What is St Nicholas Day?
The tradition
Every year, on the night of December 5 to 6, Saint Nicholas rides by with his donkey loaded with goodies, rewarding children who have been good. He's dressed like a bishop, with his mitre (his hat) and crosier (his staff). In the home, it's customary to leave a glass of brandy to give St. Nicholas courage on his rounds, and a carrot to feed his donkey (or mule). This is how St. Nicholas is celebrated in many European countries : the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, but also parts of Germany, Austria... Where festivities and parades are held. In France, it takes place in Lorraine, Alsace and Nord. He's always accompanied by his exact opposite: a dark, cruel being who punishes those who have been unwise. In Lorraine it's Père Fouettard, or Hans Trap in Alsace. In the Netherlands, it's Schwartze Peter. Elsewhere, in Switzerland for example, it's Schmutzi. In Germany, it's a kind of demon called Krampus.
In fact, that's the whole idea behind St. Nicholas Day, which is why it continues to this day: children see Good and Evil paraded together, and they take responsibility for the consequences of their actions: when they've done good, St. Nicholas rewards them.
illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.Com: old image of Saint Nicolas
In France, it's in Lorraine and Alsace
In Lorraine and Alsace, it wears different colors. Red in Nancy, green in Epinal, purple in Metz... He isaccompanied by Père-Fouettard, his exact opposite, dark and cruel, who punishes children who have been naughty by leaving them stretch marks in their shoes. Saint Nicholas is also accompanied by the butcher, brandishing his knife. Whistled at by the crowd during parades, he threatens the children. You'll understand why in a few lines... In Northern France, Lorraine and Alsace, Saint Nicolas visits schools and rewards children.
The Legend of Saint Nicholas
Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.com via Gallica.fr: Le Grand St-Nicolas, legend, music by Georges Fragerolle, drawings by H. Callot
To understand it all, there is nothing better than Gérard de Nerval's contine, written in 1842, which sums up the Legend of Saint Nicholas very well:
There were three little children
Who went to glean in the fields.
Went to a butcher's in the evening.
"Butcher, would you like to put us up?
Come in, come in, little children,
There's plenty of room."
They hadn't gone in a moment,
When the butcher killed them,
Cut them up into little pieces,
Put them in the salt cellar as pigs.
Saint Nicolas at the end of seven years,
Saint Nicolas came to this field.
He went to the butcher's:
"Butcher, would you like to put me up?"
"Come in, come in, Saint Nicolas,
There's plenty of room, there's no shortage of it."
He hadn't been in long,
When he asked for supper.
"Do you want a piece of ham?
I don't want any, it's not good.
Do you want a piece of veal?
I don't want any, it's not nice!
I want some salted p'tit,
that's been in the salting room for seven years.
When the butcher heard this,
he ran out of the door.
"Butcher, butcher, don't run away,
Repent, God will forgive you."
Saint Nicolas put three fingers.
Over the edge of this salt cellar:
The first said: "I slept well!"
The second said: "And so did I!"
And the third replied:
"I thought I was in heaven!"
It's this legend that makes Saint Nicholas the protector of children.
The Saint Nicolas melody in 1912. Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Gallica.fr
Le Père fouettard / The bogeyman
Dressed in dirty clothes, with a shaggy beard, the Père-Fouettard is equipped with a martinet and closely follows Saint Nicolas in punishing children who have been naughty . Many historians claim that Père-Fouettard first appeared in Metz in 1552. The people of Metz produced a caricature of Emperor Charles V, who was laying siege to the city. This caricature, held up to the ramparts to mock him, is said to be the origin of Père Fouettard.
Hans Trap, the Alsatian bogeyman in 1953 in Wintzenheim (Alsace, France). Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Wikicommones
The parades
After receiving the keys to the city from the Mayor of Nancy and delivering his speech, Saint Nicolas greets the children and public who have come to see him in the Nancy parade. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Jérôme Prod'homme (c)
In the villages and towns of Lorraine, a grand parade takes place to welcome Saint Nicolas. Preceded by troops (brass bands, street performers...) and floats, Saint Nicholas arrives in the town, where he is cheered by the people, especially the children, and sweets are distributed all around his float. He is accompanied by Père Fouettard and the butcher, both of whom are loudly whistled at. At the end of the parade, Saint Nicholas is welcomed by the mayor of the town, and presented with the keys to the city. He then gives a speech to close the parade. His speech is addressed primarily to the children for whom he is the "patron saint". In some towns, the parade is enormous, as in Nancy (over 150,000 people) or Epinal. In Nancy, several tons of sweets are handed out during this parade of over 60 different formations, and the same goes for Epinal. But St. Nicholas isn't just a big-town affair. Villages and small towns also hold their own parades a little before or after St. Nicholas Day. The patron saint of children and Lorraine is celebrated, but not a religious saint. This is the subtlety of the Saint Nicolas celebrations in Lorraine, since they are perfectly secular even if a bishop is paraded and called Saint. We say "le Saint Nicolas" as we would say "le Père Noël" (whose ancestor he is).
The Saint Nicolas parade in Nancy in 2022. Illustration chosen by Monsieurdefrance.com: screenshot Nancy Tourisme / Ville de Nancy (c)
Who was Saint Nicholas?
Saint Nicholas represented in an icon. He is very popular in Greece and Russia. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: hramikona@gmail.com via depositphotos.
From a religious point of view, Saint Nicholas did exist. He was a bishop of Myre, famous for his kindness and miracles. He is venerated in Bari, Italy, where what is said to be his body rests. One of his phalanges is venerated in Saint-Nicoles-de-port, Lorraine. A figure known the world over, he is venerated in many churches around the globe, especially in Russia, where he is Patron Saint.
Where does Saint Nicholas come from?
Saint Nicholas of Myra was born in 270 A.D. in Patare, Lycia, in what is now Turkey. Patare was a port city, and Nicholas' parents were merchants. They died when he was very young, leaving him a large inheritance which, in part, enabled him to do good. Renowned during his lifetime for his great kindness, he was elected bishop by the inhabitants of Myre, the neighboring city. Imprisoned at a time of Christian persecution, he was freed when Constantine came to power in Rome, and took part in the Council of Nicaea (325), the founding council of the Christian Church. It was at this council that it was decided that only 4 Gospels would be considered official. He died in Myre in 343. His tomb was recently discovered.
He saves 3 young girls
As the whole family sleeps, Saint Nicholas gives 3 gold purses to save the young girls their father wants to prostitute. Illustration chosen by Monsieurdefrance.com: Palmerino di Guido - Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15610919
The oldest records tell us that he saved three young girls whose father wanted to prostitute them to pay off his debts . By night, so as not to be seen and to remain modest in his help, Nicholas is said to have deposited the money needed to pay off the unworthy father's debt and prevent him from prostituting his daughters. It's this story that makes Saint Nicholas the patron saint of young girls.
He saves 3 sailors
Ancient religious chronicles also tell of a miracle on the water, making Saint Nicholas the patron saint of sailors and boatmen. While lost in an offshore storm, some sailors are said to have called St. Nicholas for help, and while he was in Myre, he appeared on the deck of the boat and restored the sailors' courage, before taking the helm himself and saving them. Once ashore, the sailors went to Myre to thank him for saving them.
He saves 3 soldiers
Saint Nicholas preventing the killing of unjustly accused soldiers. Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.com :Ilia Répine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
It is also said that Saint Nicholas set out from Myra to Constantinople to defend three soldiers wrongly accused of plotting against the Emperor. Saint Nicholas, who arrived at short notice, is said not only to havesaved the lives of the three soldiers, but also to have proved that the plot was the work of a local tyrant and soldiers jealous of the accused soldiers' success. It is for this episode that Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of lawyers. As the 3 soldiers were bachelors, St. Nicholas is also patron saint of marriageable boys.
The miracle of wheat
At a time when the city of Myra was dying of hunger, Saint Nicholas is said to have persuaded some sailors to leave part of their cargo of wheat to feed the city . On arrival in Constantinope, the sailors found that there was as much wheat in their ship as if they had given nothing to the citizens of Myre .
Children and Saint Nicholas: a story of scale
In the Basilica of Saint Nicolas de Port, in Lorraine, France, Saint Nicolas can be recognized by his bishop's habit and the three little children accompanying him. Photo chosen by Monsieurdefrance.com: Jérôme Prod'homme (c)
As you may have noticed, there's nothing to link the life of Nicolas de Myre to children. What will change things are the drawings. In the Middle Ages, to make things clear, it was customary to depict the central figure - often a saint - larger than the others, to show just how big he was. Thus, when Saint Nicholas is depicted, he is often shown with the three soldiers he saved from unjust condemnation. From simple soldiers to a great saint, illuminators in the Middle Ages got into the habit of depicting Saint Nicholas very tall, and the soldiers in a tower to remind us of their profession . With the passage of time, and with the famous legend that probably dates back to the Middle Ages,the soldiers became children, and the tower became a salt cellar, showing St. Nicholas resurrecting three small children and thus recalling legend rather than religious history.
Saint Nicolas Patron saint
Through his life and work, Saint Nicholas is patron saint of many places, trades and causes. Geographically, he is Patron Saint of Lorraine, Russia, New York City, Greece, Fribourg in Switzerland, Heupen in Belgium, and the University of Valladolid. He is Patron Saint of children, prisoners, travelers, schoolchildren, unmarried boys, lawyers, pawnbrokers, brides, coopers (who made salt licks). He is also Patron Saint of sailors and boatmen .
The church of Saint Nicolas in Protaras on the island of Cyprus. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.Com: KirllM via depositphotos.
Why is Saint Nicolas the Patron Saint of Lorraine?
Saint-Nicolas-de-Port
In the year 1098, a Lorraine man named Aubert de Varangéville stayed in Bari, Italy, where the body of Saint Nicholas had recently been brought back from Myre by Italian sailors to prevent his body being desecrated by the Turks who had conquered the area around Myre. The body was placed in a tomb (in which, incidentally, it remains to this day). It was from this tomb that the Sire de Varangéville stole a "phalanx of the blessing dexter" of Saint Nicolas. Once in the village of Port, close to Aubert de Varangéville's fiefdom, the relic of Saint Nicolas became famous and the object of a pilgrimage that led to the construction of a church in the village of Port, which became Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. This church became an important place of pilgrimage. Joan of Arc, in particular, came here to pray before leaving Lorraine and heading for Chinon to meet Charles VII.
The Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari, where the body of Saint Nicholas lies. This is where Aubert de Varangéville took the phalanx. In Bari, too, a procession takes place every year to celebrate the arrival of Saint Nicholas... By boat, since his body arrived on a ship belonging to Italian merchants who had left to take him to what is now Turkey. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: MeloDphoto via depositphotos.
Le Sire de Rechicourt
Later, another Lorrain, Cunon de Linange, Sire de Rechicourt, was taken prisoner by the Turks during the 6th Crusade around 1240. Locked in a gaol and on the eve of execution, he prayed to Saint Nicolas to free him. In his sleep, he was carried to the church of Saint Nicolas de Port, where he awoke with his undone chains at his feet . To thank Saint Nicolas, Cunon de Linange vowed that a procession would take place every year on December 6 . This procession still takes place today. It is the most important religious event in Lorraine, and thousands of people gather with candles around the relics of Saint Nicolas (the famous phalanx) in the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-De-Port to pray to Saint Nicolas with a song whose lyrics read: "Saint Nicolas, your credit from age to age, has rained down your sovereign benefits. Come, cover your old friends, the children of Lorraine, with your gentle patronage".
René II and the battle of Nancy
The Battle of Nancy painted by Delacroix in 1831. Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance: Musée des beaux-arts de Nancy.
In 1477, René II, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, was preparing for battle against Charles le Téméraire, Duke of Burgundy, who was laying siege to Nancy, capital of the Duchy of Lorraine. Charles le Téméraire was one of the greatest military leaders of his time, with a huge army that left René II little chance. On the eve of the battle, January 4, 1477, René II stopped at the church of Saint Nicolas and vowed to consecrate Lorraine to Saint Nicolas if he won the battle. The following day, January 5, 1477, at the Battle of Nancy, Charles the Bold was defeated and killed, and his army defeated. Keeping his word, the victorious René II decided to demolish the old church and erect the present-day basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. Over time, Saint Nicolas became Patron Saint of the Dukes of Lorraine, and then of Lorraine as a whole.
The Basilica of Saint Nicolas de Port in Lorraine. Photo chosen by Monsieurdefrance.com: By Cherbe - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132622637
Other miracles in Lorraine
Chronicle tells us that when the Swedes ravaged the town on November 5, 1635, and almost all the inhabitants were massacred, a pillar of the basilica opened up to shelter and protect one of the sanctuary's priests. Much more recently, Camille Croué-Friedman, a native of Port who had made her fortune in America, was on a cruise when the sea became rough. As the ship appeared to be sinking, Camille Croué-Friedman, remembering that Saint Nicolas was the patron saint of sailors, prayed to Saint Nicolas to save the ship. The storm subsided , and Madame Croué Friedman kept her word in 1981, bequeathing part of her fortune ($1,000,000) to maintain and safeguard the sanctuary of Saint Nicolas in Lorraine.
A long-standing tradition that's still going strong
St. Nicholas has a special place in the hearts of the people of Lorraine, and has done for a long time. We don't really know when the tradition of giving gifts on Saint Nicholas Day began. What we do know is that it's a very important family holiday in Lorraine, and people from Lorraine return to their home region on this day . Children are given sweets and sometimes small gifts, and until recently it was the only time to give presents before Christmas became the norm. The best proof of the age of this tradition is a moving painting in Vienna. The painting, by Marie Christine de Habsbourg-Lorraine, shows François de Lorraine, born in Lunéville and husband of Marie Thérèse d'Autriche, on St. Nicholas morning, with his children unwrapping their presents. Among them is little Marie-Antoinette, playing with a doll .
Engraving inspired by Marie Christine de Habsbourg-Lorraine's drawings of her family on Saint Nicholas Day. Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.Com: Marie Antoinette's boudoir.
N.B. There may be translation errors. Saint Nicolas wanted to replace our translator, and he's not as good with languages as he thinks he is (it has to be said that Saint Luke is the Patron Saint of translators...).
