The Good, the Bad and the Bearded
Almost every month, one festivity or another will offer us an opportunity to have a slap-up meal, a drink or two, and a chat with friends. Just as our predecessors have done for hundreds of years. Christmas, perhaps the most widely celebrated, is no different. Festivals and traditions have always been a way of boosting the moral, fortifying the masses and bringing together all of the inhabitants of the villages, towns or cities they are held in. Today many of these traditions survive and have morphed into variations of those from the past. However, when it comes to Christmas no other festival can compete. The sight and smell of the ubiquitous Christmas markets and their surrounding ambience, the hot wine, the snow and the smell of charcoal grills drifting into the muffled darkness really do make me want to take in this wonderful time of the year. Forget Coca-Cola Lorries and candy; instead take in the traditions and behaviour of the local people, which definitely surpass commercial endeavours and remind us of what Christmas should be about; good morals and goodwill to all. The Santa Claus tradition is believed to have stemmed from St Nicholas and his endeavours; apparently in order to help out a poor family he dropped a bag of gold down their chimney. It landed in a sock which had been hung by the fire to dry, and so began the legend of gifts and chimneys.
Illustration from the 1850 book St. Nikolaas en zijn knecht (“Saint Nicholas and his servant”), by Jan Schenkman, 1850.
The story of St Nicholas became so unpopular after the reformation that parts of his legend were mixed with new ones and when Dutch settlers in America changed St Nicholas to ‘Sinterklaas’ it was only a matter of time until it morphed further into Santa Claus. So it’s refreshing to find that the original and non-commercial St Nicholas is still widely celebrated across Europe - perhaps a reflection on his original popularity. He was said to be the guardian of sailors and once saved a whole ship from sinking and was forever known as Patron Saint of Sailors. Added to this he was also the Patron Saint of Merchants, Archers, Repentant Thieves, Children, Brewers, Pawnbrokers and Students. The Germans and the Austrians celebrate St Nicholas’s day on the 5th of December as well as 6th of December, the date is believed to be the day he died. In the Netherlands they celebrate on the 5th December and St Nicholas Eve, “Sinterklaasavond” (present evening) as it’s known, is the main celebration of Christmas in Holland. The Czech Republic along with other many other European countries including Belgium and Italy maintain a tradition which is aimed specifically at children. It’s one which perhaps terrifies some and delights others, it is controversial, it is
An illustration of Mikulás and Krampusz from 1865.
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