With the exception of Christmas, there is probably no festival during the year that children look forward to as eagerly as the feast of Sinterklaas. The white-bearded elderly man who knocks on December 6 to distribute his offerings to children has a historical precedent: St. Nicholas was born to wealthy parents in ancient Patara, a city to the west, towards the end of the third century of what later became his homeland. Diocese of Myra, the capital of the Roman province of Lycia (present-day Turkey) in Asia Minor.
With the exception of Christmas, there is probably no festival during the year that children look forward to as eagerly as the feast of Sinterklaas. The white-bearded elderly man who knocks on December 6 to distribute his offerings to children has a historical precedent: Sinterklaas was born towards the end of the third century to wealthy parents in ancient Patara, a town west of where he later founded the Diocese of Myra, the capital of the Roman province of Lycia (present-day Turkey) in Asia Minor.
Even as a teenager, he read the Holy Scriptures avidly and later studied theology in a monastery. He was elected bishop based on a prophecy. As such, he took part in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, which condemned the heresy of the presbyter Arius, according to which Christ and God the Father are not of the same essence, but only of the same nature.
Numerous legends handed down
Numerous miracles and legends have been handed down about Nicholas. Best known are the legends of the gift given to three maidens to secure their dowry, of his appearing in a dream of Emperor Constantine to pardon innocently convicted and captured soldiers, and of saving Myra from famine . He took and divided the wheat from a ship bound for Constantinople from Egypt. Yet it arrived there with a full load. This may be one of the origins of the veneration of Nicholas by seafarers. Later, sailors in the Mediterranean said goodbye before sailing with the phrase “St. Nicholas may send you”.
Many churches built in his honor
Bishop Nikolaus died around AD 350, or December 6 (his feast day, now accepted by all Christian denominations) is not precisely documented. He was buried in an ancient Roman sarcophagus in his episcopal church. Already in the sixth century, Saint Nicholas became one of the most famous and popular saints of the Greek and the entire Byzantine Empire. According to the writings of Procopius, the historian of Emperor Justinian, magnificent churches were built in his honor in places such as Myra and Constantinople.
on Helper in need and patron of numerous professions
The devotion quickly spread through the Greek Church and into the Slavic lands. Nicholas has also been venerated in Western Europe since the eleventh century. He is considered one of the 14 Holy Helpers and is the patron saint of countless churches – 45 places of worship are dedicated to him in Carinthia alone – brotherhoods, professions and estates. Numerous legends, some of which can be derived from other sixth-century figures of the same name, keep the memory of the bishop of Myra alive.
The menacing “companions” of Sinterklaas, the Krampuses (photo above), appeared later – in the 19th century – and actually have nothing to do with the celebration of Sinterklaas.
Source: Krone
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