Practical Knowledge about Romania: Saint Nicholas

On December 6, Romanians celebrate Saint Nicholas, the Archbishop of Lichia Brides, also popularly known as Santa Nicholas. Now opens a month of winter holidays, which lasts until January 7, when Saint John the Baptist is celebrated.

The life of Saint Nicholas (270 – 343) is known from later versions of a Greek manuscript from the 5th – 6th centuries, in Greek and Slavonic, and also in western Europe from Legenda aurea, a work written in Latin by Jacques de Voragine. Not much is known about him. According to the text, he was imprisoned and tortured during the persecution of Dioclețian and released during the reign of Emperor Constantin cel Mare. He participated in the Council of Nicaea, in the year 325, where he defended the Christian faith against the heresy of Arie.

At the Church

In Romania, Saint Nicholas is one of the most beloved saints. His life was known for a long time. In the 17th century, the entire collection of saints' lives was already translated, which is still used today in the Orthodox Church. Therefore, the story of his life is read, told and retold at the sermon, but also on informal occasions: at work clubs and sittings, in the long winter nights around the holidays.

On the feast of Saint Nicholas (December 6), people participate in the Holy Liturgy, where they pray for their various problems, and girls - to get married. After the service, those with the name Nicolae prepare a meal with fasting food, call the priest to bless them and, after that they distribute it to the poor, and then celebrate their name day with their relatives and neighbors. It is also believed that Saint Nicholas protects people from diseases and trouble, but also the cattle in the household, which he protects from wolves.

His importance in Romanian Orthodox communities can be seen in the fact that many Romanians have his name and, upon marriage, especially in Gorj, Oltenia and Moldova, Saint Nicholas became the protector of the new family.

Legends and Astronomical Observations

How much St. Nicholas is appreciated can be seen from an old belief: it is said that, on certain holy nights, on great holidays, the sky opens and you can see pieces of Heaven. Some claimed that they saw Saint Nicholas sitting on the left of the Lord, seated at the table of Heaven.

With a predominantly oral culture until the 20th century, Romanian peasants used to use the Orthodox holidays, which were kept by the village priest, as temporal markers that helped them keep the schedule of life events and the household. As the day of St. Nicholas falls near the end of the year, the Romanians imagined him as an old saint, with a big, white beard, who brings winter and snow when he shakes his beard. If there is no snow, people joke saying that "Santa Neculai" got younger that year.

The name of Saint Nicholas has been linked to popular astronomical observations. The peasants noticed that the sun does not always rise in the same place, but in different places between east and south. On the feast of Saint Nicholas, the old people said, the sun rises in the south and, starting from this date, chased away by Saint Nicholas, it begins to rise further north, until Saint Toader (around the spring equinox), who chases him again towards south. Saint Toader guards the sky in the north, and Saint Nicholas, in the south, so as not to allow the Sun to flee, terrified by the evils he sees on earth during the day. It is also said that, when it is ready to reach Saint Toader, the Sun takes with it nine evil old women and brings snow, rain and bad weather, to try to escape unseen from Saint Toader. But Sântoader also has nine horses and with them he chases the Sun and catches up with him, after a few good weeks. And this is how the Sun walks in the sky between Saint Toader and Saint Nicholas and, our grandparents believed that one day the Sun will escape, not to Saint Toader, who is young and has horses, but to Saint Nicholas, who is old and he has no horses. But that will only be at the end of the world.

Legends and Today's Celebrations in the Family

Saint Nicholas was born in the Middle East, in the 4th century, and his parents died when he was a child. A rather large fortune was left to Saint Nicholas, which he decided to use to help the needy. He became cardinal of Myra (on the territory of today's Turkey) and he was recognized as a Saint in the 6th century. Many miracles are attributed to him, Saint Nicholas becoming known for his faith and love towards his fellow men, for being the protector of the poor, of the sailors, of travelers, of married girls and especially of the children.

The custom with boots cleaned and put out on the night before Saint Nicholas' Day (5 Dec) has been preserved as a symbol of a legend that speaks of the goodness and love for fellow men of Saint Nicholas. It is said that there was a poor nobleman who had three very beautiful daughters. Unfortunately the girls could not be married due to the poor financial situation of the father, this nobleman. When the time came for the marriage of the older sister, on the night before the wedding, Saint Nicholas placed a bag of gold at the nobleman's door. The situation was repeated in the case of the marriage of the middle sister. When the time came for the little girl to get married, the nobleman decided to stand guard the night before the wedding and that is when he saw Saint Nicholas climb onto the roof of the house and throw in the chimney a bag that fell into a sock that was being dried. This is where the custom of placing socks in front of the fireplace on Santa Claus night came from. The cardinal, Saint Nicholas, asked the nobleman to keep the secret, but he did not do it and since then every poor person who received something thanked Nicolae.