Saint Nick across Europe - Dutchboy- JournalHome.com

11/28/2007 - Saint Nick across Europe

Last year I covered Sinterklaas as celebrated in the Netherlands. We're not the only ones celebrating it, however, so for this year I had planned to share with you what I know about foreign customs. I don't know that much, and I don't want to cheat by using Wikipedia, but let's see if I can still produce a decent entry.

I must have mentioned the fact that Saint Nick is also a popular feast in Belgium. The differences with the Netherlands aren't that enormous. The costumes are decorated more richly, and Saint Nick parades the streets on Dec. 6, when Dutch kids believe he has already returned to where he came from: Spain. Belgian kids don't have to count on getting their presents any earlier than the morning of the sixth, while us Dutchies give into the cries of our kids to have their presents early, on the eve of the sixth. A few generations from now, I'm sure kids will have driven their mommies and daddies to give them their presents the day Saint Nick sets foot on Dutch soil, and then on Dec. 5th to give them even more presents. Not to mention the presents they will expect from Santa Claus on the 24th.

As in the Netherlands, Saint Nick is assisted by helpers clad in brightly colored costumes with their faces painted black in Belgium, and in parts of Germany, but in France (mainly in the east) and even more prominently in Austria his helpers are a type of demons wearing masks. I have an Austrian friend whose father is the main Krampus (that's the Austrian name for these demons) in the town he lives in, and I can tell you these masks are a work of art.

These demons are armed with rods to physically punish naughty kids, and they do hit, but Saint Nick has absolute power over these demons, and when he tells them to quit, they have to obey. Also, in the Alpine traditions (Austria, Switzerland, Southern Germany) if you have been naughty, you don't get any presents. In some parts of Austria the helpers are a little more friendly, wear bug-like costumes and would fit in quite well in mardi gras festivals. Those bugs perform Saint Nicholas plays on the streets.

In the Northern German city of Bremen, Saint Nicholas is celebrated somewhat like our Dutch Saint Martin, singing songs. They used to all dress up as Saint Nick, but these days the costumes are a bit more Halloween-esque, if they bother to wear a costume at all, because even that isn't a guarantee.

Even in the Netherlands, and Belgium there is competition for Saint Nick, of course, and not only from Santa. In and around Alost, Belgium, it's Saint Martin who delivers the presents on November 11, and in the Dutch town of Grou Saint Peter delivers presents on a day in February, while on my native island of Texel, the Feast of Saint Nicholas is used for comic plays reflecting on the events from the past 365 days.

Saint Nicholas is also an important patron saint in countries where Orthodox Christianity is the main religion, such as Russia and the Ukraine. In those countries I believe it comes second only after Easter. I don't know about any customs associated with their Feast of Saint Nicholas.

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11/28/2007 - St. Nick

Posted by SilverWind

Ok a Santa Clause with Demon minions that beat childern is way awsome.

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