Dressed in full holiday attire, St. Nicholas asked a group of young students what they wanted for Christmas this year inside the library of North Lewis Elementary.

“A dog,” one student said.

“How do you say dog,” Ebrar Reaux, who was standing at the front of the class, asked.

“Un chien,” she responded.

As part of North Lewis French immersion class, the young group of students have been learning to speak the language and celebrate a well-known tradition at the same time. The French immersion class puts North Lewis students invested in the program into contact with the French language every day, even when the holidays are here.

The St. Nick on the center stage wasn’t just a typical Santa Claus, however. Organizers wanted to expose the North Lewis students to the St. Nicholas Day holiday and its tradition that highlights the third century Christian figure who was born in Asia Minor and became a Christian bishop under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Rebecca Gibson, who helped to organize the St. Nicholas event, said the French language in North Lewis is a unique one and continues to help students learn French starting at a young age, which they will hopefully keep for the rest of their lives.

The St. Nicholas tradition is an annual event for North Lewis and the immersion program that began 21 years ago. Lower grade students leave their slippers out and St. Nicholas puts oranges in them as part of the tradition, Gibson said. 

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on Dec. 6 and is practiced to learn the history of “the true Santa Claus,” to focus on giving more than receiving and to emphasize small treats and family fun, according to the St. Nicholas Center. 

The tradition was taken to other Iberia Parish schools including Belle Place Middle School where the rounds were also made to local students to learn about the tradition.

North Lewis has consistently been recognized as one of the top schools for French immersion in Louisiana and was implemented to recognize and sustain a longstanding tradition in the Teche Area of French speakers.

The work of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL, is to promote and grow the use of French in Louisiana with scholarships, French programs and other techniques to keep the historic language for the state intact.