St. Nicholas gives out blessings and gifts in the streets and in homes. Strange characters roam the streets and stop and sing traditional songs in a circle. A joyous St. Nick character dances with a sprite in the middle of the circle. One of the characters has an active wood burning stove on his back, which the others feed once in a while from the sticks of wood on their backs. This is the St. Nicholas celebration in the mountain village of Sarntal in the South Tyrol mountains of Italy, for three Thursdays every December.