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Czech Christmas
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The image of Nicholas as the saint who brings gifts to good
children and tests them from prayer-books and the Bible in the
early evening of his holiday is typical for catholic
countries. Today, children and their parents are mostly asked
whether the children have been good all year - not being
naughty and listening to their parents, etc. - and rewarded with
Nicholas' gifts - fruit and a wide variety of other treats -
according to the answers.
Nicholas doesn't visit children
alone; he's accompanied by a devil with horns and a long, red
tongue, whose animal-like appearance is furthered by a shaggy
black fur coat and other essential devilish accesories: a tail,
a chain and a staff, with which he punishes naughty children.
To balance out the devil is an angel, who protects the children
from him. The angel appears to children in a white gown with
paper wings and a star on his forehead.
Extensive legends about the life and deeds of St. Nicholas
have been pased down in a wide variety of forms. According to
them, Nicholas was born around the year 250 or 260 A.D. in the town of Patara in
southwest of Asia Minor, to a family of
wealthy and devout Christians. After the death of his parents,
he gave everything away to the poor. The following legend of
his generosity became famous:
In Patara there lived a certain poor man who had three daughters, but
had run up such debts that there was only one thing left to him to do:
to sell his daughters to a brothel. When Nicholas learned
of this, he went and threw money through the open window of their
bedroom on three nights for them. Their father was not
only able to pay off his debts, but had enough left for dowries for
all three. With the gratitude of his home town, Nicholas then chose to
leave for the Holy Land.
On his way back from Palestine, Nicholas was named a bishop in
the town of Myra. Previously, before Nicholas arrived, an angel had
appeared in Myra and declared that the first man who entered
the church on the morning of the second day would be named to
the bishopric. At first, Nicholas suffered for his Christian
beliefs, because Christians were being persecuted by the ruling of Emperor Diocletsian.
Nicholas was imprisoned and spent
a period in exile on pain of death. Not until Emperor
Constantine in 313 was the practice of Christianity permitted.
Nicholas then returned home, where he became famous as a
bishop for his zealous defense and advancing of Christianity.
His other holy deeds include his assistance to sailors and
fishermen who fell into the sea in distress, his resurrection
of three wrongfully condemned soldiers and murdered men.
Nicholas also ensured the people had enough food in times of
famine when he miraculously multiplied the grain so they had
enough bread, and he defended widows, children and all those
persecuted and mistreated.
Before his death, Nicholas visited the Holy Father in Rome, and on
his return journey stayed for some time in Bari, southern
Italy, to where his remains were later transferred. He died at
about the age of 90 and was buried in Myra. Miracles occurred
even after his death; two springs with therapeutic properties
sprang from his grave. Nicholas was helpful after his
death not only to faithful Christians, but to those who hadn't
accepted Christ and turned to him in distress for help.
The cult of St. Nicholas began spreading in the 6th century, when he
was perceived as a defender of Christians against non-believers.
The cult made its way to Europe through the travels of merchants and
pilgrimmages to the Holy Land. The cult was brought to
Northern European cities by Norman sailors. Northern France
had become the best-known center of culture in Western Europe, and there Nicholas
was the patron saint of pupils, first in monasteries and then soon after in secular
schools as well.
The image of Nicholas - bishop, patron and
protector - spread from France eastwards, and at the
same time north over the Alps from Italy, so that by the 12th
century it had also taken hold in Germany. From there it
spread to Central Europe and by the 15th century had spread
throughout all of Europe. The cult of Saint Nicholas became a fixture of the Greek,
Orthodox and Latin Churches.
In the Czech Republic, 124 churches have been consecrated to
him, among the most famous and most significant being the St.
Nicholas cathedral in the Mala Strana section of Prague, which
is one of the most priceless of all Czech baroque buildings.
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