Today is St. Nicholas Day, a holiday not celebrated in America. I remember this only because I took German in high school and our teacher loved to tell us that on the 6th of December, St. Nick would visit the children of Germany and fill their shoes with fruit and treats. Pretty boring. But, St. Nick had a buddy named Ruprecht who would follow Nick around and beat the bad kids with a staff or bag of rocks.
I can’t tell you how to find the area of a curve, I don’t recall the atomic weight of Calcium, and I’m not sure if the Spanish American War was a real thing, but I always remembered that in Germany, on December 6th, a mythic friend of St. Nicholas will beat your ass if you’re bad. Thanks, high school!
Doing some mild Wikipedia research on St. Nicholas Day was interesting. My favorite sentence:
“Even up to the present day, a flask of manna is extracted from the tomb of Saint Nicholas every year on 6 December by the clergy of the basilica.”
I want some Santa Juice, too! That doesn’t sound right, but it’s too late to go back and delete it.
As much as I enjoy the American, corporate Santa who drinks Coke products and charges you for his photograph, the look of the European “Father Christmas” is fascinating. He’s less fat and more sinister, the type of guy who would certainly be roommates with a living nightmare named Ruprecht.
They should make a movie about Ruprecht. And I should write it! AND I WILL, TOO! First scene:
Ruprecht is carrying his bag of rocks. He spots some children saying the F-word. He beats the children with his bag of rocks. Title Card comes crashing through the screen: “Sack of Pain: Christmas Justice!!!” The exclamation points show the audience that this movie is for real, and in your face.
I think Russell Crowe should star in it and Andy Richter can be the voice of Tootles, the talking bat. (I’m adding the talking bat to give the movie some much-needed comic relief.)
Where was I? Oh yeah, the Advent Calendar. You probably guessed that today’s prize would be a mini-figure, but this particular figure came with a special accessory. What did St. Nicholas give me today?
Cat Girl!
She’s another Lego Child, meaning she’s short and her waist doesn’t bend. She comes with a pet cat that has no eyes. The cat is entirely white, so it could also be used as a cat statue or a life-sized fake cereal marshmallow.
Sword Boy seemed pleased to have a friend, but as soon as Cat Girl started playing with all of his stuff, he got pissed. He wasn’t even playing with the Toy Crane Truck, so I don’t know why he’s upset and throwing a fit. Let Cat Girl have a turn, dude. And put down those sticks! There is no hitting allowed in Good World! Ruprecht is watching…
Also, I put the cat on the skateboard.
Day 6 Rating: 3.2 out of 4 (Points deducted because the cat is creeping me out in a Pet Cemetery sort of way.)
Tune in tomorrow, or as Tootles says, “Yee-haw! Let’s eat some biscuits!” (That’s his catchphrase. It’s going to catch on in a big way. Just you wait!)