St Nicholas' Day and Christmas markets

Christmas and its decorations, Christmas and its markets.

Christmas markets, originally, markets from St Nicholas' Day, come to us from the North of Europe, and for 19 and 20èmes centuries, from Germany, and from Alsace.

At the moment all the big or average cities have their Christmas market, selling decorations and cake in connection with the Christmas celebration, the Father Christmas being the version modernized by St Nicholas' Day.

In certain countries Scandinavian (for example, Belgium), St Nicholas' Day is still celebrated on December 6th. Traditionally presents were offered to this opportunity, and not to Christmas, St Nicholas' Day distributing them, by making it accompany with the Bogeyman, who punished the children not wise men.

What says about it the Moreri dictionary of 1725

NICOLAS (saint) bishop of Myre in Lycie, lived at the beginning of the IV.th century. His name is celebrated in the Church. Some authors claim that his vocation in the episcopate was supernatural ; and what as the bishops were in effort to choose a man to perform the siege of Myre, they were divinely warned to order the one who the next day would be the first one in the opening of the church. The spirit of God led it Nicolas, who in spite of his resistance, was dedicated with a universal applause of the people. He surpassed the expectations which we had designed of him by his sweetness and by its charity; was taken during the persecution of Licinius, and was exiled. His return, after the death of this tyrant, was very-glorious; because by paying the visit of his diocese, he shot down so many temples and idols as he found it there. The common opinion is that he assisted the general council of Nicée the year 325. And that he opposed to it strongly to Arius. Emperor Justinien builds in his honor a magnificent church, which Basile repaired with magnificence. He went out, as it is said, of its grave a liqueur, which cured any sorts of diseases : what we learn of a piece of news of emperor Emmanuel, reported by Balsamon. His body was transported in Xl century, to Bari, in Italy, where it continued to make miracles. He is mentioned this holy prelate, in the liturgy attributed to saint Chrysostome. There is however nothing certain on the story of Saint Nicolas. His life, which we attribute to Methodius, his panegyric that we give to André de Crète, and almost all other monuments where he is spoken about Saint Nicolas, are supposed parts. The translation of its body to Bari, is another story without authority and unfounded. What Metaphraste said about him, is a pure invention. There is no author and no monument which proves that it assisted the council the Eastern church in the VIth century; we have no proof whether it was known a so good hour in West; the first martyrology where we find him, is the one of Vandalbert, monk of Prom, who prospered under Charles le Chauve's reign; but this monk was only copying Latin martyrologies older that he. His cult became since very famous in the Latin church. * Metaphraste & Surius, ad diem 6. Decemb. Baronius in annal. & mart. Godeau, hist. eccles. De Tillemont, mem. eccles. tom. 6. Baillet, vies des Saints.

The universal dictionary of history and geography of Bouillet of precise 1850 :

We celebrate St Nicholas on December 6th. He had the reputation to make miracles. St Nicholas is especially honored in East ; Russia took him for boss ; he is also the one young boys.

Other photos of the Christmas market in Bonn or that of Cologne is on one of my other sites

See also, on the same theme and in the same series :
- Christmas gifts under the tree (2012)
- Christmas in lights (2013)