THIS STORY WAS PICKED UP FROM 2008.Many people have asked me what it is that the Town of Rhinebeck is doing on December 6th. Why have a special interest and pride in this time of year?
The answer is that we are looking into Rhinebeck's rich heritage to Old Dutch customs that were the essence of life in Rhinebeck at its earliest beginnings. The Dutch people who came to Rhinebeck over 300 years ago brought a celebration with them which was already an ancient one.
The ritual was simple enough. On the day of December 6th, a town resident dressed up as St. Nicholas (that is, garbed elegantly in a bishop's hat, red cape, bishop's ring and jeweled staff). He was accompanied by St. Nick's long-time sidekick, the Grumpus (also known as Black Peter), who was a wild looking character, half man, half beast, who walked through the town rattling chains, carrying a big black bag to take away the naughtiest children and switches to punish those less bad. Late at night, a knock would
be heard at the door. Before anyone knew what happened, the Grumpus and St.Nicholas would throw a bag of goodies into the house and be on their way.
Over the years, as towns developed and houses grew closer together, St. Nicholas' ride turned into a Parade--a Parade that still happens in Holland to this day, and is the most popular Dutch holiday of all.
Who was this St. Nicholas?
At the start, St. Nicholas was a real person. He was born in the 4th century in Myra, Asia Minor, where he became a bishop as a grown man. Little else is known about him—except that he loved children. A story is told about St. Nicholas to illustrate this point. It is said that three little boys dined at a restaurant and, after eating their fill, informed the innkeeper that they could not pay their bill. To exact payment, the innkeeper chopped them up into little bits and cooked them in a stew.
Nicholas heard about the awful deed and came to the inn to find the boys boiling away in the pot. He told the innkeeper that if he, St. Nicholas, could find one little piece of each boy that was good, he would perform a miracle and bring them him back to life. Now, what child does not have at least one little piece of good in him? And, so St. Nicholas returned the boys to life and took them into his care.
There is also the story of the three poor sisters. They were the beautiful daughters of a poor peasant. The first was very blond, the second had raven black hair, and the third wore auburn tresses. When they grew up they fell in love with three pleasant young men. But the sisters could not get married because they had no dowry. That made them very sad. One night, as St. Nicholas was out riding, he looked through a window and saw three lovely, but sad sisters. And he heard why they could not marry the young men of their choice. He went back to his palace and gave the Grumpus three little bags. In each were a hundred golden ducats. He asked the Grumpus to drop the little bags into the girls' shoes, and an hour later they were rich. They married the three nice young men and lived happily ever after! To this day children leave a carrot in their shoes hoping to attract St. Nick's attention and reward. Since then St. Nicholas has become known as the patron saint of unwed maidens.
How this kindly 4th century bishop made his way from Asia Minor through Italy, Spain and all of Northern Europe by the 11th century where he is still honored today is hard to say, but by that time he become the patron saint not only of children and unwed maidens, but of sailors and the City of Amsterdam as well.
Association with Amsterdam goes back to the time of the Inquisition, which had spread to Holland in the Middle Ages. Rumor had it that there was a Nicholas who was Bishop of the Cathedral in Amsterdam. When the swarthy Spaniards came from Spain to trade with the Dutch, they gave passage toadults and children alike whose lives were threatened by the Inquisition against the Jews in Spain.
The good Bishop, Nicolas, was known to rescue children of every religion and hide them in his church so that they would not be taken away to be persecuted. So, today, in the St. Nicholas story, the good bishop is seen with a more modern version of the Grumpus--the Black Peters, namely, the Moors who threaten to take children away to Spain in their black bags.
Such is the power of a love for children, that St. Nicholas' reputation became so great that, even as Holland became a stronghold of Calvinism and eventually in the late 1500's became known as a country famous for its religious tolerance and variety, St. Nicholas remained the focal point of celebration for all people--Christians, Jews and Moslems and others alike.
No less than 21 miracles have been attributed to him. And for more than 1,700 years, people's faith in the truth of those miracles has been reinforced by tellings and retellings.
But, if truth be known, St. Nicholas is even OLDER than that! While we may trace the origin of "Nicholas" to Asia Minor, or Europe, or Amsterdam, the St. Nick that we so regard today is much more than one individual. He is a symbol of a spirit and way of being that has been around since the beginning of time. For before he came to us as St. Nick, in pagan and ancient European times he was known as Odin, a mythic figure who flew through the sky, then landed in a Town and rode through the village giving candy to the good children and coal to the bad. Over the ages, as Odin's influence was less felt, he became Good King Wenceslas, and so on.
St. Nicholas Today in Holland There is not a single family in Holland that does not in some way or another honor the old "Bishop" and his servant the Grumpus with a party, a small get-together or by going to somebody's else's house to celebrate. There may be many presents, or just a few—tables laden with traditional candles and cookies—or just a pot of hot chocolate. The house may be teeming with children, or with perhaps just a few grown-ups around the dining room table--but the Sinterklaas spirit is everywhere—one simply can't miss it. It is far and away the nicest. most wonderful and exciting festivity in the land!
In Amsterdam, on December 6th a ship carrying Sinterklaas arrives by boat from Spain where he spends the rest of the year. he is greeted by a whole group of Grumpuses. A million people come out to see his arrival and watch his triumphant parade through the streets of the city. The whole rest of the country watches on T.V. There are special songs and pastries made for his arrival. In Rhinebeck, this year St. Nick will arrive at the Rhinecliff Dock at 4 pm on November 29th and ride up the hill to the Rhinecliff Hotel where children will be treated to a Dragon Play, music, and the Grumpus Dance. He will ride through Rhinebeck on the evenings of December 1st, 2nd and 3rd. And finally be seen in the Children's Starlight Parade on December 6th.
St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, and Santa Claus in the Hudson Valley When the early Dutch settlers came to America, they naturally brought with them their venerated old bishop. St. Nicholas and their favorite holiday: Sinterklaas. Indeed, after landing in the New World the Dutch explorers, led by Henry Hudson built their first church on the island of Manhattan in 1642, dedicating it to Sinterklaas. When the British took control of New Amsterdam in 1664, they adopted the Dutch recognition of Sinterklaas and merged it with their own observance of the Winter Solstice, Father Christmas --the merry, roly-poly. Falstaffian figure in high-boots. Eventually, these two old gentlemen commemorated in December, merged into one.
Over the next few generations Saint Nicholas found his way into American literature. In 1809 writer Washington Irving (a man who lived not far from Rhinebeck) created a jolly St. Nicholas for his popular Knickerbocker Tales. Then in 1822, an Episcopal priest named Clement Moore (who also lived near to Rhinebeck) wrote a lighthearted poem called "A Visit from St. Nicholas" which featured a jolly old elf, his descent down a chimney on Christmas Eve, and a sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer (Odin's flying horse !) The Father Christmas image stuck, but he acquired a Dutch name--Santa Claus--a direct derivation from Sinterklaas.
America, a country of invention and opportunity, a land where everyone could write their own life's story, added the latest chapter to a tale that had begun in ancient times with Odin, a mythical figure embodying the archetype of The Good King, who rode through the night in the land of the reindeer doing good deeds for children.
So, now, we in Rhinebeck, will write our own version of this myth and enact it in our own way for our own time as we move away from the commercial Santa and back to the underlying beliefs that began the legend-The Good King, the Nobel Soul, the one who brings light out of darkness, befriends the children and creatures, and inspires our souls.
From time immemorial, "Sinterklaas!" has been a touchstone—one by which we can come together in community, putting aside that which divides, and allowing us to focus on what brings us together—our humanity, our love for children, our hopes for the future.
Photo by Doug Baz
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