In the north and east of France, as in many European countries, children receive gifts or sweets on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6.
We explain the origins of this other Santa Claus.
Every year, as we see in the TF1 report above, broadcast in 2022, people from Nancy, but also foreign tourists, come to watch the Saint-Nicolas procession. According to tradition, the mayor of Nancy hands over the keys to the city to Saint-Nicolas, thus announcing the start of the end-of-year festivities and the celebration of the winter solstice. In Meurthe-et-Moselle, this big parade is eagerly awaited by young and old alike. The patron saint is the star of the parade and guides the procession. It is accompanied by original floats made especially for the occasion by hundreds of volunteers. Troops of artists provide entertainment for the festivities, and we find characters who also contributed to its legend: Father Fouettard and the child-killing butcher.
The tradition of Saint Nicholas dates from the Middle Ages and continues to be honored in the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe. In France, it is celebrated mainly in the north and east (Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté, Ardennes). It is said that the saint is responsible for punishing badly behaved children and rewarding good children.
Who is this Nicholas?
Nicolas de Myre, better known as Saint-Nicolas, is the patron saint of people from Lorraine, but also of good children, sailors, pilgrims and traders. He was born around 270 in what is now southwest Turkey. Orphaned at a young age, the story of his good behavior spread almost everywhere in the Christian world. All his life, he gave to the poor, the widows and the penniless, a large part of the fortune inherited from his family. He died on December 6, 331 in the city of Myra.
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He was canonized by the Church, so he is a holy figure in the Orthodox religion. He would have obtained from the Emperor Constantine a reduction in taxes by pleading the cause of the inhabitants of Myra in Constantinople. After his death, his relics are considered miraculous because they produce “St. Nicholas' manna”, a miraculous oil. Still marketed today, it is supposed to cure the sick. This post-mortem miracle largely contributed to expanding the cult of Saint Nicholas in the Orthodox religion.
Saint-Nicolas, at the heart of the legendSource : Bonjour !
Where do we find this tradition in Europe?
In Greece, Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, while in Luxembourg, children even receive more gifts on December 6 than for Christmas. The tradition of Saint Nicholas is integrated into the customs and cultures of different countries with Christian roots. Saint Nicholas is considered the ancestor of Santa Claus, he even inspired the famous Coca-Cola soda brand for a legendary advertising campaign. In 1931, the illustrator Haddon Sundblom then dressed it in the colors of the famous bottle, red and white, even if it already appeared in these colors before the association with the firm.
