It's St. Nikolaus day today. On the evening before, children but their boots, or special plates outside their doors and in the morning, they see what St. Nikolaus hs brought them. Traditionally it's nuts and oranges and chocolate. Some small presents are also common. Our host's grandma told us of a time, when oranges were a real luxury and very few people could afford them, or had the connections to get any. They weren't sold at the supermarket. (There weren't any supermarkets...) More common were apples and cookies.
Schools, Kindergarten hospitals and some big companies have special festivities, were either a person dressed like what we know as Santa Claus, or as the actual St. Nikolaus, a bishop, comes with his servant, Knecht Ruprecht, who deals out punishment to children who were bad, while the good ones get the presents. It can be quite scary for the little ones.