Saint Nicolas Day

Saint Nicolas, also known as Nicholas of Myra, was the Bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey) during the late 3rd century – early 4th century. St-Nicolas was also called Nicholas the Wonderworker due to the many miracles attributed to him. He was known for his secret gift-giving, especially for putting gold coins in shoes left out for him. St-Nicolas is the patron saint of children (among many others), and combined with such gift-giving, he evolved into a character of legendary size: Santa Claus.

But in Lorraine, Saint Nicolas is also the patron saint of the région I'm calling home. So, December 6th, his feast day, was a big deal here. Traditional festivities started with St-Nicolas' grand appearance on the balcony of the train station, from where he gave a little speech, reminding the audience of children to listen to their parents and teachers and to always do their best in school, and to be helpful at home. Then St-Nicolas joined the waiting parade of floats and music, and lots of candy being thrown for the children, since it's really a day celebrating them. In the early evening there was a fireworks display, complete with music and a retelling of the legend of St-Nicolas.

It was a really fun celebration to experience, and it felt unique in the way that it's really not a commercialized holiday, as St-Nicolas himself said in part of his speech. It's a popular holiday – one that belongs to the people. It was interesting to see a celebration that actually felt as though it had gone on in that manner for 10, 50, 100, 200 and more years.

Père Fouettard is the evil counterpart of St-Nicolas, according the Lorraine version of the story. He goes around scaring and whipping (fouetter = to whip) children who have been bad, while St-Nicolas rewards children who have been good with sweets and toys.

Lorraine Folklore and Traditions Society

Perhaps the one really modern element was the amount of bright, sparkly tinsel used to decorate the floats!

A St-Nicolas Day brioche, like Fran always talked about

What I found especially interesting about this whole tradition came as I was doing "research" to write this blog entry. St-Nicolas Day (and here) is celebrated though a good portion of Germanic Europe: The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, but also in parts of Italy and Portugal, and then also though central Europe and in the Balkan region. It's easy to see how certain themes carry though from one culture to the next, and equally as interesting to see how each culture also has put their own spin on the festivities and legends. And no one does it quite like in Lorraine...