On the evening of December 5th, children in Germany, especially in the Catholic regions, will clean their shoes and place them by the door or on the stairs, hoping that St Nicholas will come by and fill them with sweet treats and small gifts overnight. Years ago, before Christmas became a gift-giving holiday, December 6th was when children got their goodies. Even though Christmas has taken the gift-giving title, the German St Nicholas Tradition survives today. What is St Nicholas Day? St. Nicholas (also spelled Nikolas and Nikolaus) is the generous Patron Saint of Children, and we celebrate his Feast Day on December 6th.
Ach, du lieber Nikolaus,
komm ganz schnell in unser Haus.
Hab so viel an dich gedacht,
hast mir doch was mitgebracht?Oh my dear Nikolaus,
come very fast to into our house.
I’ve thought about you oh so much,
Did you bring something for me?
What is St Nicholas Day?
How to Celebrate St Nicholas Day
When I was a child, we would put a pair of (CLEAN) shoes in front of the door on the evening of December 5th. (Yes, clean… as a German kid, I learned to polish shoes at an early age.) When I woke up on the 6th, I would find treats and small presents in my shoes.
Sadly, there is no fooling St Nicholas. Putting my father’s boots by the door didn’t help at all… even if they were clean.
The life story of Saint Nicholas
Nikolas was born into a wealthy family, but he chose to become a monk and later a priest. When his parents died, he gave his inheritance away to the needy. He was known for his kindness, especially to children. Eventually, he became the Bishop of Myra, which is now a part of Turkey. Later, the Roman Emperor Diocletian had him arrested for his crime of being a Christian. (Ironically, at the time, the jails were so full of Priests and Bishops that there was no room for robbers and murderers.) After his release, he attended the Council of Nicaea. He was buried in the Cathedral in Myra when he died on December 6, 325 AD. Legend claims that Manna (remember the story of Moses in the desert?) appeared on his grave, and this miracle qualified him for Sainthood.
St Nicholas Making his Rounds- creative commons photo by-Gamsjaga
German St Nicholas Tradition
In Germany, St Nikolaus and his companion visit homes on the evening of the 5th to ask whether the children behaved all year. St Nikolaus would be dressed in white robes and carrying a book (to double-check the year’s transgressions) and his Bishop’s Staff. Children would be tested for behavior and asked to recite poems or sing songs. The child would get a gift for doing well. In my part of Germany, Knecht Ruprecht, St Nicholas’ companion, is a more sinister figure who carries a sack and a switch. Bad children could be given a switch or taken away in the sack. YIKES!
Children would tidy their rooms and clean their toys to prepare for the visit. Shoes would be polished and set out by the door or on the windowsill. Some kids even left a bit of hay or straw for St Nicholas’s Donkey) Children wake to find candies, gold coins, and even small treats on December 6th.
In some communities, children dress as St Nicholas and collect treats door-to-door.
St Nicholas and the Christkind
Before Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation shook up the Catholic church and German beliefs in the 16th Century, St. Nicholas Day was THE DAY for gift giving. Martin Luther wanted to change the focus away from the Saints and instead put it on Christ. The story of Christkind as a gift giver—an embodiment of Jesus in the form of an Angel—took over. Instead of December 6, children would receive their gifts on Christmas Eve.
Still, as with every story, things got blurry. Early on, the Christkind was thought to travel with St Nicholas, bringing gifts, almost as if they were companions. And today, many families celebrate both, with small gifts on St Nicholas Day and then gifts from the Christkind on Heilig Abend (Christmas Eve).
Read more about the Christkind here–> Christkind Tradition
The Transformation to the American Santa Claus
Over time, St Nicholas became secularized (transformed from a religious figure to something non-religious by society). His Bishop’s staff became a pipe, and the Bishop’s Miter became just a red hat. St Nicholas Day traditions gave birth to the characters of Santa Claus and Father Christmas. The Clement Clark Moore poem “A Visit from St Nicholas” set up the idea of St Nicholas being a jelly-bellied, red suit-wearing, jolly man who arrives in a sleigh loaded with toys for children on Christmas. Later, in 1881, German immigrant Thomas Nast, the political cartoonist, reinforced the image by drawing Santa Claus, who he based on Belsnickel, who he remembered from growing up in the Palatine region of Germany. He changed Belsnickel’s fur suit to Red and White to make him friendlier. Santa Claus (the derivation of the Sankt niKLAUS) is a jolly looking fat man. Gone was Knecht Ruprecht and his stick, and his bag was now filled with toys!
In Germany, this Santa Claus figure is known as the Weihnachtsmann... and he comes on Christmas Eve.
St Nicholas’s Companions
In the Netherlands (where he is called Sinterklaas) and areas of Germany near the Dutch border, St Nickolas is accompanied by Zwarte Pieten, or Schwartze Peter (Black Peter), a Moor who would put the bad children in a sack and take them back to Spain (remember, the Moors lived in Spain)
Knecht Ruprecht is the most common of his companions. While written stories linking him to St Nicholas first appeared in the 17th century, tales of Knecht Ruprecht go back to the Middle Ages. (Oddly, Ruprecht is another word for Devil.) Stories about him vary. Some think he was a wild foundling raised by St Nicholas to be a manservant. In other stories, described in “Deutsche Mythologie” (German Folklore), Jakob Grimm claims his origin is that of a House Sprite or House Elf, who keeps balance. Either way, he wears a black or brown robe with a hood and often has small bells at his waist to announce his arrival. His face is dirty from the soot he collects as he goes down chimneys (wondering if this was “borrowed” by the American Santa Claus”?) Some say he carries a bag of coal and walks with a long staff because of a limp from a childhood injury. Learn more about Knecht Ruprecht here.
In Bavaria and Austria, St Nicholas travels with Krampus. Krampus is a scary, demonic BEAST who drags bad children back to his lair. Sometimes Krampus travels alone. He is in charge of giving out bundles of sticks (Ruten) for beatings, or coal.
Click here to learn more about Krampus
Click to Learn More about St Nicholas’s Companions HERE
Put out Your Shoes!
On the evening of December 5th, remember to put out your shoes. And maybe a little bit of hay or a carrot for St Nikolas’s horse. And if you’ve been good, on December 6th, you might find special treats from St Nikolas.
Books to fill the shoes…
The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving
Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas LegendThe Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale, with Bonus Cookie Recipe and Pattern for St. Nicholas Christmas Cookies (15th Anniversary Edition)
This is cute… a video of a child being visited by St Nicholas, Krampus and the Angel
The mitre is his hat, not the staff
fixing…
Thank you for the post, very interesting and sense I’m not a Catholic anymore, but I still enjoy reading about the church. I think once you are a Catholic, you still have the church in your heart, I know I do.
Loved this story it brought many memories of my children growing up celebrating St. Nicholas’s Day . It also was my son,Karl’s Birthday so we enjoy treats & cake as well
Happy Birthday!
We would put our slippers on the windowsill when I was a child instead of shoes and out the door. Not sure why since my family was from Germany and we had a German home.
I think that families nudge customs a bit for their own reasons. Maybe somewhere along the line there was a doggie in the family who might have stolen treats from the shoes, so they were moved to a window.
On the other hand, there are plenty of traditions of leaving things on windowsills for gifts, they do it in Italy and Iceland, and many do it in Germany.
I found this blog post really interesting! I had no idea that St Nicholas Day was such a big deal in Germany. It’s great to learn about the different traditions and customs associated with this holiday. I’ll definitely be incorporating some of these practices into my own celebrations this year. Thanks for sharing!
I really enjoyed reading about the German St Nicholas tradition! It’s fascinating to learn how different cultures celebrate similar holidays. The details about St Nicholas Day customs made me feel nostalgic and I can’t wait to try some of these traditions with my family. Thank you for sharing!
I love the old traditions and the stories behind them. Thank you for reading it!