St Nicholas Day – Dzien Swietego Mikolaja in Polish – is on December 6 and starts off the Christmas holidays.

The night before, we hung up clean white stockings (some families’ children set out freshly polished shoes), hoping they would be filled with nuts and tangerines, not coal.

St Nicholas was the 4th century Bishop of Myra in Lycia, in what is now a province of Turkey. He had a reputation for secret gift giving, and is associated by some countries with Santa Claus.

In Poland, St Nicholas is a saintly, dignified figure. He comes dressed as a bishop, in bright vestments, carrying a golden crozier that resembles a shepherd’s crook, symbolising, like shepherds with sheep, that the religious tend their flock of people.

Descending from heaven with an angel helper, St Nicholas travels on foot, on horseback or in a sleigh pulled by a white horse as he visits homes in the countryside.

In villages St Nicholas would be driven in a sleigh from house to house.

In case St Nicholas cannot make the visit personally, his gifts are placed under the children’s pillows or in their shoes during the night.

In one Polish town – Sochaczew in the centre of Poland – in the morning of that day, the main square is crowded with a group of motorcyclists and their bikes.

These people are real fans of this means of transport. Some of them have very old bikes, even dating back to the Second World War.

On that day, they show their generosity and love to all the children.

Dressed up as Santa Claus, they give sweet gifts to all passing children.

Then, thanks to generous sponsors, they can visit poor families, a children’s home and sick children in hospital in Sochaczew.

St Nicholas Day was eagerly awaited by the children in my family.

I think that day brings a lot of happiness, especially to children who feel that Christmas is still so far away.

I still love the tradition and, although I live here in the UK, I’m going to celebrate it with my children every year.

This St Nicholas Day morning was absolutely fabulous for my children, when they found those little gifts in their clean and shiny shoes.