Come join us for a Dutch Tradition in Schuylerville on Saturday December 3rd.  St. Nicolaas will arrive on his white horse and lead a children’s lantern walk with caroling through the village to light the village Christmas tree.  Families should gather at the corner of Broad & Spring Streets where lanterns will be distributed.  St. Nicolaas will arrive at 4:15pm – Childrens Lantern Walk at 4:25pm – Tree lighting ceremony at 5pm.  This event is sponsered by the Schuylerville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Other events this weekend include the Lighting of the Memory Trees on Friday December 2nd at 6pm and the Festival of Trees on Saturday December 3rd from 10am to 4pm at the Saratoga Town Hall.  Besides the lovely trees there will be a story and crafts for the children.  Please see the events calendar for more details

The Dutch tradition of St. Nicolaas is a blend of many legends from different parts of the world.  Wherever he is known there are tales of the kindness and protection he gives especially to children, sailors and the poor.  The Dutch account tells of St. Nicolaas arriving from Spain on a steamboat bringing with him his white horse and his many mischievous helpers who are called Piets.

Youngsters believe that his horse will carry St. Nicolaas over the rooftops to listen at the chimneys.  This is his clever way of finding out who has been naughty and who has been nice.  On the evening of St. Nicolaas children leave their wooden shoes near the fireplace along with carrots ro hay for St. Nicolaas’ horse.  It is the job of the Piets to climb down the chimney, gather up the snacks and fill the little shoes with treats to be discovered the next morning.  The trip through the chimneys cover the Piets with black soot while St. Nicolaas’ red robes stay spotless and brilliant.

S.A.F.E.R.

Schuylerville Area Food and Emergency Relief, Inc.

12 Spring Street

Schuylerville, NY 12871

November 2011

Dear Christmas Community Fund Donor,

This letter is being sent to introduce you to our organization and to explain briefly our recently established association with the Christmas Community Fund.

S.A.F.E.R., Inc., a nonprofit, is a combination of two of Schuylerville’s longstanding community outreach programs– the food bank, in operation for more than 30 years at the Old Saratoga Reformed Church, and the Greater Schuylerville Community Emergency Fund. In June 2010, S.A.F.E.R. incorporated and relocated to a central location behind the Saratoga Town Hall and next to the Schuylerville  Central School complex on Spring Street. It is governed by a 17-member board, serves residents of the Schuylerville Central School District, and has 501(c)3 status pending. S.A.F.E.R. is affiliated with the Northeast Regional Food Bank.

In the past, the Christmas Community Fund (CCF) has served select Schuylerville  Central School District families with holiday food boxes and toys made possible by monetary, food, and toy donations from local families and businesses. Effective this 2011 holiday season, the food effort of the Fund has been acquired by S.A.F.E.R.  The treasuries of S.A.F.E.R. and the CCF will continue to maintain separate entities, ensuring that all donations made specific to the Christmas Community Fund food drive will serve that specific purpose.

The toy drive has been acquired by the National Honor Society of the Schuylerville Jr.-Sr. High School under their “Caring & Sharing” Program.   If you would like to support this effort, you can send your contribution to:   Schuylerville Central School  District, “Caring and Sharing”, 14 Spring Street, Schuylerville, N.Y.  12871, Attn:  Pam Driscoll.  Checks should be made out to:  “Caring & Sharing”

It will be S.A.F.E.R.’s pleasure to carry on the hard work and good will of the previous Christmas Community Fund volunteers. Donations for the CCF food boxes may be sent to: Christmas Community Fund, 60 Ferry Street, Schuylerville,  NY 12871, Attn: M. Sherman-Czuhanich.  Your check should be made out to:  Christmas Community Fund

Thank you for your attention, your consideration.

Sincerely,

S.A.F.E.R. Board of Directors

 

S.A.F.E.R. CCF Food Drive Committee Members:

Martha Sherman-Czuhanich, 695-4867, meshermc@nycap.rr.com

Denise Zdobnikow, 695-3582, nzdobnik@nycap.rr.com

Jan Peterson, 695-3054, KJPThree@wildblue.net

Rev. Joyce de Velder 695-3260  joycedv@nycap.rr.com

Last year, SCT sponsored the village Memory Trees, decorated trees in honor of loved ones and displayed on the lawn of the town hall. They were very well received by the community and visitors to the village. For the 2011 holiday season, there will be a total of 18 trees available for purchase. Trees are available for $40 each and will be in place on the lawn and ready for decorating during the Thanksgiving Weekend. A tree lighting ceremony will take place on Friday evening, Dec. 2nd at 6:00pm on the front lawn of the Town Hall memorializing the loved ones honored by the trees. They will remain lit every evening during the month of December until the weekend of January 7th. A reception will follow the tree lighting ceremony in the Schuyler Room of the Town Hall and guests will be invited to an early preview of the Festival of Trees and Craft Fair. Anyone interested in purchasing a memory tree for 2011 should contact Anna Welfley at 695-4732 or annawelfley@yahoo.com to reserve a tree.

Schuylerville Community Theatre is looking for volunteers to decorate artificial lighted Christmas trees with decorations of your choice to be displayed at the Festival of Trees on December 3rd at the Saratoga Town Hall. Trees for decorating are available from SCT or can be purchased and donated by the volunteers. Trees will be received between 6 PM Thursday evening until Friday at 3 PM at the Town Hall in preparation for the Festival. All trees will be available for purchase with proceeds to benefit the SCT Production Fund. If interested in participating in the Festival of Trees by decorating a tree, please contact Michele Peters at 695-5332 or Lorraine Thompson at 695-3349.

ST. NICOLAAS CHOCOLATE LETTERS ARE HERE!
Just in time for the Schuylerville Area’s celebration of the St. Nicolaas on Saturday, December 3, 2011.

Orders for Chocolate Letters are now being taken for delivery in the first week of December and throughout the Holiday Season. Chocolate Letters, in Dark, Milk or Sugarless Chocolate, 3 x 4 inches in size, come individually packaged in a festive box.  The cost is $6.00 each and can be ordered by calling Schuyler Sweets at 518-695-4171 or by emailing  rstickle@schuylersweets.com
For more information, call the Schuylerville Area Chamber, Marie Foster, 518-695-5609 or fostermr@verizon.net Please make checks payable to the Schuylerville Area Chamber of Commerce. Good fortune to all who receive the first letter of their first name in Chocolate!   Delicious!   

Sponsored by The Schuylerville Area Chamber of Commerce to benefit the St Nicolaas Festival.

THE DUTCH TRADITION OF CHOCOLATE INITIALS.

Chocolate Initials  -  A Dutch Tradition!      In the 16^th and 17^thcenturies, according to old Germanic traditions, letters made from pastry were
presented to children at birth as a symbol of good fortune and this became a part of the St Nicolaas legend in the 19^th century.  A bread dough letter was used to identify whose gifts were hidden in a shoe or under a sheet.  Then the children had to find their initial
in order to see what else St Nicolaas had left for them.  When the Dutch, famous as traders, brought home cocoa beans along with coffee, tea and spices from exotic lands, their love affair with chocolate began.  They learned to make some of the finest chocolate in the world.  Soon, the St Nicolaas’ letters were made from chocolate and the tradition continues to this day.  The Dutch chocolate makers keep St Nicolaas
supplied with enough chocolate letters for every household in Holland – and even have plenty for us!

The Tradition  Continues!  In Schuylerville,  NY!