Postcards from Germany: The St. Nikolaus Christmas Tradition
Christmas traditions: St. Nikolaus
By Ashley Moore
For Guymon Daily Herald
December 6th, 2008
As Americans eagerly anticipate the end of Thanksgiving turkey leftovers and all that extra refrigerator space, German children are looking forward to something else entirely – putting their boots out for St. Nikolaus' visit this weekend. That's right. St. Nick comes a bit earlier in Germany, though here, he isn't technically the same as Santa Claus and there's even a third character who brings gifts on December 24th. Baffling? Yes! Luckily, the rather puzzling German gift-giving traditions have been demystified by friends, students and some good, old-fashioned research.
Famous for secret gift-giving, St. Nikolaus was a Catholic Bishop who lived during the first century A.D. Clad in a long robe, tall hat and walking with a staff, the saint eventually became associated with Christmas throughout Europe. The idea for the American version of St. Nikolaus – our beloved Santa Claus – comes directly from this European tradition. In an interesting twist that serves as a nod to the power of globalization, though, you'll often see the German St. Nikolaus dressed more like the American Santa Claus these days. However, Germans still see St. Nikolaus and Santa Claus, or the Weihnachtsmann (literally "Christmas man"), as two separate individuals. To further complicate matters, it's not even the Weihnachtsmann who brings gifts on the 24th; it's the Christkind, or the "Christ Child". Why all the different gift givers? St. Nikolaus was associated with the Catholic tradition, and when German theologian Martin Luther made his famous break with the Church, he introduced the idea of the Christkind specifically to replace the old customs. Luckily for German children, church politics couldn't overcome Christmas tradition so that there are now two days of presents to count the days until.
The first is St. Nikolaus Day on December 6th. Rather than setting out cookies and milk the night before, children traditionally wash and set out their (biggest) pair of boots. Customarily, if they'd been good children, St. Nikolaus would fill their shoes with chocolate, nuts and fruit by the morning, though today, more "substantial" presents are often given. If they'd been bad, they would receive only switches. In some families, St. Nikolaus actually visits the house on December 6th with his "golden book", which is a chronicle of everything "naughty" and "nice" the children have done throughout the year. The second day is Christmas Eve, the night when families exchange presents and the Christkind brings gifts. Before you bemoan the fact that you didn't have two days of gifts as a child, think about the little extras you still get in those stockings hung on the fireplace. I bet you can now guess where their boot design comes from.**
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**Actually -- as I learned this weekend while visiting my favorite German boy's hometown -- parents and grandparents actually give "stockings" filled with candy and presents these days. Our "stockings" (which are actually called Stiefel, or "boots", in German) were full of nuts, sweets, and other small presents like Christmas ornaments, gloves and lottery tickets. Yes. Lottery tickets!