.

Yes, Christmas time is a time for worship at the Evanjelica Church in Martin, Slovakia.