St. Nicholas – Patron Saint of Children Around the World

1878

St. Nicholas, as all the world knows, is the patron of children, with whom he is the most popular saint in the calendar. Bishop of Myra, in Lucia, in the time of Constantine the Great, if we are to credit the Roman breviary, supplied three destitute maidens with dowries by secretly leaving a marriage portion for each at their window. Hence the popular fiction that he is purveyor of presents to children on Christmas Eve.

He usually makes his appearance as an old man with a venerable beard, and dressed as a bishop, either riding a white horse or an ass, and carrying a large basket on his arm, and a bundle of rods in his hand. In some parts of Bohemia he appears dressed up m a sheet instead of a surplice, with a crushed pillow on his head instead of a mitre. On his calling out: "Wilt thou pray?" all the children fall upon their knees, whereupon he lets fall some fruit upon the floor and disappears. In this manner he goes from house to house, sometimes ringing a bell to announce his arrival, visits the nurseries, inquires into the conduct of the children, praises or admonishes them, as the case may be, distributing sweetmeats or rods accordingly.

St. Nicholas is the Santa Claus of Holland, and the Smiklaus of Switzerland, and the Sonnoe Klas of Heligoland. In the Vorarlberg he is known as Zemmiklas, who threatens to put naughty children into his hay-sack; in Nether Austria as Niklo, or Niglo, who is followed by a masked servant called Krampus, while in the Tyrol he goes by the name of the "Holy Man," and shares the patronage of his office with St. Luco, who distributes gifts among the girls, as he among the boys. Sometimes he is accompanied by the Christchild.

In many parts of Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, St. Nicholas still distributes his presents on St. Nicholas eve — the 5th of December — instead of on Christmas Eve. In the Netherlands and adjoining provinces he is especially popular, and is perhaps the only saint who has maintained his full credit, even among the Protestants. For days previous to his expected advent busy housewives have been secretly conspiring with the bakers in gilding nuts, cakes and gingerbread, and torturing pastry, prepared with flour, sugar, honey, spices and sweetmeats into the most fantastical forms, from which the good saint may from time to time replenish his supplies. As to the children, St. Nicholas, or Sunder Klass is the burden of their prayers, the staple of their dreams and the inspiration of their songs. As they importune him to let fall from the chimney top some pretty gift into their little aprons, they go on singing with childish fervor,

"Sunder Klass du gode Bloot!
Breng mi Noot un Zukerbrod,
Nicht to veel un nich to mium
Smiet in mine Schorten in."

In Belgium, on the eve of the good bishop's serial voyage in his pastoral visitation of his bishoprics of chimney tops, the children polish their shoes, and after filling them with hay, oats or carrots for the saint's white horse, they put them on a table or set them in the fire-place. The room is then carefully closed and the door locked. Next morning it is opened in the presence of the assembled household, when, miribile dictu! the furniture is found to be turned topsy-turvy, while the little shoes, instead of the horse's forage, are filled with sweetmeats and toys for the good children, and with rods for the bad ones. In some places, wooden or China shoes, stockings, baskets, cups and saucers, and even bundles of hay are placed in the chimney or by the side of the bed, or in a corner of the room, as the favorite receptacle of St. Nicholas' presents.