The Story of St. Nicholas
Before the legend began to take over, St. Nicholas was a figure of historic fact. He became the Bishop of Myra while still in his teens, earning the nickname of Boy Bishop. Through his courage and generosity, he is said to have touched the lives of many people, saving any number from famine and despair. He founded an orphanage and was known for his love of and wonderful relationship with children.
Christmas Spirit
Nicholas also spent some time in captivity, imprisoned by the Roman Empire during a time of religious persecution. He and others were finally reprieved by Emperor Constantine, whose attitude toward Christianity was softening (Constantine eventually adopted Christianity himself).
Nicholas died on December 6 in approximately A.D. 343, and — as was the church’s custom — the date of his death became recognized as his official saint’s day.
Inspiring tales about Nicholas made him extremely popular throughout Christendom; he was named the patron saint of children, sailors, merchants, bakers, brides, hobos, pawnbrokers, and bankers—as well as of New York, Russia, Greece, and Sicily. It is not surprising, then, that Nicholas was so revered even in death.
In later years, his body was stolen from its crypt in Myra by sailors from Bari, Italy, who were seeking to protect his remains from invaders. The sailors brought the remains to Bari and buried them in a basilica there; to this day, St. Nicholas’s Day is celebrated by the people of Bari on May 9, the date of the sailors’ arrival. The theft brought Nicholas the distinction of patron saint of thieves, and added to his already sizeable legend.
The Legends Begin
Beyond evidence that Nicholas was a very good man, there are the rumors and legends that suggest he was nothing short of otherworldly. His birth is said to have been a miraculous one, as his parents, according to legend, had been married 30 years and had long since given up hope of ever conceiving a child. It is said that shortly after his birth, he was able to stand up in his crib, as if praying.
Nicholas appears to have had no doubt about his vocation; he prepared to enter the monastery at a young age. Before devoting his life to his faith, however, he was required to rid himself of all his worldly possessions. The way he accomplished this has helped to establish his reputation as a gift giver.
As the story goes, there was a family in town with three daughters of marriageable age, but they were so poor that they had no dowry — and no dowry meant no marriage. Nicholas, hearing of their plight, disguised himself and went at night to their house, where he threw three bags of gold coins down their chimney, saving the daughters from a life of prostitution. The gold is said to have landed in the girls’ stockings, which were hanging in the fireplace to dry (thus giving us our “stockings by the chimney” tradition). As legend has it, the father of the family caught Nicholas in the act, and though Nicholas tried to swear him to secrecy, the story spread through the town quickly.
The Bishop of Myra
Soon after Nicholas entered the monastery, the church in Myra was having great difficulty replacing its former bishop and the people were at their wits’ end as to a solution. One night, a church official dreamt that the first person to enter the church for Mass the next day should be the new bishop, and that his name would be Nicholas. About that time, Nicholas was traveling on a ship that had encountered rough weather. He prayed for safety, and when he arrived on land he headed immediately for the church, in Myra, to give thanks. The rest is history.
During his lifetime, St. Nicholas would undergo another rough voyage on a ship, a journey that would result in his being named patron saint of sailors. While returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the vessel that carried him ran into a terrible storm. Nicholas began to pray for help; witnesses said the sea calmed the instant Nicholas dropped to his knees. So important did he become to sailors, Greek and Russian seamen always sailed with an icon of St. Nicholas.
A Storied Life
There are many legends surrounding St. Nicholas. One of the more famous legends has Nicholas stopping for rest at an inn during his travels. The innkeeper offered him meat, which turned out to be the flesh of three little boys the innkeeper had killed. Though the stories differ concerning who the boys were, how they were killed, and whether they were stuck in salt or pickle barrels, the result remains the same: Nicholas figured out what the innkeeper was up to and brought the boys back to life. (This act is commemorated in current St. Nicholas’s Day celebrations, particularly in Lorraine, France.)
Nicholas’s status as the patron saint of sailors helped to make him known in other lands. Italian and Dutch sailors introduced St. Nicholas to the West, and by the Middle Ages he was as popular in Europe as he was in his homeland. Vladimir of Russia discovered Nicholas in Constantinople in 1003, and brought his legend home to Russia, where Nicholas later became the patron saint. Nicholas was soon an important part of the Christmas holiday season — and so, not coincidentally, was the idea of giving gifts to children.
Saint’s Day
Festive Fact
The day of St. Nicholas's death (December 6) is still observed in many parts of Europe as St. Nicholas's Day — it marks the beginning of the Christmas season in many countries, where children receive gifts said to be from the kindly saint.
Beginning in the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation led many parts of Europe to reject the culture of saints and anything associated with them. The legend of St. Nicholas might have died then and there, but it seems his popularity was simply too great. Most countries did change his name slightly, while leaving his background and other characteristics fully intact.
To the English, Nicholas became Father Christmas; to the French, Père Noël; to the Italians, Babbo Natale. Though many people incorrectly assign the German name for the Christ Child — Christkind or Kris Kringle — to St. Nicholas, the true German equivalent is Weih-nachtsmann, meaning “Christmas man.”
Though popular throughout Europe, nowhere is the saint more celebrated than in Holland, where his name was transformed to Sinter Klaas. The bearded saint in this version wears breeches and a broad-brimmed hat; he carries a long Dutch pipe; and he rides a white horse with a basket of treats for good children and birch rods for naughty ones.
According to the Dutch, Sinter Klaas spends the majority of the year in Spain with his servant Black Peter (a Moor), who keeps scrupulous records of the behavior of girls and boys. A few weeks before St. Nicholas’s Eve, Sinter Klaas packs up for the Netherlands. Dressed in full bishop regalia, he arrives by steamer on the last Saturday in November; the whole city turns out to greet him and there is a ceremony featuring all the area officials.
St. Nicholas spends the time before St. Nicholas’s Eve visiting hospitals, schools, and markets, giving little gifts to good children, while Black Peter gives switches to the bad ones. The biggest presents are left for St. Nicholas’s Eve; children leave their shoes out at night filled with hay for Sinter Klaas’s horse and are given gifts in return—not wrapped, but disguised or cleverly hidden. Each present comes with a note that must be read aloud and often contains a line or two that will embarrass the recipient.
Christmas Spirit
Many of the Dutch customs that surround St. Nicholas are carryovers from old Norse mythology and ritual. The god Wodin (whom the American St. Nicholas often resembled in the late eighteenth century) was said to ride around on his horse checking up on little children.
In Germany, children were warned to behave by the prospect of an encounter with a dirty, rather sinister figure known as Pelznicken (“furred Nicholas”), who carried not only gifts for good boys and girls but also long switches for naughty children. Eventually, an ogre-like companion joined the saint, to mete out justice to errant little ones.
Interpreting St. Nicholas
Gift givers inspired by St. Nicholas — who differ from the saint only in name and in a few particulars — can be found elsewhere in Europe. Russia’s Nikolai Chudov-orits, for example, evolved into Father Frost, who lives beyond the Arctic Circle and comes to Russia on New Year’s Day on a reindeer-pulled sleigh with his daughter, the Snow Maiden, to place presents under trees.
The Scandinavian gift givers are much more impish and mischievous. The Norwegian Julesvenn, the Danish Julenisse, and the Swedish Jultomten are left treats on St. Nicholas’s Eve in an effort to get them to return the favor, to dissuade them from trickery, and, in the case of farmers, to ensure they’ll protect the livestock.
Festive Fact
In some places, St. Nicholas is also celebrated as the youthful Boy Bishop who took over the church in Myra. In England, for instance, a Boy Bishop was chosen to preside over the solstice festival, along with St. Nick's older incarnation, Father Christmas.
In some parts of Europe, the legend of St. Nicholas was incorporated into the winter solstice festivals. St. Nicholas’s Day had long opened the Christmas season, and as we have seen, the saint’s selfless gift giving and love of children was in keeping with the themes of the Nativity. Because of the closeness in time, some places eventually merged the two days.
Germany and France, for example, transferred most of the activities surrounding St. Nicholas’s Eve to Christmas Eve. The majority of European countries still keep the two separate, however; St. Nicholas brings goodies on his day, and the Christ Child or the Three Wise Men deliver on Christmas or Epiphany Eve.
