Classic Ross Amico

Tag: St. Nicholas Day

St Nicholas The Dark Side Of Santa

Stop me if you heard this before. After crisscrossing the same ground for the past nine years, especially around the holidays, I sometimes feel as if we’re an old married couple, patiently enduring the same stories. All the same, I can’t bypass St. Nicholas on his day. Also, I’ve been under the weather, and I’m up against a deadline, so I hope you’ll excuse the cut and paste.

Here we go, then…

St. Nicholas Day follows on the cloven hoof of Krampus Night.

In theory, the whole Nicholas-Krampus dynamic serves as a kind of “good cop/bad cop” scenario, with the naughty, threatened with the punishment of Krampus (the Christmas devil), driven to virtue, reinforced by the rewards of Nicholas (the patron saint of children).

But that’s a gross oversimplification, as it turns out Nicholas could be a pretty rough customer. He’d have to be, to be looking after not only children, but sailors, merchants, archers, prostitutes, women seeking husbands, repentant thieves, wrongly condemned criminals, travelers, pawnbrokers, and students. I’d be grouchy too.

Nicholas did not suffer fools lightly. His modesty could be so extreme as to sometimes verge on the sociopathic, and he could be downright cantankerous when thanked.

So what’s your favorite Nicholas story?

Is it when he tosses the bags of gold down a poor man’s chimney, surreptitiously providing a dowry for the man’s daughters and rescuing them from a life of prostitution, and then sharply rebuffs the man for his thanks?

Or is it when he chastises the sailors for their salty language, and when they mock him for his prudishness, prays for stormy seas until they drop to the deck in terror and repent?

Or is it when he reconstitutes and resurrects the three pickled boys, dismembered by a treacherous butcher to be passed off to his customers as ham?

Or is it when he sends Arius, father of Arianism, sprawling for his heresy that Jesus Christ is subordinate to the entity of God?

The Nicholas of history and legend was a far cry from your Coca-Cola Santa.

There’s no way I’m sitting on this guy’s lap. Happy St. Nicholas Day!

“Legends of St. Nicholas,” performed by Anonymous 4

“The Play of St. Nicholas,” 12th century (in four parts)

I. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiXzGud0d6E

II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmy1QVbB0Fg

III. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DundQzVX1nU

IV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KmDmZnY_zU

Benjamin Britten’s “Saint Nicolas” (no “h”)

“Le Miracle de Saint Nicolas,” by Joseph-Guy Ropartz

“Santa Claus Symphony” by Philadelphia composer William Henry Fry

“Jolly Old Saint Nicholas”

December 6, 2023
The Real St Nicholas Was No Santa

St. Nicholas Day follows on the cloven hoof of Krampus Night.

In theory, the whole Nicholas-Krampus dynamic serves as a kind of “good cop/bad cop” scenario, with the naughty, threatened with the punishment of Krampus (the Christmas devil), driven to virtue, reinforced by the rewards of Nicholas (the patron saint of children).

But that’s a gross oversimplification, as it turns out Nicholas could be a pretty rough customer. He’d have to be, to be looking after not only children, but sailors, merchants, archers, prostitutes, women seeking husbands, repentant thieves, wrongly condemned criminals, travelers, pawnbrokers, and students. I’d be grouchy too.

Nicholas did not suffer fools lightly. His modesty could be so extreme as to sometimes verge on the sociopathic, and he could be downright cantankerous when thanked.

So what’s your favorite Nicholas story?

Is it when he tosses the bags of gold down a poor man’s chimney, surreptitiously providing a dowry for the man’s daughters and rescuing them from a life of prostitution, and then sharply rebuffs the man for his thanks?

Or is it when he chastises the sailors for their salty language, and when they mock him for his prudishness, prays for stormy seas until they drop to the deck in terror and repent?

Or is it when he reconstitutes and resurrects the three pickled boys, dismembered by a treacherous butcher to be passed off to his customers as ham?

Or is it when he sends Arius, father of Arianism, sprawling for his heresy that Jesus Christ is subordinate to the entity of God?

The Nicholas of history and legend was a far cry from your Coca-Cola Santa.

There’s no way I’m sitting on this guy’s lap. Happy St. Nicholas Day!

“Legends of St. Nicholas,” performed by Anonymous 4

“The Play of St. Nicholas,” 12th century (in four parts)

I. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiXzGud0d6E

II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmy1QVbB0Fg

III. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DundQzVX1nU

IV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KmDmZnY_zU

Benjamin Britten’s “Saint Nicolas” (no “h”)

“Le Miracle de Saint Nicolas,” by Joseph-Guy Ropartz

“Santa Claus Symphony” by Philadelphia composer William Henry Fry

“Jolly Old Saint Nicholas”

December 6, 2022
St Nicholas Day Celebration on WWFM

Today is the feast day of St. Nicholas!

The gruff-but-lovable bishop, who bears little resemblance to his jolly, elfin descendant, is the patron saint of just about everyone, but most especially children.

We’ll honor him with music performed by treble choristers of King’s College, Cambridge, under the direction of the late Stephen Cleobury, and a selection from the Anonymous 4 album, “Legends of St. Nicholas.”

We’ll also celebrate the birthday today of another Nicholas – Nikolaus Harnoncourt – who would have been 90. Harnoncourt will conduct one of the orchestral suites of Georg Philipp Telemann. In addition, we’ll light some candles and share some cake with composers John Fernstrom, Henryk Gorecki, Joseph Lamb, Alexander Moyzes, Bright Sheng, Tomas Svoboda, and Orazio Vecchi.

At 6:00, we’ll recollect the wonders of childhood, with music from cinematic fairy tales, on “Picture Perfect,” including “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” (Leigh Harline), “The Company of Wolves” (George Fenton), “Puss in Boots” (Henry Jackman), and “La Belle et La Bête” (Georges Auric).

Hopefully, St. Nicholas will be on his best behavior. Even when he punches out heretics, he always means well.

Join me, in the nick of time, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

December 6, 2019
Krampusnacht The Eve of St. Nicholas Day

December 5. The Eve of St. Nicholas Day. Krampusnacht.

Centuries before parents reined in children with a gentle reminder that Santa knows whether they’ve been naughty or nice, recalcitrant young ones lay awake in a widening pool of sweat at the sound of distant cowbells, wondering if it was too late to repent.

On the night of December 5, St. Nicholas’ dark helper, the horned, hairy and horrendously long-tongued Krampus, emerges from his Alpine domain to dole out corporal punishment to deserving youngsters. This comes in the form of a sound beating with a switch and, in more extreme circumstances, the threat of abduction, being carried off in a basket and tossed into hellfire. For under-aged miscreants of yore, the clank of rusty chains and the dull clap of ponderous bells heralded the arrival of a world of pain.

Besides visiting homes and fulfilling his stern duty, Krampus ran the streets spreading fear amongst the populace and frightening off evil spirits. Perhaps as a backlash against the genial homogenization and commercialization of Christmas, the “Krampuslauf” has been experiencing a healthy revival in recent years, with alcohol-fueled hooligans prowling the streets in full Krampus regalia, often turning on the very crowds that have gathered to support them.

However, I have to wonder, with the precipitous increase in Krampus merchandise, and now the release of a major motion picture, if Krampus himself doesn’t risk losing his teeth. Can endorsements for Coca-Cola be far behind?

“A Krampus Carol” (incorporating a stop motion Krampus!):

Family-friendly segment on the Krampus Renaissance in Bavaria, produced by The New York Times:

A real, old-fashioned Krampuslauf:

Pretty good Krampus carol (full text when you click on “show more”):

Here comes Krampus:

Nicholas and Krampus play “good cop/bad cop” with Tobias:

Small child cowers behind door at 1:25:

Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz explains Krampus to Jimmy Fallon:

The commercialization of Krampus:

Happy holidays!

December 5, 2015

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