The charming tradition of St. Nicholas is celebrated on the eve of December 6th, St. Nicholas Day. The Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Serbia, Alberto di Luca, was invited again this year, by HE Msgr. Stanislav Hocevar, Belgrade’s Archbishop, to the festive evening for the children. In the hall of the Church of Christ the King, there were in costume St. Nicholas, the Angel – that represents the good- and the Devil – that represents the evil. All children participating received sweets and candies that were distributed by St. Nicholas. Naughty children should have been put in the Devil’s bag and taken to hell, according to tradition, or just given a bag of coal instead of sweets. But at this evening there were no naughty children!
For St. Nicholas, children also receive gifts from their parents and relatives or others. And so the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Belgrade wished to donate, with a small ceremony at the Embassy, three special gifts to the children. HE Msgr. Hocevar had invited the children, during the recent weeks, to do a little research on the activities of the Sovereign Order – in the 106 countries where it operates and in its history of almost 1,000 years – or express themselves with a drawing of the eight-pointed Cross. The three “winners” have received as gifts a laptop and two mountain bikes.