"Saint Nicholas, good holy man, Put on Your best coat, Then gallop to Amsterdam..." was sung by young Dutch children from the earliest time in the new colony of New Amsterdam, or as we know it today New York City.  Those children brought with them an Old Country tradition that was soon to become as American as cookies (an old Dutch word) and apple pie.  We come from the Hudson Valley a place as well known for its apples as it is for Clement Moore--the author of "The Night Before Christmas"...