Susan message about
Saint Nicolas
Sinterklaas
Sint Nicolaas
at Home2b.nl
Saint Nicolas
Sinter Klaas
Sinter
Klaas was originally a kind-hearted man
who became
Archbishop of Myra
which is
located in the area that is now called Turkey.
He was
born in Petara around 280AD
and spoke
Greek.
Nowadays
this is a part of Turkey.
Saint Nicholas
was born into a wealthy family
and
brought up as a devout Christian.
He was an
astonishing child
who stood
up in his crib a few minutes after he was born.
and when
his parents died of an epidemic,
he decided
to give his wealth
to the
poor and he became a priest.
Sailors
called upon him to save them from severe storms at sea.
He was a
man who performed miracles.
Some of
the miracles were for sailors
and some
were for children.
He also
was known to bring people back from the dead.
Many children died young at that time and
St.
Nicolas as he was called,
gave them
baths and proper food.
He also
gave parents the money by
dropping
small bags of coins through the window,
to pay for
their daughters dowries so that they could marry
instead of
being sold into prostitution.
It is
believed that once the bag of coins fell into a stocking
which was
hanging by the fire to dry.
It was not
until the year of his death
that it
was discovered who
the
mysterious and generous benefactor was.
As a
bishop he wore red robes and had a long white beard.
He became known as the “Bishop of Miracles”.
By the
year 800AD he was declared
a Saint by
the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church.
He also
became the patron saint of
children,
sailors, merchants,
of Russia
and of Greece.
The Dutch
call him Sinter Klaas.
“Sinter”
means saint and “Klaas” is short for Nicolas.
So every
year there is an official welcoming
of Sinter
Klaas into the Netherlands and Belguim.
He arrives
by steam boat, you know, with his trusty helpers and
his
magical white horse which he rides over the roofs
in order to give obedient children
gifts of
oranges and small treats when they are asleep.
He has a
red book with the names of all of the children
and in it is written whether the children were
well behaved or not.
So the
children are very careful to be good
so that
they can receive these well appreciated gifts.
The
children must leave out some straw
for the
magical white horse who was called
Schimmel.
His helpers
are dressed like Moors
and are
called “Zwarte Piet”
which
means Black Peter.
They do
funny things to make children laugh.
Each gift
from Sinter Klaas is accompanied
by a funny
poem which can sometimes include
some embarrassing remembrances of the
recipient.
There are
many churches in the Netherlands
that bear
the name of St. Nicolas.
Amsterdam
decreed St. Nicolas to be their patron saint.
The city
of Sint Niklaas in Belgium
is named
after him.
Three
quarters of his skeleton is venerated in
Basilica di San Nicola, Bari, Italy.
St.
Nicolas died on December 6th, 342 AD.
This day
is used to celebrate his memory and
his good
deeds especially in Belgium.
The Dutch
in The Netherlands
celebrate
this on the eve of his death.
Sint Nicolaas statue
in the Saint Nicolas church in Volendam
Children
leave their shoes
outside
their bedroom door or
near the
fire in the hope
that they
will be filled with nice gifts.
The early
Dutch settlers
in the new
world took this story of St. Nicolas
with them
to New Amsterdam.
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Updated July
27, 2011
Everything on this website:
Copyright©2002-2011 by Susan and
Robert