Nicholas is a popular figure not only in Romania, but in many parts of Europe, as well. In the Xth century, the Tsar Vladimir travelled to Constantinople and, hearing about the miracles the saint had accomplished, decided to make the spiritual patron of Russia. In France, he is called Père Fouettard, an old man with a small wooden stick, who punishes the bad children and rewards the good ones and his tradition has spread to Germany, Belgium or Netherlands. The Dutch called him Sinter Klaas and introduced the holiday celebrated on the 6th of December to America, when they emigrated. In time, this holiday and Christmas merged and Sinter Klaas became Santa Claus. The Italian corresponding figure is a woman named La Befana, who was said to have refused to help the three mages to find the place where Jesus was born and, since then, she has wandered alone from house to house, trying to bring her gifts to the Holy Child.

Besides the general ones, Saint Nicholas is also the subject of some specific Romanian stories. He is believed to have been a spy to the devil. God and the infamous hell ruler made a contract which stipulated that the living belonged to God and the dead to the devil. But this deal seemed unfair, because the devil took in his possession all the souls, no matter if they were good or bad, so He sent Saint Nicholas to hell, in order to find out how one could take the contract back. After thirty years, the saint finally managed to find out from a lesser devil that only one born of the Holy Ghost was capable of accomplishing this. So God sent Jesus Christ among humans to redeem them, and, from that moment on, we are rightfully judged according to what we did during our lifetimes.

Another popular tradition is that winter starts with Saint Nicholas. He is described as a very old man, with a long white beard, which he shakes and it starts snowing. He usually appears on the back of a white horse, while Saint John (celebrated on the 7th of January), the one who is said to take the winter away, appears on a black horse. On the 6th of December, people make charms and weather predictions and small fruit tree branches are put into water, to see if they blossom until New Years’ Eve – if this happens, the next year harvest will be rich.

Author: Iulian Fira

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