The Naughty List and the History of That Dreaded Lump of Coal

by Kathleen L. Maher

Last year, I wrote about the legend of Santa Claus and its ties to my home state of New York. This year, I'm taking a departure South, that is to say, the South Pole, to explore the legends of Santa's controversial helpers for those designated to the Naughty List.

Black Pete
Last year I explored the early Dutch legend of Sinterklaas, the saintly night visitor who left treats for the good children in their shoes and stockings. These treats might be toys, fruit, nuts, candy, or even money. But Sinterklaas had a counterpart named Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter. He first appeared in a story in 1850 by schoolteacher Jan Schenkman, but the legend precedes this. Some say this Moorish Spaniard character dressed in Renaissance clothing has its roots as far back as the myth of Odin and his raven helpers Huginn and Muninn. When Odin leads the Wild Hunt, according to the legend, these figures would perch at the chimney and listen in on the mortals below, to report on the good and bad. And so it seems, Black Pete served a parallel role for Sinterklaas.

You wouldn't want to merit a visit from Black Pete at Christmastime. That would mean you were one of the bad children, undeserving of gifts. Instead, it is said Black Pete would leave a dirty lump of charcoal from the fireplace. Or a bundle of birch twigs called a "roe", implying you were due for a "Birching." Yikes! 

Krampus

If you thought Black Pete was scary, this figure would surely terrify you into being a good little child. In Germany, the benevolent figure of Saint Nicholas apparently wasn't enough incentive for kinderlings to finish their homework, clean their room, say their prayers and brush their teeth. For sass-talkers, slackers and rebels, the naughty list takes a nightmarish twist with the legend of Krampus. 

For starters, Krampus was half goat, and half demon. He is the Norse mythology son of Hel. The German word for claw, krampen, describes one of this creature's main attributes. On the night before St. Nicholas Day, Dec 6, or Krampusnacht, a naughty child would be lucky to get a lump of coal in his stocking, or even a whipping with a birch stick. Other versions are more nefarious, and I will leave them from this fun blog post. Shudder!

The pagan legend of Krampus was strictly forbidden by the Catholic Church, but some scholars believe these anti-St. Nicholas figures were created partly to ease the Saint's reputation as the bad guy. Who wants to celebrate a Santa that doles out fear and punishment for Christmas, anyway? 


La Befana
In Italy, the Santa Claus figure was actually an old woman who flew on a broomstick. La Befana wouldfly form house to house and sneak down the fireplace to leave either good gifts for nice children or lumps of coal for the bad. Possibly named for the Feast Day Eve on which she visits, La Festa dell'Epifania, she comes the night of January 5. 

Her legend, though to our modern ears sounding like a Halloween witch, is actually rather sweet. As the story goes, when the Magi left to follow the star to see the King who had been born, many set out to meet them to offer gifts to the baby. Befana was too busy with housework, and stayed behind sweeping. But the next day, after realizing she missed the Three Wise Men, she tried to hurry to catch up so she might give her gifts. She never did catch up to the Magi, so Befana spends every year circling with her broom and distributing her gifts to good children since she couldn't give them to the Christ child. But to the naughty boys and girls she brings cinders, onions and garlic. Blech! I'd rather have chocolate.

These legends were interesting to me as I researched a bit about them. I'm really glad we no longer scare our children with witches, goblins and ghosts at Christmastime. The real story of Jesus, who was born to save us from our sins, is so much more uplifting. I know I haven't always been a perfect angel, either as a child or as an adult. So I'm doubly grateful for the grace and hope that Jesus' birth brings.

With His true story in mind, I wish you all a

Joyeux Noël      Frohe Weinachten      Feliz Navidad         Buon Natale

Feliz Natal            Vrolijk kerstfeest

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Kathleen L. Maher has had an infatuation with books and fictional heroes ever since her preschool crush, Peter Rabbit. She is one of nine authors in Barbour's 2018 Victorian Christmas Brides Collection, and her story features her hometown of Elmira, New York. Her debut historical, Bachelor Buttons, blends her Irish heritage and love of the American Civil War. She won the 2012 ACFW Genesis contest for her Civil War story, released this summer under a new title The Abolitionist’s Daughter. Kathleen shares an old farmhouse in upstate New York with her husband, children, and a small zoo of rescued animals.

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New York and Creating Santa Claus

New Amsterdam’s Dutch settlers brought the tradition of Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is Dec 6^th. Saint Nicholas is said to be the patron saint of New York, and his veneration held influence over Dutch, German and Scandinavian immigrants who settled in New York, Pennsylvania and the Great Lakes region. Clogs and shoes might be filled with goodies such as oranges and nuts, if one was truly faithful. The Protestant Reformation had a chilling effect on saint veneration, and this tradition largely went underground in Europe. America proved a friendly environment for a more secularized Christmas tradition to flourish.

Legend has it that the first ship that docked in New York was the Goede Vrowe, which according to Washington Irving’s 1809 satirical Knickerbocker’s History of New York, had as its prow carving “a goodly image of St. Nicholas, equipped with a low brimmed hat, huge pair of Flemish hose and a pipe that reached to the end of the bowsprit." This image was more working-class Dutch than the proud image of the revered Bishop of history. This Saint Nick appealed to the common man, and after the patriotic fervor of the Revolution, inspired people to return to their ancestral roots.

Saint Nick had planted a foothold in the creative minds of New York writers. Washington Irving in particular is credited with the most imaginative early descriptions of what was to become our modern Santa Claus. He describes Saint Nicholas not only as having a broad hat and long pipe, but of driving a sleigh over the rooftops, filled with presents which he drops down the chimney. At first, it is to all good and unworldly Dutch he comes, on random nights throughout the year, but as tradition and devotion fade, only the children with the purest hearts receive, and only on The Eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas.

The Children's Friend

In 1821 the first lithographed book in America was published, naturally by a New York publisher, celebrating Sante Claus as “The Children’s Friend.” The images and anonymous poems depict a plump man in red, driving a sleigh pulled by reindeer to deliver his gifts for the first time on December 24th.

Two years later, 1823, and another New York writer, Clement C. Moore, took this iconic image of an impish old man and expounded on it to bring us the famous elf of his poem, A Visit from Saint Nicholas, later better known as T’was the Night Before Christmas.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

This Saint Nick came down the chimney and filled stockings for good girls and boys. For it wasn’t until the 1840’s after Prince Albert presented Queen Victoria with decorated trees at her palaces that the Christmas tree came into vogue in the United States.

Both Irving and Moore use a curious phrase in describing Saint Nick’s mannerisms—"laying a finger aside of his nose.” It is the equivalent of our modern-day wink and nod, assuring us that this is real, and not just the stuff of childhood fantasy. Ask Virginia, she knows there really is a Santa Claus.

Kathleen Maher is a 21st Century girl with an old soul. She has a novella coming out in 2018 with Barbour's collection Victorian Christmas Brides. Her debut novella Bachelor Buttons, released in 2013 through Helping Hands Press, incorporates both her Irish heritage and love of Civil War history. She won the ACFW Genesis Contest for unpublished writers, historical category, in 2012. Kathleen and her husband share an old farmhouse in upstate NY with their children and a small zoo of rescued animals.

The Real Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicolas, mosaic, Grgeteg monastery
 photo courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Tone 

The legend of Santa Claus and his reindeer bringing toys to the children of the world has become a symbol of Christmas for many Americans. In England, children look forward to a visit from Father Christmas, a fellow who pops down the chimney to leave presents and sample the mincemeat pies and milk or brandy left for him. The French leave out shoes filled with carrots and treats for Pere Noel's donkey, and to receive his gifts of candy, money, or small toys. Parallel Christmas traditions take place throughout Europe, all of them based on the life of one man.

Nicholas of Patara was a bishop who later lived in the fourth-century village of Myra in a part of Greece that is now modern-day Turkey. Nicholas's parents died young in an epidemic, leaving him their considerable wealth. Nicholas decided to follow the example of humility set by his Lord, Jesus Christ. He gave his inheritance to help the poor, the sick, and to alleviate suffering. His gifts often arrived in secret. Many stories remain of his legendary kindness. One of the most famous describes how on three occasions, Nicholas dropped bags of gold through an open window to help provide dowries for the three daughters of a poor man. They are said to have fallen into stockings or shoes drying by the fireside. This started the tradition of leaving stockings or shoes by the fireplace at Christmas. The girl's father caught Nicholas throwing the last bag of gold through the window. Afterwards, the man told everyone what Nicholas had done. 

Diocletian, a Roman Emperor who persecuted Christians, exiled and imprisoned Bishop Nicholas because of his faith. He was later released and died in AD 343 and was buried in Myra. December 6th, the anniversary of his death, is celebrated with great anticipation as Saint Nicholas Day. In many countries, this is when children leave out stockings or shoes to be filled with treats and gifts.

In the 1950's the bones of Saint Nicholas were removed while his crypt was repaired. The Vatican requested that the skull and bones be studied. Because of advances in forensic anthropology, a computerized likeness of Saint Nicholas's face has been generated. It's interesting to compare the computerized image with historical renditions of Saint Nicholas.

This Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ, we can also rejoice in the life of one of his devoted servants. What would it be like to live a life so loving you leave a legacy of kindness?

References and Further Reading:
http://christianteens.about.com/od/christianholidays/p/WhoIsSanta.htm
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml
http://histclo.com/act/holiday/xmas/fra/fc-snpn.html
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/real-face/

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