The history, celebrations and history of Santa Claus
SAINT-NICOLAS 2022. Who is the Saint Nicholas who really existed and inspired our current Santa Claus? History, history, holidays, songs, legends… Here are its secrets!
[Mis à jour le 5 décembre 2022 à 10h56] “December 6th party” is held on Tuesday this year! It is clear that it is St. Nicholas who celebrates a Christian saint from the beginning of the 4th century. Much later, in the 20th century, he will inspire the existence of our Santa Claus, who appeared as a commercial initiative! The story of St. Nicholas is not known: he was a bishop who lived in Myre (present-day southern Turkey). Then many miracles are attributed to man and become his legend.
The most famous of these exploits? A man of faith is said to have miraculously put three children through a vat of salt, intending to make a mouth out of the butcher’s tender flesh… Saint Nicholas would later become the patron saint of good children. , but also of sailors, tradesmen, bachelors or even burn victims (!). He will also take on the role of patron saint of Russia.
During the Saint-Nicolas festivities, just as represented at the center of the child’s imagination, Saint Nicholas forms a contrasting pair with his less sympathetic friend, the famous Pierre Fuettar. Its main mission? Punish naughty children. As for the holidays, floats, torchlight processions and markets enliven the streets of eastern France and several regions of northern Europe. History, songs, legends… Thanks to this special page, immerse yourself in the cheerful scenes of the “good Saint Nicholas” universe!
Like any self-respecting saint, Saint Nicholas now has his own date on our calendar, December 6. It is on this date that he visits homes to reward good students who deserve happy holidays. Germany began to celebrate it with a white stone in the 10th century! Saint Nicholas is also a tradition in the Nordic countries. The Dutch and Germans imported his legend to the United States in the 17th century. French regions also celebrate its “arrival” very early: it is especially popular in the north of France, even more popular in the east of the country. Every year on December 6, St. Nicholas comes to visit schoolchildren in Lorraine and distribute sweets, gingerbread and chocolates, who welcome him with a song. It also parades through the streets under the glittering eyes of young and old. For example, St. Nicholas celebrations in Nancy traditionally last all weekend. They mix XXL fireworks, a parade of floats and even the symbolic handing over of the keys of the city to Saint-Patron by the mayor himself. In short, between the music, the parade and the market, the rites of St. Nicholas are still celebrated in Lorraine, Nancy or even in the North, in Valencia, and rocked with songs and legends. The mysterious ancestor of Santa Claus is still the protective guardian of children, especially if they are good. But the good Saint Nicholas is also the patron saint of sailors, prisoners, lawyers, physiotherapists or even single men (if Saint Catherine is single women).
To get closer to the great and amazing story of Saint Nicholas, why not start with this nursery rhyme that still resonates in some parts of France? The song of St. Nicholas gives voice to a child who promises to be good, “like a sheep” and “there is candy” to learn its lessons. This could be the slogan of schoolchildren singing to welcome their patron saint every year on December 6th (the date of St. Nicholas)… Behind the already worn-out embankments, the shadow of the modern Santa Claus appears. According to the specialized website fete-enfants.com, the lyrics of the song of St. Nicholas:
O great Saint Nicholas,
patron of schoolchildren,
bring me apples
In my little basket.
I will always be wise
Like a small picture.
I will study my lessons
To buy candy.
Come, come, Saint Nicholas,
Come, come, Saint Nicholas,
Come, come, Saint Nicholas and tra la la…
O great Saint Nicholas,
patron of schoolchildren
bring me toys
In my little basket.
I will always be wise
A bit sheepish.
I will study my lessons
To buy candy.
Come, come, Saint Nicholas,
Come, come, Saint Nicholas,
Come, come, Saint Nicholas and tra la la…
Saint Nicholas is always greeted with joy by schoolchildren or during parades in towns, but the arrival of Fuettar (whose story you will discover a little later in this file) is not surprising among children. But sometimes with parents too: in 2014, there was a controversy at the start of the annual Saint-Nicolas procession in the Netherlands… over the alleged racist nature of the character Zwarte Piet or Pierre le Noir (version) of the chimney sweep Dutch).
– Were your children well? – “Yeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Since the Middle Ages, Saint Nicholas would go from house to house on the night of December 5th to 6th (or so legend has it) to ask if children were well. Two options: become brats and receive gifts; or they have not shone in their discipline, and Father Fuettar, a pair of Saint-Nicolas, corrects them.
If Saint-Nicolas is so famous, it is because he inherited a hat from the Middle Ages: the hat of the patron saint of schoolchildren. It is said that he is responsible for many miracles. And just any. For example, it would be 3 poor schoolboys were cut into pieces by a butcher and brought back to life by throwing them into a barrel of salt… Said butcher would give birth to the legend of the evil Pierre Fuettar (read below). Another legend tells that the future “real” Santa Claus saved a man in debt from selling his three daughters into slavery (a classic process in antiquity): For three consecutive nights, the bishop of Myra throws enough money into the family’s house. (from a window or a chimney, versions differ) so that the father can repay the debt and provide a dowry for his daughters. Another legend says that the good Saint-Nicolas would save a ship from a storm carrying a cargo of wheat for the city of Myre. Stories inspired by very real Byzantine icons. Santa’s tradition will slowly replace his inspiration.
St. Nicholas has a recognizable appearance (a mushroom on his head, a crosier in his hand and a church habit on his back) because he was a bishop in another life! In the IV century, it was in Asia Minor – in other words, in the southwest of present-day Turkey. Nicholas de Myre, as he was then called, a victim of the persecutions during the reign of Diocletian, is especially spoken of after his death, on the 6th of December. as we remember patron of the widow and the orphan, benevolent and generous.
His background is particularly authentic: Nicolas de Myre was born in the Anatolian port of Turkey in the 3rd century AD. At a very young age, he would become a bishop in a part of Asia where Christianity was just emerging. He retreated to an island called St. Nicholas Island, where he would later settle in Myre, the modern town of Demre, which would give him his surname. He was known in the early years for his fight against pagan cults during this Christmas season, which still went back to the ancient Greek gods.
As a result of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, St. Nicholas was exiled in a good part of Europe. But the Dutch keep the tradition warm and will even import it from the other side of the Atlantic, as mentioned above. Normal: they are among the first colonizers of America, they don’t forget to bring their “Sinterklaas” (St. Nicholas in Holland) here. A little later, what to give Santa Claus (American “Father Christmas”). American Christians make the legend their own and bring Santa closer to the birth of baby Jesus in a modern version of St. Nicholas. That’s why he’s going on tour on December 24th! This update will not prevent other Christians from remaining faithful to St. Nicholas. The children of Lorraine know something about this. There they won a second Christmas …
The Bogeyman can be seen as the dark counterpart of Saint Nicholas. And for good reason: it’s there to punish naughty kids throughout the year. It owes its existence in the life of schoolchildren to the invention of tutors in the 18th century. to silence the scoundrels. Others point to Berwartstein Castle in Germany as a symbol of the villainous visitor: the historical figure Lord Hans Von Trotha occupied it between 1480 and 1503. It was built on a rock at the edge of the Palatine Forest. , was known to be impenetrable with underground tunnels connected to the castle. A precise historical origin also explains the garden as a scarecrow for children: in the 16th century, besieged by the troops of Charles V in the middle of the siege of Metz, the inhabitants of the city mocked the image of the emperor. burns a mannequin in his likeness. And we nicknamed the last one “chimney”. According to the children’s website Gaminsdulux.fr, Fuettard’s bag in Luxembourg initially contained “rough”, “small sticks of flexible wood for beating children, style weeping willows”. Many Christmas carols also refer to a bad character.
In the east of France, we celebrate Saint Nicholas every December 6th. The festival dates back to the 13th century. In 2018, the Saint-Nicolas celebrations in Nancy were further listed in France’s Inventory of Cultural and Intangible Heritage, the Ministry of Culture announced “from its first passage in committee”. In this eastern French city, celebrations normally last 45 days, peaking on the first weekend in December and are enlivened by street art companies. Along with the Strasbourg Christmas market, the Saint-Nicolas festivities in Nancy are another highlight of winter in the east of France: on the menu, more precisely, the traditional Saint-Nicolas parade, street entertainment with music and the Patron Tour. Saint of schoolchildren in schools and residents of Lorraine. Generally, in the East, children come home from school to enjoy a man-shaped cake made from brioche or kugelhopf dough. mannel, dipped in hot chocolate. Often, merchants hand out free cakes and sweets, and adults gather around a glass of mulled wine.
