Growing up, we weren't a religious family so it's only recently that I was introduced to the celebration of St Nicholas. My husband's family are French and celebrate this day every year on the 6th of December. In some towns, there are really quite impressive parades thrown. You can view the most recent one from the town of Nancy here.
On the eve of the 6th of December, a bowl of milk and a carrot are put out for St Nicholas and if you've been good then he leaves behind chocolates and spiced bread. Sound familiar?
At first, the whole thing was quite confusing for me, wasn't Saint Nicholas the inspiration behind Santa Claus? Doesn't this mean that he's doing a little practice run before the big day? Honestly, I still don't fully understand the separation or how I'm going to explain it to my two year old when he gets older.
However, the weird didn't stop there. In fact, it got downright disturbing when my husband invited me and our son to watch a St Nicholas cartoon with him last night. It started out nice enough, three little boys went for a walk and got lost when they (I guess) lost track of time or went too far. They happened upon the house of a butcher and after knocking on his door, asked if they could spend the night there to which he agreed.
He then proceeded to kill and butcher the little boys (yes this IS a kids cartoon), chop them up into tiny pieces and store them in a pot of salt. At this point, I'm looking at my husband, aghast. What fresh hell is this? But he assures me it is THE story. Ye, right.
We continue to watch how after seven years (SEVEN?), St Nicholas happens upon the same butcher's house and asks if he too can spend the night. The butcher invites him in. St Nicholas asks for supper before bed but refuses the pork and beef offerings of his host. He asks instead for the pieces of meat that are sitting in the salt pot.
The butcher then apparently takes fright and runs away despite being assured by St Nicholas that he will be forgiven if he repents (Say what?). Then St Nicholas somehow resurrects the three little boys who declare that they have slept well and make their way home again.
I did think this was some kind of spoof as my husband can be a bit of a trickster and has traumatised me before with something similar. But no, this morning we get a card celebrating the fete de St Nicholas with the same story printed on the inside of the card, from his parents.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please tell me you're as disturbed and confused as I am by this? Do you celebrate this day? Do you do it in the same way? Leave a comment below!
Stuff that you are immersed in from youth never quite has the sense of being strange to you as it would have from someone else. A huge amount of childrens are tales like this and most would be equally at home as true crime specials. That or the parents are in on it too
I have been informed that it's Nicolas and not Nicholas so I may or may not edit that later.