Why do we celebrate nikolaus

December 11 Crafty Moms Share: Bangladesh. December 12 Raising a Trilingual Child: Italy. December 21 Gianna the Great: Choctaw Nation. December 22 American Mom in Bourdeaux: France. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Who is Nikolaus? Nikolaus day gifts Germany is a big country and the celebrations of Sankt Nikolaus vary from region to region. Our take on celebrating Sankt Nikolaus This is the first year that our family will be celebrating Nikolaus.

The day is celebrated slightly later on December 19 in eastern Christian regions, including the Middle East and Eastern Europe. How do people celebrate Saint Nicholas Day? St Nicholas is well known by children in Europe as he was a gift giver. A few days before the celebrations, young people will put their shoes or a special St Nicholas boot in front of the fireplace or front door. Knecht Ruprecht is a term widely used in many parts of Germany. In Austria and Bavaria he is known as Krampus.

Also called rauer Percht and many other names, Knecht Ruprecht is the anti-Santa escort, who punishes bad children. Nowadays he is often a more kind, less menancing character, but in parts of Austria and Bavaria, Krampus remains a rather nasty figure.

Wotan, aka Percht, ruled over battles, fate, fertility and the winds. When Christianity came to Germany, St. Nicholas was introduced, but he was accompanied by the Germanic Knecht Ruprecht. Today both can be seen at parties and festivities around December 6. It is said that he borrowed at least a couple of features from the Palatine Pelznickel he knew as a child in creating the image of the American Santa Claus — the fur trim and boots. He carries a sack full of apples and nuts that he gives to the children.

In various areas of the Odenwald, Pelznickel also goes by the names of Benznickel , Strohnickel , and Storrnickel. The term used to be confined mostly to the northern and mostly Protestant areas of Germany, but has spread across the country in recent years. You can even rent a Weihnachtsmann in most larger German cities. Nicholas, or Santa Claus. The German Weihnachtsmann is a fairly recent Christmas tradition having little if any religious or folkloric background.

In fact, the secular Weihnachtsmann only dates back to around the midth century. The first image depicting a bearded Weihnachtsmann in a hooded, fur mantle was a woodcut Holzschnitt by the Austrian painter Moritz von Schwind Over the years, the Weihnachtsmann became a rough mixture of St.

Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht. A survey found that German children were split about evenly along regional lines between believing in either the Weihnachtsmann or the Christkind. But today a similar survey would show the Weihnachtsmann winning out in almost all of Germany — except for most Catholic areas. More Christmas from A to Z. Legal Notice: We are not responsible for the content of external links. ES Mag. Follow us:. Password Please enter a valid password. Submit Submit. By Georgia Chambers.

C hristmas is full of traditions.