Today in Rhinebeck we celebrate in both traditional and new ways.
Good children, bad children. This idea always comes up in celebrations around this time of year. Naughty or nice. Coal or presents. Judgment. Right along side of the Sinterklaas legend there is the even more ancient story of the Bel Snickle, the Grumpus, the Rupelz, Shab, the Krampucz. A sort of scary character who comes out of the wood and who is in marked contrast with the kindly Sinterklaas, the Good King. A leftover from a harsher time. And even though he is played by someone from the neighborhood, and even though he does not REALLY cart children away in his black bag or punish them with his birch rod that he carries, he is still there— a reminder that if you are not good, well…punishment will follow.
In Rhinebeck, we are going to turn that tradition upside down by turning a negative symbol into an empowering one.
What is the meaning of the crowns and branches that are made by and carried by the Children in the Parade?
Since St. Nicholas loved children so much, it makes sense on his name day, that children—who at all other times of the year the least powerful people in the society—are turned into the most powerful for just one day. Children are crowned kings and queens!
The birch rod—the indispensable instrument of medieval education—in Rhinebeck is transformed by the power imagination and art into a symbol of empowerment and love. The birch rod becomes the Branch—the Royal Scepter—a symbol of creative power in the hands of today’s children. And so, on this day in Rhinebeck children are raised up from being those least powerful to the most powerful for one glorious day !
The rods are turned to Royal Scepters and the Children are crowned royalty for the day!
On December 5th there will be a bustling and beautiful workshop from 12 –4 pm for children to create their Crowns and Branches (Watch for details). Hundreds of beautiful branches will be laid out alongside lots of beautiful glittery and fanciful materials—jewels, ribbons, glitter, lace, streamers, wonderfilm—with which the children can create their Royal Garb! At the end of the day each child has something to carry in the Parade and to take home with them. Each child will be asked to tie 3 WISHES in their branch—one for their family, for their community and for the World. Be sure to see the Wish Lady!
What are The STARS that Every Family Will Carry in the Parade? What is their purpose?
The STARS are what make Rhinebeck’s celebration unique from all other Sinterklaas celebrations, These STARS make families, friends and relations the active mythmakers of our community and its future, for these are no ordinary stars !
From the moment you take possession of your star, you assume a key role in a community ritual. On December 5, 2009 hundreds of your neighbors, friends, and family will join in an illuminated pageant through the very heart of Rhinebeck.
You will carry your STAR in your own way—perhaps close to your chest and cradled with care, or held aloft dangling freely in the winter breeze. A gathering constellation will light the path for the many children who, bedecked with their crowns and branches of their own creation are the honored Kings and Queens of the Day.
At the end of the procession, everyone will gather for the final ritual of the pageant, the moment you and your STAR have been waiting for. The Master of Ceremonies will call upon all those present to honor our children, our hope for the future, our joy of today.
He will ask you bow down on one knee to the children. At that you will bow downand hold you STAR at the children’s waist level elevating them for a brief moment, on a sea of stars above everyone in the community. Then you will be asked to stand again and raise your star above your heads – thus placing you, the children and the entire community in its proper place in the firmament – all of us as one and at peace under the stars.After the evening’s festivities are over, you take your star home with you to grace your hearth throughout the dark winter with the vivid memory – like a burning ember – of when we all came together to celebrate our children, our community, our lives and each other.
And then, as custodian of your communal star, you can bring it back next year, adding to an ever-expanding universe of stars, helping to nurture a Rhinebeck tradition.
Email us to join our Sinterklaas Newsletter to learn where stars will be sold this year!
The Havdalah
Last year, right before the Parade begins a special ceremony takes place at the foot of the hill on West Market Street. Led by Rhinebeck resident Rabbi Yael Romer’s daughter, Shai a lovely 16 year old, this beautiful Jewish Ceremony marks the end of the Jewish Sabbath and opens up the secular time of The Sinterklaas Parade. Accompanied by Priscilla and David Gideon of the Temple Emmanuel in Kingston and Leo Cohen on guitar, the Havdalah Ceremony is a weaving together of all those in the community in a web of interdependence,
symbolized by intertwined candles. We hope to do this again in 2009.
After the Parade the beginning of the Christian Sabbath starts with the Living Nativity at the Reformed Church.
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