From St. Nicholas

Once a year, usually on December 6, some children receive a visit from an older gentleman. He has a white beard, carries a staff, wears long robes and a special hat. He visits some children at home, and others at school or preschool.

He often speaks in a deep voice. Sometimes, though, it sounds like Grandpa’s voice or a neighbor’s.

He asks the children if they have been good, and knows surprising things that happened over the past year. He often has an assistant with him who waves a switch around. The assistant then hands out sweets and presents to the children.

Adults say that the elderly gentleman is St. Nicholas. They say he is a holy man. The children are happy with that, including those who do not meet him in person but find small gifts in a shoe or boot on the morning of December 6.

Who is this mysterious man who gives children gifts and knows so much about them? The story goes back to a woman who lived more than 1,000 years ago. Her name was Theophanu. She was the wife of Emperor Otto II and came from Constantinople. Today, the city is called Istanbul and is in Turkey.

At that time, a man named Nicholas was greatly revered in Constantinople. Many centuries earlier, this Nicholas had been Bishop of Myra. Myra is now called Demre and is also in Turkey, about 100 kilometers from the city of Antalya. He is said to have died there on December 6, 345.

There are still bishops today. They are senior clergy in Christian churches. It is said that Bishop Nicholas did many good deeds. Soon after his death, stories praising his generosity began to spread. He was eventually declared a saint.

That certainly helped spread Christianity, too. Theophanu made sure that Bishop Nicholas became known and revered in Emperor Otto's realm as well. To this day, many churches bear the name “St. Nicholas” or “Nikolaikirche.” In Germany, these include Lübeck Cathedral, Limburg Cathedral and St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig.

Many stories are told about Bishop Nicholas. We call them legends because strange things happen in them that should not necessarily be taken literally. For example, Bishop Nicholas is said to have secretly thrown gold coins through the window of a poor family’s home.

People told of another poor family who had suddenly found money in socks hanging by the fireplace. Nikolaus is said to have saved three men who had been wrongly sentenced to death from execution.

He saved sailors from shipwreck by ordering the storm to be still. The legend of the “Grain Miracle” tells of a great famine in Myra. Three ships carrying grain for the emperor in Rome were in the harbor, however. Bishop Nicholas asked for 100 sacks from each ship. He assured them that nothing would be missing when the cargo was delivered.

The crews granted his request and gave Nicholas the grain. When the men in Rome counted it again, all the sacks of grain were indeed still there. Nicholas is said to have fed his community with the grain he had begged for several years and even distributed seed.

We know very little about the real life of Bishop Nicholas. He is said to have been the son of wealthy parents and to have been appointed bishop at the age of 17 or 19. He is said to have given all his wealth to the poor.

Nicholas is said to have lived in Demre, formerly known as Myra. Many Christians lived in what is now Turkey during Bishop Nicholas’s time. Remains of a Christian church dedicated to St. Nicholas can still be seen in Demre today.

A monument to Bishop Nicholas has stood in front of the church for several years. Inside the church is a tomb where Bishop Nicholas is said to have been buried in 345 AD. However, this tomb has been empty for many centuries.

Here’s how it happened: In 1087, Italian merchants stole Bishop Nicholas’s bones from his grave in Demre. They took his mortal remains to Italy.

The city of Bari is home to the Basilica of San Nicola. Inside the church is a tomb said to hold the remains of Bishop Nicholas, brought there after they were taken from Demre.

Every year on May 8, a large procession takes place in Bari. Even the football stadium is named after him. And it was from Bari that the legends of Saint Nicholas spread throughout Europe.

Children have been receiving gifts on St. Nicholas Day for many hundreds of years. This usually happens on December 6, in memory of the day Bishop Nicholas is said to have died in 345.

On the eve of St Nicholas Day, children in some regions put out shoes or boots so that St Nicholas can fill them with sweets and small gifts. In kindergartens and schools, as well as in some families, Bishop Nicholas also makes a “personal” visit. He wears the robes of a Catholic bishop.

These include a shepherd's crook and the bishop's hat, called a mitre. The children recite poems or sing St. Nicholas songs. Then they are admonished and given presents. Sometimes St. Nicholas brings a book listing the children's good and bad deeds.

How could Saint Nicholas know about these deeds? And who is hiding behind the beard and bishop’s robes, if the real Saint Nicholas has been dead for almost 1,700 years and his remains lie in Bari? Unfortunately, these questions cannot be answered in this story ...

When Saint Nicholas visits the children, he is usually accompanied by a helper. This helper is often called Knecht Ruprecht, and is sometimes known as Nickel or Pelznickel. In the Netherlands, he is called "Zwarte Piet"; in southern Germany and Austria, he is called Krampus.

There, Saint Nicholas is sometimes accompanied by several helpers, who wear frightening costumes and behave wildly.

According to tradition, St Nicholas’s companions drive his sleigh or carriage. In any case, they carry the sack of presents. They are also responsible for punishing naughty children, so they usually carry a switch. Of course, all children are well-behaved nowadays, so the switch is surely never used.