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Saint Nicholas Day CustomsSaint Nicholas Day (December 6) is a festivity for children in much of Europe related to surviving legends of Saint Nicholas, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts. The American Santa Claus derives from this festivity, the name 'Santa Claus' being a degeneration of the Dutch word "Sinterklaas".
Some elements of this part of the Saint Nicholas tradition could be traced back to the Germanic god Wodan (Odin). The appearance is similar to some portrayals of this god. In the Saint Nicholas tradition in the Netherlands he rides a horse over the rooftops, and this may be derived from Odin's riding through the sky. Also his assistants, the Zwarte Pieten (black Peters) may be a remnant of the raven that accompanied Wodan. The history of the festive Saint Nicholas celebration is complex and reflects conflicts between Protestantism and Catholicism. Since Nicholas was a canonized saint, Martin Luther replaced the festival that had become associated with the Papacy with a "Christkind" (Christ child) celebration on Christmas Eve. Kris Kringle, an alternate name for Santa Claus, was in popular use in the United States through the middle of the 20th century. The name is derived from the German Christkindl or Christkindlein (Christ child). The Nicholas celebrations still remain a part of tradition among many Protestants, albeit on a much lower scale than Christmas. The Protestant Netherlands, however, retain a much larger Saint Nicholas tradition. Many Catholics, on the other hand, have adopted Luther's Christkind. Celebration in Germany, Austria, and German SwitzerlandIn Germany, Nikolaus is usually celebrated on a small scale. Many children put a boot, called Nikolaus-Stiefel, outside their front doors on the night of December 5 to December 6. St. Nicholas fills the boot with gifts, and at the same time checks up on the children to see if they were good. If they were not, they will have charcoal in their boots instead. Sometimes a disguised Nikolaus also visits the children at school or in their homes and asks them if they "have been good" (sometimes ostensibly checking a book for their record), handing out presents on a per-behavior basis. This has become more lenient in recent decades. But for many children, Nikolaus also elicited fear, as he was often accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, who would threaten to beat, or sometimes actually beat the children for misbehavior. In Switzerland, he would threaten to put bad children in a sack and take them back to the Black Forest. In other accounts he would throw the sack into the river, drowning the naughty children within. These traditions were implemented more rigidly in Catholic countries such as Austria. In highly Catholic regions, the local priest was informed by the parents about their children's behavior and would then personally visit the homes in the traditional Christian garment and threaten them with rod-beatings. In parts of Austria, Krampusse, whom local tradition says are Nikolaus's helpers (in reality, typically children of poor families), roamed the streets during the festival. They wore masks and dragged chains behind them, even occasionally hurling them towards children in their way. These Krampusläufe (Krampus runs) still exist, although perhaps less violent than in the past. Celebration in the NetherlandsFor small children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaasavond (St Nicholas evening) is much more important than Christmas. In recent years, some Dutch have started to celebrate Christmas Eve with Santa as well. On the evening of December 5, Sinterklaas brings presents to every child that has been good in the past year (in practice to all children). Sinterklaas wears a red bishop's dress including a red mitre, rides a white horse over the rooftops and is assisted by many mischievous helpers with soot black faces and colorful Moorish dresses, dating back two centuries. These helpers are called 'zwarte Pieten' (black Peters). Sinterklaas has a long white beard, holds a long gold colored staff with a fancy curled top in his hand and carries a big book with all the children's names in it, and whether they have been good or bad. Each year Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat 'from Spain', and is then paraded through the streets of the town he arrives in (actually in every town of the Netherlands), welcomed by cheering and singing children. His zwarte Pieten throw candy and small, round gingerbread like cookies (Pepernoten) into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional Sinterklaas songs. Sinterklaas also visits schools, hospitals and shopping malls. His arrival is televised public access television. Over years media attention has grown, while Sinterklaas is in the country the 'Sinterklaasjournaal' is aired every day, discussing his activities and any major 'problems' (which occur every year). Also, on the main day of celebration (traditionally December 5th) the Dutch version of Sesame Street the inhabitants of Sesame Street are visited by Sinterklaas as well. Traditionally, in the weeks before the 5th of December, before going to
bed, children put their shoes next to chimney of the coal fired stove or
fireplace, with a carrot or some hay in it 'for Sinterklaas' horse', and will
find some candy in the form of a chocolate, marzipan frog in their shoes the
next day, supposedly thrown down the chimney by a Zwarte Piet or Sinterklaas
himself. 'Sinterklaasavond' or 'Pakjesavond' is usually celebrated on December 5th, and by some on December 6th, children at home sing Sinterklaas songs and suddenly somebody will nock on the door very loudly, and when they go to the door a gunny sack full of presents is found on the doorstep. Alternatively - some improvisation is often called for - the parents 'hear a sound coming from the attic' and then the bag with presents is 'found' there. Some parents manage to 'convince' Sinterklaas to come to their home personally. Typical presents include the first letter of the child's name made out of chocolate, a figurine of Sinterklaas made out of chocolate and wrapped in painted aluminum foil, colored marzipan shaped into fruit, an animal or some other object. These presents are often accompanied by a simple poem, saying something about the child or with a hint to the nature of the present. Also popular are coins and cigarettes made out of chocolate. However, the European Parliament has issued a recommendation to ban chocolate cigarettes since they might promote future real smoking. Believing in SinterklaasThe children, up to an age of usually seven or eight years, almost religiously believe in Sinterklaas. They think that he actually lives forever and that he comes from Spain, that he knows everything about the children and that his zwarte Pieten do come down through chimneys. The period between his arrival and December 5 is therefore very exciting. When children ask their parents how it is possible that Sinterklaas is at so many places, they tell them that those are assistant Sinterklaasen. At family gatherings where a stand in Sinterklaas in a rented suit appears, parents have reported in advance to this Sinterklaas what the children have done good and bad and make it look like he knows everything about the children when the 'Goedheiligman' looks in his big book. Most children do suspect that Sinterklaas may not truly exist. The atmosphere during celebrations can be very enchanting though, and many children really want to believe. Also, most children can't think of a reason why their parents would lie to them. For some children, gradually losing their magic view of the world as they
grow older and getting more and more suspicious about what their parents are
telling them, it still may be their first big traumatic experience in life
when their parents admit that Sinterklaas does not really exist.... Celebration in BelgiumOriginally Sinterklaas or Sint-Nikolaas was only celebrated in Flanders and the Netherlands the way described above, but now he is celebrated in Wallonia in the same way. The celebrating of Saint-Nicholas is mostly the same as in the Netherlands but there are some small differences.
Note that Saint Nicholas is celebrated in Belgium for centuries -there is even a city called St. Niklaas but, like every folkloristic thing in Belgium, their might be small differences, and generally in the east part of the Provincie East-Flanders Saint Nicholas is not celebrated but children receive precents from Sint Maarten (Saint Martin).
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia and from ShiningRise.com
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