A holiday memory from childhood is putting my boots in the entrance the night of December 5th before bed, and waking up to (hopefully) find chocolates, cookies and citrus fruits in them the next morning. This is a celebration of Nikolaustag (Saint Nicholas Day) which has many interesting regional traditions.
I decided to surprise my startup colleagues with cookies in their boots which were conveniently located, according to tradition, in an entrance before we headed out together for lunch. Had they been naughty rather than nice, Krampus or Knecht Ruprecht may have instead placed a stick in their boots for their parents (or boss?) to beat them with. Yes, that really was the darker side of the tradition although I only know of anecdotal accounts from the previous generation of this actually being carried out!
