Feast of Saint Nicholas (Netherlands)

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Main article: Saint Nicholas Day
File:Sinterklaas arriveert.jpg
Intocht Sinterklaas: arrival of Saint Nicholas in the Netherlands by steamboat, coming from Madrid via Alicante.
File:Sinterklaas 2007.jpg
Saint Nicholas.

The Feast of Saint Nicholas (in Dutch: Sinterklaas)[1] is celebrated on Saint Nicholas' Eve (December 5) in the Netherlands, and on Saint Nicholas' Day (December 6) in Belgium and in some former Dutch colonies. To a lesser extent it is also celebrated in Luxembourg (as Kleeschen), Austria, Switzerland (Santiklaus), Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic (as Mikuláš).

The central figure of the feast is Saint Nicholas (in Dutch: Sint-Nicolaas, from which the popular form Sinterklaas derives), a legendary figure who brings gifts to children on the day of the feast. The names of Sinterklaas and Amsterdam have been linked since the year 343.[2] According to tradition, Saint Nicholas comes from Madrid and/or Alicante, Spain, and every year since 1934 (except in 1944) he arrives on the Dutch coast on a steamboat. Once landed, he rides a white horse called Amerigo. He is accompanied by some helpers (pages) called Pedritos (in Dutch: Zwarte Pieten (Black Pete),[3] who throw pepernoten (small spiced cookies) to the people.[2] It is one of the most important traditions of the Netherlands. Sinterklaas's arrival by boat is broadcast live on Dutch national television, both over the air and on the Internet.[3]

The myth is based fundamentally on the figure of Saint Nicholas of Bari (who was bishop of Myra, in present-day Turkey, in the 4th century), although it also contains elements of pagan origin: there are parallels with the god Odin, who rides a white horse (Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse, on which he flies through the sky). Saint Nicholas also rides a white horse over the rooftops of houses, wearing his episcopal symbols: a red cape, a miter and a golden crosier.

Originally the figure of Saint Nicholas was revered only in the East. Only from the 13th century did his saint's day become a recognized feast. Already at that time there existed in Utrecht the custom of filling the shoes of four poor children with coins.

After the revolt of the Dutch provinces against the Spanish Crown, Calvinist preachers tried to eliminate the feast of Saint Nicholas, considering that it contained too many pagan elements. However, their efforts were unsuccessful, because the feast was extremely popular even among the Protestant population.

The modern form of Sinterklaas probably comes from the picture book "Sinterklaas and his page" (1850) by the teacher Jan Schenkman (1806-1863), but the children's feast has a much older origin.

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Pepernoten.

Saint Nicholas and the shoes

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Feast of Saint Nicholas. Jan Steen.

In the Netherlands the custom of "putting out the shoe" has existed since the 15th century. In those times the shoe was put out on December 5 in the church, and what was obtained from the alms of the wealthier citizens was distributed among the poor families on December 6, the official day of the death of Saint Nicholas.

When Saint Nicholas later became (already in the 16th century) a family feast, the custom took hold of putting the shoes beside the fireplace. According to tradition, Saint Nicholas (or rather his helper, Pedrito) visited the children's homes and placed the gifts in the shoes, generally sweets and toys. This tradition is still kept alive.

Songs

Main article: Sinterklaaslied

The songs of Saint Nicholas are called sinterklaasliederen. The present repertoire of sinterklaasliederen was popularized by Jan Schenkman, who included the most famous: Zie ginds komt de stoomboot[4] (Look, there comes the steamboat). The melody of this carol is based on an old German song. Another carol is Zie de maan schijnt door de bomen[5] (Look, the moon is shining through the trees).

There are several popular songs related to the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Among others, some children's rhymes (similar to those of the feast of Saint Martin) with which children celebrate the feast and invite Saint Nicholas to leave them gifts. The best known is this one:

Dutch English translation

Sinterklaas kapoentje
gooi wat in mijn schoentje
gooi wat in mijn laarsje
Dank u Sinterklaasje

Saint Nicholas kapoentje (*)
leave something in my shoe
leave something in my boot
Thank you, Saint Nicholas

(*) The origin of this word in the rhyme is related to another fictional character of Dutch history, Klaas Kapoen, and to the fact that it rhymes easily with schoentje (little shoe).

Another famous carol is Sinterklaasje, kom maar binnen met je knecht (Sinterklaas, come in with your page).[6][7]

Zwarte Piet

Main article: Zwarte Piet
File:Piet op boot.jpg
Zwarte Piet.

Saint Nicholas does not work alone: he is accompanied by a servant called Zwarte Piet (in Spanish: Pedro el Negro or Pedrito; "Black Pete"), who carries the sack of gifts and climbs down the chimneys of houses to leave the gifts in the children's shoes.

The origin of this servant is disputed: originally he would have been a demon whom Saint Nicholas forced to perform noble acts, but according to other sources he would simply be a Moorish servant, to which he would owe his color. From a Christian perspective he would simply be the Devil, taking the place of Odin, or of his helper Norwi, the black Father of the night, who also carried a rod (as a symbol of fertility). According to the kindest version, Saint Nicholas would have bought the freedom of an Ethiopian child at the slave market of Myra. The little boy's name would be "Piter" (derived from Petrus). The child, grateful for his liberation, would have decided to accompany and serve Saint Nicholas.

The color of his skin is occasionally a source of criticism, according to which it sustains certain racist prejudices. But another theory holds that he is in fact an Italian chimney sweep. His face would thus be black from the soot of the chimneys, and not because of a question of race (Sooty Pedrito or Soot Pedrito). This theory is supported by the fact that he carries a rod used by chimney sweeps, climbs onto rooftops and wears clothes that could correspond to those of the old Italian chimney sweeps.

In Flanders he is known by the Dutch term Pieterknecht ("page Peter").

Until the Second World War Saint Nicholas had a single helper. After the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops, the foreign soldiers helped organize the first postwar feast of Saint Nicholas. Without keeping too closely to tradition, they thought that if one Zwarte Piet was nice, a large group of them would be even better. Since then several Pieten (plural of Piet) accompany Saint Nicholas. Each one has his own assigned task (for example, "guide", "cook", etc.). Saint Nicholas always behaves with distinction and seriousness, while his companions are playful and mischievous acrobats.

The clothing of Zwarte Piet is a kind of page's costume from around the 16th and 17th centuries. The servants of the courts of that time wore similar clothing. This is probably the origin of the attire of Saint Nicholas's servant.

One of the most popular songs about him is Pedrito went out cycling (Zwarte Piet ging uit fietsen, in Dutch).[8]

Sweets

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Kruidnoten and sweets.
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Pepernoten.

The typical delicacies associated with Sinterklaas are:

Arrival in and departure from Holland

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Sinterklaas Pakjesboot 12, Saint Nicholas's Gift Boat 12, the ship on which he arrives in Holland.[9]

Saint Nicholas "comes" from Spain

According to tradition, Saint Nicholas does not come from Asia Minor, but from Spain, with Alicante as his point of departure; previously he would have been in Madrid.

However, the Bishop Saint Nicholas was born in Patara (Lycia), at that time part of the Byzantine Empire, and today in present-day Turkey. Later he became Bishop of Myra (capital of Lycia), and as such took part in the Council of Nicaea. He died on December 6, 342. After the region fell under Muslim rule, the saint's mortal remains were moved in 1087 to Bari (in present-day Italy). Bari would later form part of the Kingdom of Naples, which was conquered in 1442 by Alfonso V of Aragon. The city therefore came to belong to Aragon and later to Spain, until the 18th century. From the fact that the remains of Saint Nicholas were in Bari (then a Spanish city) arises the tradition according to which Saint Nicholas comes from Spain. Other opinions consider that the tradition of Saint Nicholas traveling from Alicante to the Netherlands has its origin in the fact that Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of Alicante, and has erected in his honor the co-cathedral church of Alicante, which King Alfonso the Wise ordered built on conquering the city from the Muslims on December 6, 1248, Saint Nicholas' Day.

Saint Nicholas is also known in Spain as the patron saint of sailors. That is why he always arrives in the Netherlands on a steamboat.

The arrival of Saint Nicholas

The national entry takes place in mid-November, on the first Saturday after Saint Martin's (that is, the first Saturday after November 11). At present it is broadcast live by NPO, through its channel Zapp and the website Sinterklaas Journal.[10]

The local arrival ceremonies are generally on that same afternoon, but in the south of the Netherlands and in Belgium it is the following Sunday.

Overview of all the entry ceremonies

Main article: List of all the entry ceremonies of Sinterklaas

Departure

In some places in the Netherlands Sinterklaas is seen off (uittocht) on December 6.

Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus

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Russian Orthodox version of Saint Nicholas, today among the ruins of the church of Saint Nicholas, in Demre, Turkey.
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Noel Baba in the large square in front of the church of Saint Nicholas, in Demre (Turkey).

During the 19th century the myth of Saint Nicholas served as the origin of the myth of the American Santa Claus. The North American city of New Amsterdam was a Dutch colony on the coast of the present-day United States. The feast of Saint Nicholas was also celebrated there, and his name Sinterklaas was adapted into English as Santa Claus. The city was later taken by the English and changed its name to New York. The myth of Santa Claus spread from the United States to all of Europe in the 20th century, including the Netherlands, where at Christmas Saint Nicholas competes with himself in the form of Santa Claus. However, the North American Santa Claus has its origins in all of Northern Europe, where figures comparable to Saint Nicholas were found: Grandfather Frost in Russia, Father Christmas in France, and even the Spanish Three Kings. The central origin of the Christmas feast with gifts is a tradition common to most European countries to celebrate the winter solstice.

The transformation of Saint Nicholas, mixed with all those figures, into Santa Claus has even reached the Turkish city of Demre, built on the ruins of ancient Myra. Saint Nicholas is a relatively important saint in the Russian Orthodox Church, so the city has attracted crowds of Russian tourists since the end of the 20th century. Even so, the traditional figure who fulfills the role of bringing Christmas gifts is, for Russians, Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost. For that reason the Russian government gave the city in 2000 a bronze sculpture representing him. The sculpture was assigned a prominent place in the square in front of the remains of the medieval church of Saint Nicholas. But in 2005 Mayor Suleyman Topcu decided that the figure of Noel Baba (in Turkish, Father Christmas, alter ego of Santa Claus) would attract more tourists than the sculpture of Saint Nicholas, which was moved to a more than modest spot among the ruins of the church. The new sculpture of Father Christmas, made of plastic and with its American appearance, took its central place in the square.

Despite the initial similarities with Santa Claus, the Dutch Saint Nicholas lives in Spain and not at the North Pole. Santa Claus flies from the North Pole in his sleigh. Sinterklaas and his white horse arrive in Holland from southern Spain on a steamboat. Santa Claus himself goes down and comes out of the chimneys. Sinterklaas has some pages called Zwarte Pieten (Sooty Petes) to do it for him.[11]

Appearances in films

See also

References

  1. ↑ Klaas is the Dutch abbreviation derived from the Christian name Nicholas. Nicholas comes from the Greek Nike or νικη (= victory) and laos or λαος (= people). Broadly speaking, therefore, victor among the people or one loved by all. From this comes the name of Saint Nicholas.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20120107072110/http://www.iamsterdam.com/es/visiting/spotlight/saint_nicholas
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Copia archivada" (in español). Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ Sinterklaas songs with sheet music and mp3
  5. ↑ Zie de maan schijnt door de bomen (in Dutch)
  6. ↑ http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=ss&p=2182&c=125
  7. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRUDf4TNb1A
  8. ↑ http://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet_ging_uit_fietsen (in Dutch)
  9. ↑ http://argimira.blogspot.com/2007/12/5-de-diciembre-sinterklaas.html
  10. ↑ http://sinterklaasjournaal.ntr.nl/#/home/
  11. ↑ http://www.minbuza.nl/en/you-and-netherlands/about-the-netherlands/general-information/holidays-and-traditions/holidays-and-traditions.html
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