Thoughts on Saint Nick

Shifting ideas of FUN.

I attended these festivities for the feast of Nikolaus in my mom’s nursing home in Germany.

It’s celebrated a little different there from our Dutch Sinterklaas - it’s the same guy (the bishop Saint Nicholas), but in Holland, he arrives on a boat from Spain; in Germany, he comes from Turkey (which is more historically accurate). In Holland, it’s celebrated on the 5th of December, in Germany on the 6th. In Holland, he brings gifts (usually accompanied by a snarky poem); in Germany, the gifts-giving is reserved for Weihnachten, Christmas. When in the US, Santa Claus brings presents in his sleigh.

They’re all the same saint, really.

I was thinking about writing something here about how all regions have their own shifting traditions, how these have changed over time; that there’s no need to get your knickers in a twist when someone suggests slight alterations - but I won’t.

Let’s keep it gezellig, as we say in Holland.