Today was Nikolaustag, the day that Austrians honor
Sankt Nikolaus (not Nicholas, but Niko
laus with the 'laus' part of the name rhyming with the English word 'mouse'.) Sankt Nikolaus is not to be confused with Santa Claus or the Weihnachtsman (Father Christmas). Sankt Nikolaus was born around 245 A.D. in an area that is now part of Turkey. Later he became the Bishop of Myra and was named the patron saint of children, sailors, students, teachers, and merchants. St. Nikolaus is said to have performed several miracles, and his feast day is celebrated every December 6. In Austria, children leave their shoes or boots outside of the door the night before in hopes that St. Nikolaus will leave some small gifts in them. This is not an equivalent day to Christmas, which has its own host of characters, but is more a warm-up to the gift giving season.
Keeping with tradition, Sankt Nikolaus wears a long red bishop's cloak and tall pointed bishop's hat and carries a staff. At Nikolas' school,
der heilige Nikolaus (the holy Nikolaus) dropped by on Thursday morning. When asked what St. Nikolaus did during his visit, Nikolas explained that he spoke. No presents? No songs? No "
Ho, ho, ho's" we asked. "He spoke to us," Nikolas repeated firmly. We presume he spoke about holy things.
After finding that Sankt Nikolas had remembered him with a small gift bag, Nikolas was eager to head downtown to see St. Nikolaus again. Rumor had it that he would be making an appearance in the Christmas market, so off we went....along with what seemed like a million tourists and every family in Salzburg that has small children. Even in the height of summer tourism, we have never seen so many people here! But despite the crowds, we saw St. Nikolaus twice: once ice skating and once parting the crowds like Moses parted the Red Sea. Nikolas kept trailing after the walking Nikolaus, who kept shaking his hand and offering him candy. We kept following after both Nikos, since they seemed to be on the fast road through the Christmas market, and finally both stopped long enough for a picture, before going their separate ways.
And yes, that's me playing Nikolaus at an event at Schloß Hellbrunn. The secretary at the school where I used to work wrote to me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I'd play "Nikolaus" at a faculty holiday reception. My job would be to surprise everyone with my Book of Nikolaus," a collection of blurbs on each faculty member. After each blurb, Nikolaus gives each person a bag of goodies. Only four people of the 40 or staff members worked at the school in the early 90s, and they didn't recognize me at first. It went well.
Keeping with tradition, Sankt Nikolaus wears a long red bishop's cloak and tall pointed bishop's hat and carries a staff. At Nikolas' school, der heilige Nikolaus (the holy Nikolaus) dropped by on Thursday morning. When asked what St. Nikolaus did during his visit, Nikolas explained that he spoke. No presents? No songs? No "Ho, ho, ho's" we asked. "He spoke to us," Nikolas repeated firmly. We presume he spoke about holy things. 
After finding that Sankt Nikolas had remembered him with a small gift bag, Nikolas was eager to head downtown to see St. Nikolaus again. Rumor had it that he would be making an appearance in the Christmas market, so off we went....along with what seemed like a million tourists and every family in Salzburg that has small children. Even in the height of summer tourism, we have never seen so many people here! But despite the crowds, we saw St. Nikolaus twice: once ice skating and once parting the crowds like Moses parted the Red Sea. Nikolas kept trailing after the walking Nikolaus, who kept shaking his hand and offering him candy. We kept following after both Nikos, since they seemed to be on the fast road through the Christmas market, and finally both stopped long enough for a picture, before going their separate ways.
And yes, that's me playing Nikolaus at an event at Schloß Hellbrunn. The secretary at the school where I used to work wrote to me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I'd play "Nikolaus" at a faculty holiday reception. My job would be to surprise everyone with my Book of Nikolaus," a collection of blurbs on each faculty member. After each blurb, Nikolaus gives each person a bag of goodies. Only four people of the 40 or staff members worked at the school in the early 90s, and they didn't recognize me at first. It went well.
