The american Santa Claus and the British Father Christmas derive from this legend.
The tradition in Germany is based for the kids but I continue doing it every year. The children put a boot outside the door on the night of 5 December, St. Nicholas fills de boot with gifts and sweets overnight and he checks up the children to see if they were good, polite and helpful last year. If they were not, they will find a tree branch in their boots. But this never happens, it's only to scare the kids.