The Good, the Bad and the Bearded

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.

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

Illustration from the 1850 book St. Nikolaas en zijn knecht (“Saint Nicholas and his servant”), by Jan Schenkman, 1850.

Photo by Michell Zappa

delightful and it is one which instills the realization of cause and effect into young children. We have all been told about the bogeyman and various other scary individuals who specialised in scaring badly behaved children.

Every country has its own version and it’s no different in the Czech Republic. Here the children are judged by a trinity of the Devil (Čert), St Nicholas (Mikuláš) and his Angel (Anděl) and on December 5th, there is a knock at the front door and evil laughter can be heard on the other side, some children run upstairs, others hold their ground. The door is opened and often the devil will be banging a chain against the floor as the ghastly group enter and approach the scared children.

St Nicholas is the bringer of gifts and he brings these as well as a list which he reads to the children with a glint in his eye. In major cities this is played out in town squares and children approach the terrible trio ready to appease them with a song before they receive gifts.

In smaller towns and villages three characters can be seen wandering the streets in the darkness, menacing laughter echoes across snow laden streets as children anxiously wait in their homes. More often than not the messages are light hearted and serve to entice the child (who may have been a bit naughty once or twice that year) to behave;

“You have picked your nose much less this year Karel, Even that time when you thought no-one was looking, now sing us a song”.

There is, of course, a message here which is probably most its most controversial aspect. Children are told “Behave or I’ll tell St Nicholas and the devil will get you”. I have heard stories of how children are told they will be “carried off in sacks” if they are badly behaved. It all seems a little over the top and these can be a little disturbing if not terrifying to an eight year old, but the main message of St Nicolas and his chums is clear: try to make good that which you made bad.

Personally I’m all for keeping things real and traditional and if giving your children a slight scare results in a few nights of peace. After all in no time at all, your children will be parents themselves and the delights of the St Nicholas tradition will be theirs to savour and judge from a parent’s perspective and long may it continue.

Happy St Nicholas day.

By David O’Brien

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