Nikolausbräuche

Saint Nicholas Day Customs, popular traditions around the feast day of St. Nicholas (December 6). The Saint´s legend (Bishop of Myra, d. around 350) includes elements from the lives of Saints with the same name (e.g. Abbot Nicholas of Sion, d. 564) such as the giving of presents to three poor virgins, the rescue of three travelling scholars and a ship in distress. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, pupils and sailors. When his relics were brought to Bari in 1087, the veneration of St. Nicholas began to spread across southern and western Europe. Starting in the 17^th century in monastery schools, "visits" of the Saint in homes became popular (according to an old custom, pupils dressed as bishops on certain holidays, "Knabenbischofsfest"). Accompanied by monsters, devils and people with animal masks ("Habergeiß" goat), someone from the parish dressed as St. Nicholas visits children in their homes, asks them if they have behaved well in the past year and gives them presents. In-door St. Nicholas plays (still exist in Mitterndorf (Styria) and in Tirol) developed during the Counter-Reformation. In East Tyrol, in the neighbouring province of Carinthia and in the province of Salzburg, "Krampus" pageants ("Krampus" = devil) are held on St. Nicholas´ Day, with the saint himself playing only a minor role. However, in recent years the "Krampus" has increasingly been replaced by the Perchten in Salzburg.

Literature: K. Meisen, Nikolauskult und Nikolausbräuche im Abendlande, 1931; E. Hörander, Nikolausbräuche I und II, in: Österr. Volkskundeatlas, 5. vol., 1974; W. Mezger, Sankt Nikolaus zwischen Katechese, Klamauk und Kommerz, in: Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde, 1990.