178-422: Sinterklaas ( Dutch: [ˌsɪntərˈklaːs] ) or Sint-Nicolaas ( Dutch: [sɪnt ˈnikoːlaːs] ) is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas , patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include De Sint ("The Saint"), De Goede Sint ("The Good Saint") and De Goedheiligman (from "goed hylickman" meaning "good marriage man", alluding to his historical reputation as
356-511: A Sinterklaas tradition. Apparently he got help from the Dutch community in New York, that provided him with the original Dutch Sinterklaas poem. Strictly speaking, the poem does not state that Sinterklaas comes from Spain, but that he needs to go to Spain to pick up the oranges and pomegranates . So the link between Sinterklaas and Spain goes through the oranges, a much appreciated treat in
534-735: A capon . The second line is straight from the original rhyme, but in the third and fourth line the RAF is encouraged to drop bombs on the Moffen (slur for Germans, like "krauts" in English) and candy over the Netherlands. Many of the Sinterklaas poems of this time noted the lack of food and basic necessities, and the German occupiers having taken everything of value; others expressed admiration for
712-428: A chocolate letter (the first letter of the child's name made out of chocolate), chocolate coins , suikerbeest (animal-shaped figures made of sugary confection ), and marzipan figures. Newer treats include gingerbread biscuits and a figurine of Sinterklaas made of chocolate and wrapped in coloured aluminium foil. In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve, 5 December, became the chief occasion for gift-giving during
890-890: A civil war in 739 that lasted until 743 known as the Berber Revolt . The Berbers revolted against the Umayyads , putting an end to Eastern dominion over the Maghreb. Despite racial tensions, Arabs and Berbers intermarried frequently. A few years later, the Eastern branch of the Umayyad dynasty was dethroned by the Abbasids and the Umayyad Caliphate overthrown in the Abbasid revolution (746–750) . Abd al-Rahman I , who
1068-430: A cowl while the daughters are typically shown in bed, dressed in their nightclothes. Many renderings contain a cypress tree or a cross-shaped cupola . The historicity of this incident is disputed. Adam C. English argues for a historical kernel to the legend, noting the story's early attestation as well as the fact that no similar stories were told about any other Christian saints. Jona Lendering, who also argues for
1246-464: A lost Life of Saint Nicholas as his source. Nearly all the sources Eustratius references date from the late fourth century to early fifth century, indicating the Life of Saint Nicholas to which he refers was probably written during this time period, shortly after Nicholas's death. The earliest complete account of Nicholas's life that has survived to the present is a Life of Saint Nicholas , written in
1424-422: A white horse . In the Netherlands, the televised Sinterklaas specials have named the horse. Until 2019, Sinterklaas rode Amerigo, who was "pensioned" (i.e., died) and replaced with a horse called Ozosnel ("oh so fast"), after a passage in a well-known Sinterklaas song. In Belgium, the horse is named Slecht weer vandaag , meaning "bad weather today" or Mooi weer vandaag ("nice weather today"). Sinterklaas carries
1602-452: A 2013 survey, 92 per cent of the Dutch public did not perceive Zwarte Piet as racist or associate him with slavery, and 91 per cent were opposed to altering the character's appearance. In a similar survey in 2018, between 80 and 88 per cent of the Dutch public did not perceive Zwarte Piet as racist, and between 41 and 54 per cent were happy with the character's modernised appearance (a mix of roetveegpieten and blackface). A June 2020 survey saw
1780-405: A Greek bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. He is depicted as an elderly, stately and serious man with white hair and a long, full beard. He wears a long red cape or chasuble over a traditional white bishop's alb and a sometimes-red stole , dons a red mitre and ruby ring, and holds a gold-coloured crosier , a long ceremonial shepherd's staff with a fancy curled top. He traditionally rides
1958-459: A Head Piet ( Hoofdpiet ), a Navigation Piet ( Wegwijspiet ) to navigate the steamboat from Spain to the Netherlands, a Presents Piet ( Pakjespiet ) to wrap all the gifts, and Acrobatic Piet to climb roofs and chimneys. Traditionally Zwarte Piet's face is said to be black because he is a Moor from Spain. Today, some children are told that his face is blackened with soot because he has to climb through chimneys to deliver gifts for Sinterklaas. Since
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#17327733557692136-483: A Saint who can help you find a good life partner). Many descendants and cognates of "Sinterklaas" or "Saint Nicholas" in other languages are also used in the Low Countries, nearby regions, and former Dutch colonies. The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December. The feast is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on St. Nicholas' Eve (5 December) in the Netherlands and on
2314-562: A big, red book which traditionally records whether each child has been good or naughty in the past year. Sinterklaas is assisted by Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete"), a helper dressed in Moorish attire and in a black painted face. Zwarte Piet first appeared in print as the nameless servant of Saint Nicholas in Sint-Nikolaas en zijn knecht ("St. Nicholas and His Servant"), published in 1850 by Amsterdam schoolteacher Jan Schenkman; however,
2492-702: A birch rod (Dutch: roe ), a chimney sweep 's broom made of willow branches, used to spank children who had been naughty. Some of the older Sinterklaas songs make mention of naughty children being put in Zwarte Piet's bag and being taken back to Spain. This part of the legend refers to the times that the Moors raided the European coasts , and as far as Iceland, to abduct the local people into slavery. This quality can be found in other companions of Saint Nicholas such as Krampus and Père Fouettard . In modern versions of
2670-484: A bribe to put three famous generals to death, in spite of their actual innocence. Saint Nicholas appeared to Constantine and Ablabius in dreams, informing Constantine of the truth and frightening Ablabius into releasing the generals, for fear of Hell . Later versions of the story are more elaborate, interweaving the two stories together. According to one version, Emperor Constantine sent three of his most trusted generals, named Ursos, Nepotianos, and Herpylion, to put down
2848-496: A dream sequence featuring St. Nicholas soaring over treetops in a flying wagon – a creation others would later dress up as Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari , was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya Province , Turkey ) during
3026-480: A drop in support for leaving the character's appearance unaltered: 47 per cent of those surveyed supported the traditional appearance, compared to 71 per cent in a similar survey held in November 2019. Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated in a parliamentary debate on 5 June 2020 that he had changed his opinion on the issue and now has more understanding for people who consider the character's appearance to be racist. In
3204-657: A feast on 6 December to this day. In the Hudson Valley region of New York, Sinterklaas is celebrated annually in the towns of Rhinebeck and Kingston because of the region's Dutch heritage. It includes Sinterklaas' crossing the Hudson River and then a parade. Sinterklaas is the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus . It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence ,
3382-854: A fire truck. Sinterklaas is said to come from Spain, possibly because in 1087, half of Saint Nicholas' relics were transported to the Italian city of Bari , which later formed part of the Spanish Kingdom of Naples . Others suggest that mandarin oranges , traditionally gifts associated with St. Nicholas, led to the misconception that he must have been from Spain. This theory is backed by a Dutch poem documented in 1810 in New York and provided with an English translation: Sinterklaas, goedheiligman! Trek uwe beste tabberd an, Reis daar mee naar Amsterdam, Van Amsterdam naar Spanje, Daar Appelen van Oranje, Daar Appelen van granaten, Die rollen door de straten. Saint Nicholas, good holy man! Put on
3560-505: A hereditary trait with them; all but Sulaiman al-Zafir (God have mercy on him!), whom I remember to have had black ringlets and a black beard. As for al-Nasir and al-Hakam al-Mustansir (may God be pleased with them!), I have been informed by my late father, the vizier, as well as by others, that both of them were blond and blue-eyed. The same is true of Hisham al-Mu'aiyad , Muhammad al-Mahdi, and `Abd al-Rahman al-Murtada (may God be merciful to them all!); I saw them myself many times, and had
3738-516: A high level of religious conversion (whether voluntary or enforced), driven by historical episodes of social and religious intolerance, that ultimately led to the integration of descendants." According to historian Richard A. Fletcher , "the number of Arabs who settled in Iberia was very small. 'Moorish' Iberia does at least have the merit of reminding us that the bulk of the invaders and settlers were Moors, i.e., Berbers from Algeria and Morocco." In
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#17327733557693916-574: A new church, the Basilica di San Nicola, to Saint Nicholas in Bari. The Pope himself personally placed Nicholas's relics into the tomb beneath the altar of the new church. The removal of Saint Nicholas's relics from Myra and their arrival in Bari is reliably recorded by multiple chroniclers, including Orderic Vitalis and 9 May continued to be celebrated every year by western Christians as the day of Nicholas's "translation". Eastern Orthodox Christians and
4094-585: A note that is "found", explaining where the presents are hidden, as though Zwarte Piet visited them and left a burlap sack of presents with them. Sometimes a neighbour will knock on the door (pretending to be a Zwarte Piet) and leave the sack outside for the children to retrieve; this varies per family. When the presents arrive, the living room is decked out with them, much as on Christmas Day in English-speaking countries. On 6 December "Sinterklaas" departs without any ado, and all festivities are over. In
4272-405: A part of Nicholas' relic as a gift. Whereas the devotional importance of relics and the economics associated with pilgrimages caused the remains of most saints to be divided up and spread over numerous churches in several countries, Saint Nicholas is unusual in that most of his bones have been preserved in one spot: his grave crypt in Bari. Even with the allegedly continuing miracle of the manna,
4450-618: A racist element. Since 2013, the Sinterklaas feast on 5 December has been replaced by Kinderdag ("Children's Day") in Suriname. Sinterklaas events were held in Indonesia until 1957 when, in what became known as Black Sinterklaas ( Indonesian : Sinterklas Hitam ; Dutch : Zwarte Sinterklaas ), they were banned by the government as part of its broader decolonization efforts. The Saint Nicholas Society of New York celebrates
4628-549: A rebellion in Phrygia . However, a storm forced them to take refuge in Myra. Unbeknownst to the generals, who were in the harbor, their soldiers further inland were fighting with local merchants and engaging in looting and destruction. Nicholas confronted the generals for allowing their soldiers to misbehave and the generals brought an end to the looting. Immediately after the soldiers had returned to their ships, Nicholas heard word of
4806-761: A result of this, Nicholas became the patron saint of prisoners and those falsely accused of crimes. An index finger claimed to belong to Saint Nicholas was kept in a chapel along the Ostian Way in Rome. Another finger was held in Ventimiglia in Liguria . Today, many churches in Europe, Russia, and the United States claim to possess small relics, such as a tooth or a finger bone. An Irish tradition states that
4984-533: A source written before conversion narratives became popular, which would be a positive indication of that source's reliability. He notes that many of the stories recounted by Michael the Archimandrite closely resemble stories told about the first-century AD Neopythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana , an eight-volume biography of him written in the early third century by
5162-572: A staunch opponent of Arianism and a devoted supporter of Trinitarianism , and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed . Nicholas's attendance at the Council of Nicaea is attested early by Theodore the Lector's list of attendees, which records him as the 151st attendee. However, he is conspicuously never mentioned by Athanasius of Alexandria , the foremost defender of Trinitarianism at
5340-565: A steamboat at a designated seaside town, supposedly from Alicante (Spain). In the Netherlands this takes place in a different port each year, whereas in Belgium it always takes place in the city of Antwerp . The steamboat anchors, then Sinterklaas disembarks and parades through the streets on his horse, welcomed by children cheering and singing traditional Sinterklaas songs. His Zwarte Piet assistants throw candy and small, round, gingerbread-like cookies, either kruidnoten or pepernoten , into
5518-442: A terrible famine, a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he killed them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, saw through the butcher's lies and resurrected the pickled children by making the sign of the cross . Jona Lendering opines that the story is "without any historical value". Adam C. English notes that
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5696-565: A total of three early lists, one of which, Theodore the Lector, is generally considered to be the most accurate. According to Jona Lendering, there are two main possibilities: A later legend, first attested in the fourteenth century, over 1,000 years after Nicholas's death, holds that, during the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas lost his temper and slapped "a certain Arian" across the face. On account of this, Constantine revoked Nicholas's miter and pallium . Steven D. Greydanus concludes that, because of
5874-498: A tree possessed by a demon. In his youth, he is said to have made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Syria Palaestina . Shortly after his return, he became Bishop of Myra . He was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian , but was released after the accession of Constantine . An early list makes him an attendee at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but he is never mentioned in any writings by people who were at
6052-415: A wild feast, similar to Carnival , that often led to costumes, a "topsy-turvy" overturning of daily roles, and mass public drunkenness. In early traditions, students elected one of their classmates as "bishop" on St. Nicholas Day, who would rule until 28 December (Innocents Day), and they sometimes acted out events from the bishop's life. As the festival moved to city streets, it became more lively. During
6230-723: Is actually rooted in historical fact. Traditionally, Nicholas was born in the city of Patara ( Lycia et Pamphylia ), a port on the Mediterranean Sea , in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a wealthy family of Greek Christians. According to some accounts, his parents were named Epiphanius ( Ἐπιφάνιος , Epiphánios ) and Johanna ( Ἰωάννα , Iōánna ), but, according to others, they were named Theophanes ( Θεοφάνης , Theophánēs ) and Nonna ( Νόννα , Nónna ). In some accounts, Nicholas's uncle
6408-591: Is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim populations of the Maghreb , al-Andalus ( Iberian Peninsula ), Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages . Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defined people. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that the term had "no real ethnological value." Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied
6586-585: Is celebrated on almost every Thursday of the year (together with the Apostles ) with special hymns to him which are found in the liturgical book known as the Octoechos . Soon after the transfer of Saint Nicholas's relics from Myra to Bari, an East Slavic version of his Life and an account of the transfer of his relics were written by a contemporary to this event. Devotional akathists and canons have been composed in his honour, and are frequently chanted by
6764-402: Is not attested in the earliest sources and is therefore unlikely to be historical. One of the earliest attested stories of Saint Nicholas is one in which he saves three innocent men from execution. According to Michael the Archimandrite, three innocent men were condemned to death by the governor Eustathius. As they were about to be executed, Nicholas appeared, pushed the executioner's sword to
6942-556: Is not mentioned by any contemporary chroniclers. This is not surprising, since Nicholas lived during a turbulent time in Roman history . The earliest mentions of Saint Nicholas indicate that, by the sixth century, his following was already well-established. Less than two hundred years after Saint Nicholas's probable death, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II (ruled 401–450) ordered the building of
7120-597: Is now known as "Saint Nicolas de Port" in honor of Nicholas. The clergy at Bari strategically gave away samples of Nicholas's bones to promote the following and enhance its prestige. Many of these bones were initially kept in Constantinople, but, after the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade , these fragments were scattered across western Europe. A hand claimed to belong to Saint Nicholas
7298-731: Is presumably of Phoenician origin. Some sources attribute a Hebrew origin to the word. During the classical period, the Romans interacted with, and later conquered, parts of Mauretania , a state that covered modern northern Morocco , western Algeria , and the Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla . The Berber tribes of the region were noted in the Classics as Mauri , which was subsequently rendered as "Moors" in English and in related variations in other European languages. Mauri (Μαῦροι)
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7476-673: Is recorded as the native name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe was Maurusii ( Ancient Greek : Μαυρούσιοι ). The Moors were also mentioned by Tacitus as having revolted against the Roman Empire in 24 AD . During the Latin Middle Ages, Mauri was used to refer to Berbers and Arabs in the coastal regions of Northwest Africa. The 16th century scholar Leo Africanus (c. 1494–1554) identified
7654-446: Is said that, in Myra, the relics of Saint Nicholas each year exuded a clear watery liquid which smelled like rose water, called manna , or myrrh , which was believed by the faithful to possess miraculous powers. As it was widely known that all Nicholas's relics were at Myra in their sealed sarcophagus, it was rare during this period for forgers of relics to claim to possess those belonging to Saint Nicholas. A solemn bronze statue of
7832-408: Is said to ride his white-grey horse over the rooftops at night, delivering gifts through the chimney to the well-behaved children. Traditionally, naughty children risked being caught by Black Pete, who carried a jute bag and willow cane for that purpose. Before going to bed, children each leave a single shoe next to the fireplace chimney of the coal-fired stove or fireplace (or in modern times close to
8010-454: Is time for children to give up their pacifier , they place it into his or her shoe ("safekeeping by Sinterklaas") and it is replaced with chocolate the next morning. The present is often creatively disguised by being packaged in a humorous, unusual or personalised way. This is called a surprise (from the French). Poems from Sinterklaas usually accompany gifts, bearing a personal message for
8188-707: The Reconquista ("Reconquest") soon after the Islamic conquest in the 8th century. Christian states based in the north and west slowly extended their power over the rest of Iberia. The Kingdom of Navarre , the Kingdom of Galicia , the Kingdom of León , the Kingdom of Portugal , the Kingdom of Aragon , the Marca Hispánica , and the Crown of Castile began a process of expansion and internal consolidation during
8366-635: The Aghlabid Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily , developing it as a port. They eventually went on to consolidate the rest of the island . Differences in religion and culture led to a centuries-long conflict with the Christian kingdoms of Europe , which tried to reclaim control of Muslim areas; this conflict was referred to as the Reconquista . In 1224, the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to
8544-612: The Azawagh Arabs , after the Azawagh region of the Sahara. The authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language does not list any derogatory meaning for the word moro , a term generally referring to people of Maghrebian origin in particular or Muslims in general. Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is derogatory for Moroccans in particular and Muslims in general. In
8722-651: The Bangsamoro "Moro Nation". Moreno can mean "dark-skinned" in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in Spanish, morapio is a humorous name for "wine", especially that which has not been "baptized" or mixed with water, i.e., pure unadulterated wine. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a broader meaning, applied to both Filipino Moros from Mindanao, and the moriscos of Granada . Moro refers to all things dark, as in "Moor", moreno , etc. It
8900-590: The Church of Saint Nicholas in Myra , which thereby preserves an early mention of his name. The Byzantine historian Procopius also mentions that the Emperor Justinian I (ruled 527–565) renovated churches in Constantinople dedicated to Saint Nicholas and Saint Priscus , which may have originally been built as early as c. 490. Nicholas's name also occurs as "Nicholas of Myra of Lycia" on
9078-492: The Crusades , as a pun on the bearer's name in the canting arms of Morese, Negri, Saraceni, etc., or in the case of Frederick II , possibly to demonstrate the reach of his empire. The arms of Pope Benedict XVI feature a moor's head, crowned and collared red, in reference to the arms of Freising, Germany . In the case of Corsica and Sardinia, the blindfolded moors' heads in the four quarters have long been said to represent
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#17327733557699256-691: The Dutch Resistance . Originally Sinterklaas was only accompanied by one (or sometimes two) Zwarte Pieten , but just after the liberation of the Netherlands, Canadian soldiers organised a Sinterklaas party with many Zwarte Pieten, and ever since this has been the custom, each Piet normally having his own dedicated task. The festival has also been adhered in the former Dutch colonies. In Curaçao , Dutch-style Sinterklaas events were organised until 2020. The Zwarte Piet costumes were purple, gold, blue, yellow and orange but especially black and dark black. Prime Minister Ivar Asjes has spoken negatively of
9434-577: The First Crusade . Although the Crusaders generally favored warrior saints, which Saint Nicholas was not, the presence of his relics in Bari made him materially accessible. Nicholas's associations with aiding travelers and seafarers also made him a popular choice for veneration. Nicholas's veneration by Crusaders helped promote his following throughout western Europe. After the relics were brought to Bari, they continued to produce "myrrh", much to
9612-852: The Inquisition in Spain . The Muslim population of Granada rebelled in 1499 . The revolt lasted until early 1501, giving the Castilian authorities an excuse to void the terms of the Treaty of Granada (1491) . In 1501, Castilian authorities delivered an ultimatum to the Muslims of Granada: they could either convert to Christianity or be expelled. The Inquisition was aimed mostly at Jews and Muslims who had overtly converted to Christianity but were thought to be practicing their faiths secretly. They were respectively called marranos and moriscos . However, in 1567 King Philip II directed Moriscos to give up their Arabic names and traditional dress, and prohibited
9790-406: The Isma'ili rulers of the Fatimid Caliphate . Four years later, the Fatimid governor was ousted from Palermo when the island declared its independence under Emir Ahmed ibn-Kohrob. The language spoken in Sicily under Muslim rule was Siculo-Arabic . In 1038, a Byzantine army under George Maniakes crossed the strait of Messina. This army included a corps of Normans that saved the situation in
9968-409: The Nativity of Jesus is believed to have taken place. Over the crypt where Nicholas is believed to have lived now stands the "Church of Saint Nicholas" in Beit Jala , a Christian town of which Nicholas is the Patron saint . After visiting the Holy Land, Nicholas returned to Myra. The bishop of Myra, who had succeeded Nicholas's uncle, had recently died and the priests in the city had decided that
10146-458: The Philippines , a former Spanish colony , many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim minority concentrated in Mindanao and other southern islands Moros . The word is a catch-all term, as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people . The term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as an endonym , with many self-identifying as members of
10324-409: The Reformation in 16th- and 17th-century Europe, Protestant reformers like Martin Luther changed the Saint gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl and moved the date for giving presents from 6 December to Christmas Eve. Certain Protestant municipalities and clerics forbade Saint Nicholas festivities, as the Protestants wanted to abolish the cult of saints and saint adoration, while keeping
10502-406: The Strait of Gibraltar onto the Iberian Peninsula , and in a series of raids they conquered Visigothic Christian Hispania . Their general, Tariq ibn Ziyad , brought most of Iberia under Islamic rule in an eight-year campaign. They continued northeast across the Pyrenees Mountains but were defeated by the Franks under Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Maghreb fell into
10680-440: The Wild Hunt of Wodan or Odin, a major god among the Germanic peoples, who was worshipped in Northern and Western Europe prior to Christianization. Riding the white horse Sleipnir he flew through the air as the leader of the Wild Hunt, always accompanied by two black ravens, Huginn and Muninn . Those helpers would listen, just like Zwarte Piet, at the chimney – which was just a hole in the roof at that time – to tell Wodan about
10858-534: The archdiocese of Bari has allowed for one scientific survey of the bones. In the late 1950s, while the crypt was undergoing much-needed restoration, the bones were removed from it for the first time since their interment in 1089. A special Pontiffical Commission permitted Luigi Martino, a professor of human anatomy at the University of Bari , to examine the bones under the commission's supervision. Martino took thousands of measurements, detailed scientific drawings, photographs, and x-rays. These examinations revealed
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#173277335576911036-452: The central heating radiator , or a door). They leave the shoe with a carrot or some hay in it and a bowl of water nearby "for Sinterklaas' horse", and the children sing a Sinterklaas song. The next day they find some candy or a small present in their shoes. Typical Sinterklaas treats traditionally include mandarin oranges , pepernoten , speculaas (sometimes filled with almond paste ), banketletter (pastry filled with almond paste) or
11214-468: The settlement of Lucera , which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Spain, although a Muslim minority persisted until their expulsion in 1609. The etymology of the word "Moor" is uncertain, although it can be traced back to the Phoenician term Mahurin , meaning "Westerners". From Mahurin , the ancient Greeks derive Mauro , from which Latin derives Mauri . The word "Moor"
11392-426: The "plotting and envy of Satan ." The man could not afford proper dowries for his three daughters. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment, be forced to become prostitutes. Hearing of the girls' plight, Nicholas decided to help them, but, being too modest to help the family in public (or to save them the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to
11570-423: The 19th century, the saint emerged from hiding and the feast became more secularised at the same time. The modern tradition of Sinterklaas as a children's feast was likely confirmed with the illustrated children's book Sint-Nicolaas en zijn knecht ( Saint Nicholas and his servant ), written in 1850 by the teacher Jan Schenkman (1806–1863). Some say he introduced the images of Sinterklaas' delivering presents by
11748-491: The 19th century. Later the connection with the oranges got lost, and Spain became his home. Traditionally, the city of origin of the steamboat has been the port city of Alicante (Spain). This could be based on the fact that Alicante's patron is Saint Nicholas, and that the city's cathedral is dedicated to this saint. The province of Alicante is also famous for its oranges. In the weeks between his arrival and 5 December, Sinterklaas visits schools, hospitals, and shopping centres. He
11926-430: The 2010s, the traditions surrounding the holiday of Sinterklaas have been the subject of a growing number of editorials, debates, documentaries, protests and even violent clashes at festivals. In most cities and television channels now only display Zwarte Piet characters with some soot smudges on the face rather than full blackface, so-called roetveegpieten ("soot-smudge Petes") or schoorsteenpieten ("chimney Petes"). In
12104-647: The Algarve ". The Moorish Kingdom of Granada continued for three more centuries in southern Iberia. On 2 January 1492, the leader of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada surrendered to the armies of a recently united Christian Spain (after the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragón and Isabella I of Castile , the " Catholic Monarchs "). The Moorish inhabitants received no military aid or rescue from other Muslim nations. The remaining Jews were also forced to leave Spain, convert to Roman Catholic Christianity, or be killed for refusing to do so. In 1480, to exert social and religious control, Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to allow
12282-423: The Archimandrite's Life the only account of Saint Nicholas that is likely to contain any historical truth. Jona Lendering , a Dutch historian of classical antiquity, notes that Michael the Archimandrite's Life does not contain a " conversion narrative ", which was unusual for saints' lives of the period when it was written. He therefore argues that it is possible Michael the Archimandrite may have been relying on
12460-426: The Archimandrite's account, however, Saint Nicholas is instead expressly stated to be motivated by a desire to save the daughters from being sold into prostitution. He argues that this desire to help women is most characteristic of fourth-century Christianity, due to the prominent role women played in the early Christian movement, rather than Greco-Roman paganism or the Christianity of Michael the Archimandrite's time in
12638-468: The Catholic Church in the West had declared (in 1054 AD) that the Greek church , the official church of the Byzantine Empire, was in schism . Because of the many wars in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult. Taking advantage of the confusion and the loss by the Greek Christian community of Myra of its Byzantine imperial protection, in the spring of 1087, Italian sailors from Bari in Apulia seized part of
12816-436: The Greek writer Philostratus . Christian storytellers were known to adapt older pagan legends and attribute them to Christian saints. As Apollonius's hometown of Tyana was not far from Myra, Lendering contends that many popular stories about Apollonius may have become attached to Saint Nicholas. Accounts of Saint Nicholas's life agree on the essence of his story, but modern historians disagree regarding how much of this story
12994-527: The Islamic territory in Iberia fell under the rule of the Almohad Caliphate in 1153. This second stage was guided by a version of Islam that left behind the more tolerant practices of the past. Al-Andalus broke up into a number of taifas (fiefs), which were partly consolidated under the Caliphate of Córdoba. The Kingdom of Asturias , a small northwestern Christian Iberian kingdom, initiated
13172-638: The Julian Calendar's 6 December and Gregorian Calendar's 19 December. Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day , 6 December. For those who still observe the Julian calendar the celebration currently takes place thirteen days later than it happens in the Gregorian calendar and Revised Julian calendar . Moors The term Moor
13350-521: The Krauts but scatter [candy] in Holland! This is a variation of one of the best-known traditional Sinterklaas rhymes, with "RAF" replacing "Sinterklaas" in the first line (the two expressions have the same metrical characteristics in the first and second, and in the third and fourth lines). The Dutch word kapoentje (little rascal) is traditional to the rhyme, but in this case it also alludes to
13528-841: The Middle Ages. The term ascribed to them in Anglo-Norman blazon (the language of English heraldry ) is maure , though they are also sometimes called moore , blackmoor , blackamoor or negro . Maures appear in European heraldry from at least as early as the 13th century, and some have been attested as early as the 11th century in Italy , where they have persisted in the local heraldry and vexillology well into modern times in Corsica and Sardinia . Armigers bearing moors or moors' heads may have adopted them for any of several reasons, to include symbolizing military victories in
13706-533: The Moors ( Mauri ) as the native Berber inhabitants of the former Roman Africa Province ( Roman Africans ). In medieval Romance languages , variations of the Latin word for the Moors (for instance, Italian and Spanish : moro , French : maure , Portuguese : mouro , Romanian : maur ) developed different applications and connotations. The term initially denoted a specific Berber people in western Libya , but
13884-1107: The Moors were dominant between 711 and 1492. The best surviving examples of this architectural tradition are the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba and the Alhambra in Granada (mainly 1338–1390), as well as the Giralda in Seville (1184). Other notable examples include the ruined palace city of Medina Azahara (936–1010) and the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz , now a church, in Toledo , the Aljafería in Zaragoza and baths such as those at Ronda and Alhama de Granada . Moors—or more frequently their heads, often crowned—appear with some frequency in medieval European heraldry , though less so since
14062-748: The Netherlands (1940–1945) many of the traditional Sinterklaas rhymes were rewritten to reflect current events. The Royal Air Force (RAF) was often celebrated. In 1941, for instance, the RAF dropped boxes of candy over the occupied Netherlands. One classical poem turned contemporary was the following: Sinterklaas, kapoentje, Gooi wat in mijn schoentje, Gooi wat in mijn laarsje, Dank U Sinterklaasje R.A.F. Kapoentje, Gooi wat in mijn schoentje, Bij de Moffen gooien, Maar in Holland strooien! Sinterklaas, little capon, Throw something in my little shoe, Throw something in my little boot, Thank you dear Sinterklaas R.A.F. little Capon, throw something in my little shoe throw [bombs] at
14240-435: The Netherlands, Sinterklaas is a very popular tradition. The festival is celebrated by a wide range of people including Dutch Jews and Muslims, and by generally all age groups. However, a 2023 survey showed that most are "less keen" to celebrate following the controversy surrounding Zwarte Piet . The festivities traditionally begin each year in mid-November (the first Saturday after 11 November), when Sinterklaas "arrives" by
14418-620: The Norman knight William Pantulf . Pantulf took these relics to his hometown of Noron in Normandy, where they were placed in the local Church of St. Peter in June 1092. In 1096, the duke of Apulia gave several bones of Saint Nicholas to the count of Flanders , which he then enshrined in the Abbey of Watten . According to legend, in 1101, Saint Nicholas appeared in a vision to a French clerk visiting
14596-544: The Saint Nicholas feast never completely disappeared in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, where the public Saint Nicholas festivities were very popular, main events like street markets and fairs were kept alive with persons impersonating Nicholas dressed in red clothes instead of a bishop's tabard and mitre. The Dutch government eventually tolerated private family celebrations of Saint Nicholas' Day, as can be seen on Jan Steen 's painting The Feast of Saint Nicholas . In
14774-426: The Sinterklaas feast, however, Zwarte Piet no longer carries the roe and children are no longer told that they will be taken back to Spain in Zwarte Piet's bag if they have been naughty. Over the years many stories have been added, and Zwarte Piet has developed into a valuable assistant to the absent-minded saint. In modern adaptations for television, Sinterklaas has developed a Zwarte Piet for every function, such as
14952-543: The Southern Netherlands and Belgium, most children have to wait until the morning of 6 December to receive their gifts, and Sinterklaas is seen as a festivity almost exclusively for children. The shoes are filled with a poem or wish list for Sinterklaas and carrots, hay or sugar cubes for the horse on the evening of the fifth and in Belgium often a bottle of beer for Zwarte Piet and a cup of coffee for Sinterklaas are placed next to them. Also in some areas, when it
15130-663: The Surinamese playwright Eugène Drenthe envisioned the character of Gudu Ppa ("Father of Riches" in Sranantongo ) as a postcolonial replacement of Sinterklaas. Instead of a white man, Gudu Ppa was black. His helpers symbolised Suriname's different ethnic groups, replacing Zwarte Piet. Although promoted by the military regime in the eighties, Gudu Ppa never really caught on. In 2011, opposition member of parliament and former president Ronald Venetiaan called for an official ban on Sinterklaas because he considered Zwarte Piet to be
15308-528: The Tabard, best you can, Go, therewith, to Amsterdam, From Amsterdam to Spain, Where apples bright of Orange, And likewise those granate surnam'd, Roll through the streets, all free unclaim'd [...] The text presented here comes from a pamphlet that John Pintard released in New York in 1810. It is the earliest source mentioning Spain in connection to Sinterklaas . Pintard wanted St. Nicholas to become patron saint of New York and hoped to establish
15486-723: The Turks have both long regarded the unauthorized removal of the relics from Myra as a blatant theft, but the people of Bari have instead maintained that it was a rescue mission to save the bones from the Turkish invaders. A legend, shown on the ceiling of the Basilica di San Nicola, holds that Nicholas once visited Bari and predicted that his bones would one day rest there. Prior to the translation of Nicholas's relics to Bari, his following had been known in western Europe, but it had not been extremely popular. In autumn of 1096, Norman and Frankish soldiers mustered in Bari in preparation for
15664-484: The bone they tested comes from the left pubis , and the only pelvis bone in the collection at Bari is the left ilium . In the absence of DNA testing, however, it is not yet possible to know for certain whether the pelvis is from the same man. Among Greeks and Italians he is a favorite of sailors, fishermen , ships and sailing. As a result, and over time, he has become the patron saint of several cities which maintain harbours . In centuries of Greek folklore , Nicholas
15842-512: The bronze statue was returned (albeit without its original high pedestal) to a corner nearer the church. On 28 December 2009, the Turkish government announced that it would be formally requesting the return of Saint Nicholas's skeletal remains to Turkey from the Italian government. Turkish authorities asserted that Nicholas himself desired to be buried at his episcopal town, and that his remains were illegally removed from his homeland. In 2017, an archaeological survey at St. Nicholas Church, Demre
16020-513: The children are too old to believe in Sinterklaas any more, also often celebrate Christmas with presents instead of pakjesavond . Instead of such gifts being brought by Sinterklaas, family members ordinarily draw names for an event comparable to Secret Santa . Because of the popularity of his "older cousin" Sinterklaas, Santa Claus is however not commonly seen in the Netherlands and Belgium. Jacob Grimm , Hélène Adeline Guerber and others have drawn parallels between Sinterklaas and his helpers and
16198-436: The chimney, riding over the roofs of houses on a grey horse, and arriving from Spain by steamboat , which at that time was an exciting modern invention. Perhaps building on the fact that Saint Nicholas historically is the patron saint of the sailors (many churches dedicated to him have been built near harbours), Schenkman could have been inspired by the Spanish customs and ideas about the saint when he portrayed him arriving via
16376-459: The church without authorization and brought them to their hometown, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola . The remaining bone fragments from the sarcophagus were later removed by Venetian sailors and taken to Venice during the First Crusade . Very little is known about Saint Nicholas's historical life. Any writings Nicholas himself may have produced have been lost and he
16554-405: The consul Ablabius, telling him that they had not really put down the revolt, but instead encouraged their own soldiers to join it. The generals' enemies also bribed Ablabius and he had the three generals imprisoned. Nicholas then made his dream appearances and the three generals were set free. In 325, Nicholas is said to have attended the First Council of Nicaea , where he is said to have been
16732-793: The continuation of further conquest, but an Arab assault took Carthage and held it against a Byzantine counterattack. Although a Christian and pagan Berber rebellion pushed out the Arabs temporarily, the Romanized urban population preferred the Arabs to the Berbers and welcomed a renewed and final conquest that left northern Africa in Muslim hands by 698. Over the next decades, the Berber and urban populations of northern Africa gradually converted to Islam, although for separate reasons. The Arabic language
16910-425: The council, who knew all the notable bishops of the period, nor is he mentioned by the historian Eusebius , who was also present at the council. Adam C. English notes that lists of the attendees at Nicaea vary considerably, with shorter lists only including roughly 200 names, but longer lists including around 300. Saint Nicholas's name only appears on the longer lists, not the shorter ones. Nicholas's name appears on
17088-465: The council. Late, unsubstantiated legends claim that he was temporarily defrocked and imprisoned during the council for slapping the heretic Arius . Another famous late legend tells how he resurrected three children, who had been murdered and pickled in brine by a butcher planning to sell them as pork during a famine. Fewer than 200 years after Nicholas's death, the St. Nicholas Church was built in Myra under
17266-461: The crowd. The event is broadcast live on national television in the Netherlands and Belgium. Following this national arrival, other towns celebrate their own intocht van Sinterklaas (arrival of Sinterklaas). Local arrivals usually take place later on the same Saturday of the national arrival, the next day (Sunday), or one weekend after the national arrival. In places a boat cannot reach, Sinterklaas arrives by train, horse, horse-drawn carriage or even
17444-582: The crypt underneath the Basilica di San Nicola was dedicated as an Orthodox chapel with an iconostasis in commemoration of the recent lifting of the anathemas the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches had issued against each other during the Great Schism in 1054. In May 2017, following talks between Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a portion of the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari were sent on loan to Moscow. The relic
17622-419: The earliest attested and most famous incidents from his life, he is said to have rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them. Other early stories tell of him calming a storm at sea, saving three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution, and chopping down
17800-445: The early ninth century by Michael the Archimandrite (814–842), nearly 500 years after Nicholas's probable death. Despite its extremely late date, Michael the Archimandrite's Life of Saint Nicholas is believed to heavily rely on older written sources and oral traditions. The identity and reliability of these sources, however, remains uncertain. Catholic historian D. L. Cann and medievalist Charles W. Jones both consider Michael
17978-400: The fact that Nicholas had a tomb that could be visited serves as the almost solitary definitive proof that he was a real historical figure. In his treatise De statu animarum post mortem (written c. 583), the theologian Eustratius of Constantinople cites Saint Nicholas of Myra's miracle of the three generals as evidence that souls may work independent from the body. Eustratius credits
18156-417: The fact that he was shown with a barrel led people to conclude that he was the patron saint of brewers. According to another story, during a great famine that Myra experienced in 311–312, a ship was in the port at anchor, loaded with wheat for the emperor in Constantinople. Nicholas invited the sailors to unload a part of the wheat to help in the time of need. The sailors at first disliked the request, because
18334-772: The faithful as they ask for his intercession . He is mentioned in the Liturgy of Preparation during the Divine Liturgy (Eastern Orthodox Eucharist ) and during the All-Night Vigil . Many Orthodox churches will have his icon , even if they are not named after him. In Oriental Orthodoxy , the Coptic Church observes the Departure of St. Nicholas on 10 Kiahk, or 10 Taḫśaś in Ethiopia, which corresponds to
18512-459: The first clash against the Muslims from Messina. After another decisive victory in the summer of 1040, Maniaces halted his march to lay siege to Syracuse . Despite his success, Maniaces was removed from his position, and the subsequent Muslim counter-offensive reconquered all the cities captured by the Byzantines. The Norman Robert Guiscard , son of Tancred, invaded Sicily in 1060. The island
18690-670: The first priest to enter the church that morning would be made bishop. Nicholas went to the church to pray and was therefore proclaimed the new bishop. He is said to have been imprisoned and tortured during the Great Persecution under the Emperor Diocletian (ruled 284–305), but was released under the orders of the Emperor Constantine the Great (ruled 306–337). This story sounds plausible, but
18868-501: The former lower or untouchable castes) to Islam or descendants of a marriage alliance between a Middle Eastern individual and an Indian woman. Within the context of Portuguese colonization , in Sri Lanka ( Portuguese Ceylon ), Muslims of Arab origin are called Ceylon Moors , not to be confused with "Indian Moors" of Sri Lanka (see Sri Lankan Moors ). Sri Lankan Moors (a combination of "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors") make up 12% of
19046-466: The four Moorish emirs who were defeated by Peter I of Aragon and Pamplona in the 11th century, the four moors' heads around a cross having been adopted to the arms of Aragon around 1281–1387, and Corsica and Sardinia having come under the dominion of the king of Aragon in 1297. In Corsica, the blindfolds were lifted to the brow in the 18th century as a way of expressing the island's newfound independence. The use of Moors (and particularly their heads) as
19224-488: The good and bad behaviour of the mortals. Historian Rita Ghesquiere asserts that it is likely that certain pre-christian elements survived in the honouring of Saint Nicholas. Indeed, it seems clear that the tradition contains a number of elements that are not ecclesiastical in origin. The Sinterklaasfeest arose during the Middle Ages . The feast was both an occasion to help the poor, by putting money in their shoes (which evolved into putting presents in children's shoes) and
19402-462: The ground, released them from their chains, and angrily chastised a juror who had accepted a bribe. According to Jona Lendering, this story directly parallels an earlier story in Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana , in which Apollonius prevents the execution of a man falsely condemned of banditry. Michael the Archimandrite also tells another story in which the consul Ablabius accepted
19580-553: The honour of being received by them, and I remarked that they all had fair hair and blue eyes. The languages spoken in the parts of the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule were Andalusian Arabic and Mozarabic ; they became extinct after the expulsion of the Moriscos , but Arabic language influence on the Spanish language can still be found today. The Muslims were resisted in parts of the Iberian Peninsula in areas of
19758-460: The house under the cover of night and threw a purse filled with gold coins through the window opening into the house. The father immediately arranged a marriage for his first daughter, and after her wedding, Nicholas threw a second bag of gold through the same window late at night. According to Michael the Archimandrite's account, after the second daughter was married, the father stayed awake for at least two "nights" and caught Saint Nicholas in
19936-452: The incentives put in place by Fredrich II. Some Muslims from Lucera would also later convert due to oppression on the mainland and had their property returned to them and returned to Sicily. During the reigns of Frederick II as well as his son, Manfred , a large amount of Muslims were brought, as slaves, to farm lands and perform domestic labor. Enslaved persons in Sicily were not afforded
20114-512: The inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town ( New Amsterdam ), reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past. In the 1770s the New York Gazetteer noted that the feast day of "St. a Claus" was celebrated "by the descendants of the ancient Dutch families, with their usual festivities." In a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam,
20292-690: The island nation, and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors. In the Philippines, the longstanding Muslim community, which predates the arrival of the Spanish, now self-identifies as the " Moro people ", an exonym introduced by Spanish colonizers due to their Muslim faith. In 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from northern Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . The Iberian Peninsula then came to be known in Classical Arabic as al-Andalus, which at its peak included most of Septimania and modern-day Spain and Portugal . In 827,
20470-462: The island was known as "Saint Nicholas Island" and today it is known in Turkish as Gemiler Adasi, meaning "Island of Boats", in reference to Saint Nicholas's traditional role as the patron saint of seafarers. The church was built in the fourth century, around the time of Nicholas's death, and is typical of saints' shrines from that time period. Nicholas was the only major saint associated with that part of Turkey. The church where historians believe he
20648-490: The joy of their new owners. Vials of myrrh from his relics have been taken all over the world for centuries, and can still be obtained from his church in Bari. Even up to the present day, a flask of manna is extracted from the tomb of Saint Nicholas every year on 6 December (the Saint's feast day ) by the clergy of the basilica. The myrrh is collected from a sarcophagus which is located in the basilica vault and could be obtained in
20826-654: The last Arab strongholds, fell to the Christians. Islamic authors noted the tolerance of the Norman kings of Sicily. Ali ibn al-Athir wrote: "They [the Muslims] were treated kindly, and they were protected, even against the Franks . Because of that, they had great love for King Roger." The Muslim problem characterized Hohenstaufen rule in Sicily under Holy Roman Emperors Henry VI and his son, Frederick II . Many repressive measures were introduced by Frederick II to appease
21004-837: The meantime, Spanish and Portuguese expeditions westward from the New World spread Christianity to India, the Malay Peninsula , Indonesia , and the Philippines . By 1521, the ships of Magellan had reached that island archipelago, which they named Las Islas Filipinas , after Philip II of Spain . In Mindanao , the Spaniards named the kris -bearing people as Moros or 'Moors'. Today this ethnic group in Mindanao, who are generally Filipino Muslim, are called "Moros". The first Muslim conquest of Sicily began in 827, though it
21182-429: The midwinter gift-bringing feast alive. After the successful revolt of the largely Protestant northern provinces of the Low Countries against the rule of Roman Catholic king Philip II of Spain , the new Calvinist regents, ministers and clericals prohibited celebration of Saint Nicholas. The newly independent Dutch Republic officially became a Protestant country and abolished public Catholic celebrations. Nevertheless,
21360-448: The morning of 6 December, Saint Nicholas Day, Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany, northern France (French Flanders, Lorraine, Alsace and Artois), Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The tradition is also celebrated in some territories of the former Dutch Empire, including Aruba. Sinterklaas is one of the sources of the popular Christmas icon of Santa Claus . Sinterklaas is based on the historical figure of Saint Nicholas (270–343),
21538-562: The name acquired more general meaning during the medieval period, associated with " Muslim ", similar to associations with " Saracens ". During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista , the term Moors included the derogatory suggestion of "infidels". Apart from these historic associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic . They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria , Western Sahara , Tunisia , Morocco , Niger , and Mali . In Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as
21716-683: The name moor is applied to unbaptized children, meaning not Christian. In Basque , mairu means moor and also refers to a mythical people. Muslims located in South Asia were distinguished by the Portuguese historians into two groups: Mouros da Terra ("Moors of the Land") and the Mouros da Arabia/Mouros de Meca ("Moors from Arabia/Mecca" or "Paradesi Muslims"). The Mouros da Terra were either descendants of any native convert (mostly from any of
21894-524: The name to Arabs , Berbers , and Muslim Europeans . The term has also been used in Europe in a broader sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in al-Andalus or North Africa. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names " Ceylon Moors " and " Indian Moors " in South Asia and Sri Lanka , now official ethnic designations on
22072-521: The next several centuries under the flag of Reconquista. In 1212, a coalition of Christian kings under the leadership of Alfonso VIII of Castile drove the Muslims from Central Iberia. The Portuguese side of the Reconquista ended in 1249 with the conquest of the Algarve ( Arabic : الغرب – al-Gharb ) under Afonso III . He was the first Portuguese monarch to claim the title " King of Portugal and
22250-536: The ninth century, by which point the position of women had drastically declined. Nicholas is also said to have visited the Holy Land . The ship he was on was nearly destroyed by a terrible storm but he rebuked the waves, causing the storm to subside. Thus, Nicholas became venerated as the patron saint of sailors and travelers. While in Palestine , Nicholas is said to have lived in a crypt near Bethlehem , where
22428-740: The northwest (such as Asturias , where they were defeated at the battle of Covadonga ) and the largely Basque Country in the Pyrenees . Though the number of Moorish colonists was small, many native Iberian inhabitants converted to Islam . By 1000, according to Ronald Segal , some 5,000,000 of Iberia's 7,000,000 inhabitants, most of them descended from indigenous Iberian converts, were Muslim. There were also Sub-Saharan Africans who had been absorbed into al-Andalus to be used as soldiers and slaves . The Berber and Sub-Saharan African soldiers were known as "tangerines" because they were imported through Tangier . The Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed in 1031 and
22606-566: The orders of Theodosius II over the site of the church where he had served as bishop, and his remains were moved to a sarcophagus in that church. In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of the region were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuk Turks , and soon after the beginning of the East–West schism , a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in
22784-478: The popes, who were intolerant of Islam in the heart of Christendom . This resulted in a rebellion by Sicilian Muslims, which in turn triggered organized resistance and systematic reprisals and marked the final chapter of Islam in Sicily. The complete eviction of Muslims and the annihilation of Islam in Sicily was completed by the late 1240s when the final deportations to Lucera took place. The remaining population of Sicilian Muslims converted to Catholicism due to
22962-699: The population. The Ceylon Moors (unlike the Indian Moors) are descendants of Arab traders who settled there in the mid-6th century. When the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, they labelled all the Muslims in the island as Moors as they saw some of them resembling the Moors in North Africa. The Sri Lankan government continues to identify the Muslims in Sri Lanka as "Sri Lankan Moors", sub-categorised into "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors". The Goan Muslims —a minority community who follow Islam in
23140-508: The receiver. It is usually a humorous poem which often teases the recipient for well-known bad habits or other character deficiencies. In recent years, influenced by North-American media and the Anglo-Saxon Christmas tradition, when the children reach the age where they get told "the big secret of Sinterklaas", some people will shift to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for the present giving. Older children in Dutch families where
23318-423: The region. After an interlude, during which the Muslims fought a civil war , the invasions resumed in 665, seizing Byzantine North Africa up to Bugia over the course of a series of campaigns, lasting until 689. A Byzantine counterattack largely expelled the Arabs but left the region vulnerable. Intermittent war over the inland provinces of North Africa continued for the next two decades. Further civil war delayed
23496-590: The relics of Saint Nicholas are also reputed to have been stolen from Myra by local Norman crusading knights in the twelfth century and buried near Thomastown , County Kilkenny , where a stone slab marks the site locally believed to be his grave. According to the Irish antiquarian John Hunt , the tomb probably actually belongs to a local priest from Jerpoint Abbey . Russian Orthodox Church announced on 22 September 2024 that Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral in Baku received
23674-400: The relics the team has examined turn out to be too recent to have actually belonged to the saint to whom they are attributed, but he states, "This bone fragment, in contrast, suggests that we could possibly be looking at remains from St Nicholas himself." Kazan believes the pelvis fragment may come from the same individual as the skeleton divided between the churches in Bari and Venice, since
23852-496: The remaining bones of Saint Nicholas, as well as those of several other bishops of Myra, from the church there, which was only guarded by four Orthodox monks, and brought them to Venice , where they deposited them in the San Nicolò al Lido. This tradition was lent credence in two scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice, which confirmed that the relics in the two cities are anatomically compatible and may belong to
24030-630: The remaining fragments of his skeleton. In 1044, they dedicated the San Nicolò al Lido monastery basilica to him on the north end of the Lido di Venezia . According to a single chronicle written by an anonymous monk at this monastery, in 1100, a fleet of Venetian ships accompanied by Bishop Henri sailed past Myra on their way to Palestine for the First Crusade. Bishop Henri insisted for the fleet to turn back and set anchor in Myra. The Venetians took
24208-580: The remains of the saint from his burial church in Myra, over the objections of the Greek Orthodox monks in the church. Adam C. English describes the removal of the relics from Myra as "essentially a holy robbery " and notes the thieves were not only afraid of being caught or chased after by the locals, but also the power of Saint Nicholas himself. Returning to Bari, they brought the remains with them and cared for them. The remains arrived on 9 May 1087. Two years later, Pope Urban II inaugurated
24386-530: The saint by Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky was donated by the Russian government in 2000, and was given a prominent place in the square fronting the medieval Church of St Nicholas. In 2005, mayor Süleyman Topçu had the statue replaced by a red-suited plastic Santa Claus statue, because he wanted an image more recognisable to foreign visitors. Protests from the Russian government against this were successful, and
24564-475: The saint to have died at over seventy years of age and to have been of average height and slender-to-average build. He also suffered from severe chronic arthritis in his spine and pelvis. In 2004, at the University of Manchester , researchers Caroline Wilkinson and Fraco Introna reconstructed the saint's face based on Martino's examination. The review of the data revealed that the historical Saint Nicholas
24742-463: The same act of charity toward the third daughter. The father fell on his knees, thanking him, and Nicholas ordered him not to tell anyone about the gifts. The scene of Nicholas's secret gift-giving is one of the most popular scenes in Christian devotional art, appearing in icons and frescoes from across Europe. Although depictions vary depending on time and place, Nicholas is often shown wearing
24920-574: The same person. It is said that someone dies every time the bones of Saint Nicholas in Venice are disturbed. The last time the bones were examined was in July 1992. Because of Nicholas's skeleton's long confinement in Myra, after it was brought to Bari, the demand for pieces of it rose. Small bones quickly began to disperse across western Europe. The sailors who had transported the bones gave one tooth and two fragments chipped from Nicholas's sarcophagus to
25098-474: The same privileges as the Muslims in mainland Italy. The trend of importing a considerable amount of slaves from the Muslim world did not stop with the Hohenstaufen but was amplified under the Aragonese and Spanish crowns , and was in fact continued until as late as 1838 The majority of which would also come receive the label 'Moors' Moorish architecture is the articulated Islamic architecture of northern Africa and parts of Spain and Portugal, where
25276-434: The scene became so widely reproduced that, rather than showing the whole scene, artists began to merely depict Saint Nicholas with three naked children and a wooden barrel at his feet. According to English, eventually, people who had forgotten or never learned the story began misinterpreting representations of it. That Saint Nicholas was shown with children led people to conclude he was the patron saint of children; meanwhile,
25454-400: The scholar Charles Jones did not find references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas. Not all scholars agree with Jones' findings, which he reiterated in a book in 1978. Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary , maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York existed in the early settlement of the Hudson Valley . He agrees that "there can be no question that by
25632-400: The shop nearby. The liquid gradually seeps out of the tomb, but it is unclear whether it originates from the body within the tomb, or from the marble itself; since the town of Bari is a harbour, and the tomb is below sea level , there have been several natural explanations proposed for the manna fluid, including the transfer of seawater to the tomb by capillary action . In 1966, a vault in
25810-406: The shrine at Bari and told him to take one of his bones with him to his hometown of Port , near Nancy . The clerk took a finger bone back with him to Port, where a chapel was built to Saint Nicholas. Port became an important center of devotion in the following of Nicholas and, in the fifteenth century, a church known as the Basilique Saint-Nicolas was built there dedicated to him. The town itself
25988-488: The story of the resurrection of the pickled children is a late medieval addition to the legendary biography of Saint Nicholas and that it is not found in any of his earliest Lives . Although this story seems bizarre and horrifying to modern audiences, it was tremendously popular throughout the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period , and widely beloved by ordinary folk. It is depicted in stained glass windows, wood panel paintings, tapestries, and frescoes. Eventually,
26166-405: The story's authenticity, notes that a similar story is told in Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana , in which Apollonius gives money to an impoverished father but posits that Michael the Archimandrite's account is markedly different. Philostratus does not mention the fate of the daughters and, in his story, Apollonius's generosity is purely motivated out of sympathy for the father; in Michael
26344-475: The story's late attestation, it "has no historical value." Jona Lendering, however, defends the veracity and historicity of the incident, arguing that, as it was embarrassing and reflects poorly on Nicholas's reputation, it is inexplicable why later hagiographers would have invented it. Later versions of the legend embellish it, making the heretic Arius himself and having Nicholas punch him rather than merely slapping him with his open hand. In these versions of
26522-454: The story, Nicholas is also imprisoned, but Christ and the Virgin Mary appear to him in his cell. He tells them he is imprisoned "for loving you" and they free him from his chains and restore his vestments. The scene of Nicholas slapping Arius is celebrated in Eastern Orthodox icons and episodes of Saint Nicholas at Nicaea are shown in a series of paintings from the 1660s in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari . One story tells how during
26700-567: The tenth line of a list of attendees at the Council of Nicaea included by Theodore Lector in the Historiae Ecclesiasticae Tripartitae Epitome , written sometime between 510 and 515. A single, offhand mention of Nicholas of Myra also occurs in the biography of another saint, Saint Nicholas of Sion , who apparently took the name "Nicholas" to honor him. The Life of Saint Nicholas of Sion , written around 250 years after Nicholas of Myra's death, briefly mentions Nicholas of Sion visiting Nicholas's tomb to pay homage to him. According to Jeremy Seal,
26878-483: The three innocent men about to be executed and the three generals aided him in stopping the execution. Eustathius attempted to flee on his horse but Nicholas stopped his horse and chastised him for his corruption. Eustathius, under the threat of being reported directly to the Emperor, repented of his corrupt ways. Afterward, the generals succeeded in ending the rebellion and were promoted by Constantine to even higher status. The generals' enemies, however, slandered them to
27056-421: The time of testing, was in the possession of Father Dennis O'Neill, a priest from St Martha of Bethany Church in Illinois. The results of the radiocarbon dating confirmed that the pelvis dates to the fourth century AD, around the same time that Saint Nicholas would have died, and is not a medieval forgery. The bone was one of the oldest the Oxford team had ever examined. According to Professor Higham, most of
27234-399: The time of the Roman Empire . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession , he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker . Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the pious, as
27412-430: The time the revival of St. Nicholas came with Washington Irving , the traditional New Netherlands observance had completely disappeared." However, Irving's stories prominently featured legends of the early Dutch settlers, so while the traditional practice may have died out, Irving's St. Nicholas may have been a revival of that dormant Dutch strand of folklore. In his 1812 revisions to A History of New York , Irving inserted
27590-524: The tradition appears to date back at least as far as the early 19th century. Zwarte Piet's colourful dress is based on 16th-century noble attire, with a ruff ( lace collar) and a feathered cap. He is typically depicted carrying a bag which contains candy for the children, which he tosses around, a tradition supposedly originating in the story of Saint Nicholas saving three young girls from prostitution by tossing golden coins through their window at night to pay their dowries . Traditionally, he would also carry
27768-452: The tradition. In 2011, the government of Gerrit Schotte threatened to withdraw the grant for the Dutch tradition after the Curaçaoan activist Quinsy Gario was arrested, when he protested in Dordrecht against the use of Zwarte Piet. Since 2020, the Sinterklaas feast is no longer nationally celebrated in Curaçao and has been replaced by Children's Day on 20 November. Dutch-style Sinterklaas events were also organised in Suriname . In 1970
27946-466: The usage of the collective term. The term has been applied at times to urban and coastal populations of the Maghreb , the term in these regions nowadays is rather used to denote the Arab-Berber populations (occasionally somewhat mixed-race) living in Western Sahara , and Hassaniya -speaking populations, mainly in Mauritania , Western Sahara , and Northwestern Mali . In 711 the Islamic Arabs and Moors of Berber descent in northern Africa crossed
28124-471: The use of Arabic . In reaction, there was a Morisco uprising in the Alpujarras from 1568 to 1571. In the years from 1609 to 1614, the government expelled Moriscos. The historian Henri Lapeyre estimated that this affected 300,000 out of an estimated total of 8 million inhabitants. Some Muslims converted to Christianity and remained permanently in Iberia. This is indicated by a "high mean proportion of ancestry from North African (10.6%)" that "attests to
28302-416: The water in his book. Schenkman introduced the song Zie ginds komt de stoomboot ("Look over yonder, the steamboat is arriving"), which is still popular in the Netherlands. In Schenkman's version, the medieval figures of the mock devil, which later changed to Oriental or Moorish helpers, was portrayed for the first time as black African and called Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). During the German occupation of
28480-484: The western Indian coastal state of Goa —are commonly referred as Moir ( Konkani : मैर ) by Goan Catholics and Hindus . Moir is derived from the Portuguese word mouro ("Moor"). In the late 7th and early 8th centuries CE, the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate , established after the death of Muhammad, underwent a period of rapid growth. In 647 CE, 40,000 Arabs forced the Byzantine governor of northern Africa to submit and pay tribute, but failed to permanently occupy
28658-455: The wheat had to be weighed accurately and delivered to the emperor. Only when Nicholas promised them that they would not suffer any loss for their consideration did the sailors agree. When they arrived later in the capital, they made a surprising find: the weight of the load had not changed, although the wheat removed in Myra was enough for two full years and could even be used for sowing. It has long been traditionally assumed that Saint Nicholas
28836-405: The winter holiday season. The evening is called Sinterklaasavond ("Sinterklaas evening") or Pakjesavond ("gifts evening", or literally "packages evening"). On the evening of 5 December, parents, family, friends or acquaintances pretend to act on behalf of "Sinterklaas", or his helpers, and fool the children into thinking that "Sinterklaas" has really given them presents. This may be done through
29014-409: Was 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) in height and had a broken nose, which had partially healed, revealing that the injury had been suffered ante mortem . The broken nose appeared to conform with hagiographical reports that Saint Nicholas had been beaten and tortured during the Diocletianic Persecution . The facial reconstruction was produced by Caroline Wilkinson at the University of Manchester and
29192-448: Was also adopted. Initially, the Arabs required only vassalage from the local inhabitants rather than assimilation, a process which took a considerable time. The groups that inhabited the Maghreb following this process became known collectively as Moors. Although a Kharijite rebellion would later push out Umayyad rule from the western Maghreb and form temporarily independent Arab, Berber and Persian dynasties, that effort failed to dislodge
29370-436: Was also used as a nickname; for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his dark complexion. In Portugal, mouro (feminine, moura ) may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura , where "Moor" implies "alien" and "non-Christian". These beings were siren-like fairies with golden or reddish hair and a fair face. They were believed to have magical properties. From this root,
29548-475: Was common for early Christian saints , and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the folklore of Santa Claus (" Saint Nick ") through Sinterklaas . Little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas. The earliest accounts of his life were written centuries after his death and probably contain legendary elaborations. He is said to have been born in the Anatolian seaport of Patara , Lycia , in Asia Minor to wealthy Christian parents. In one of
29726-412: Was kept in the San Nicola in Carcere in Rome. This church, whose name means "Saint Nicholas in Chains", was built on the site of a former municipal prison. Stories quickly developed about Nicholas himself having been held in that prison. Mothers would come to the church to pray to Saint Nicholas for their jailed sons to be released and repentant criminals would place votive offerings in the church. As
29904-489: Was much interest in blondes in al-Andalus amongst the rulers and regular Muslims: All the Caliphs of the Banu Marwan (God have mercy on their souls!), and especially the sons of al-Nasir , were without variation or exception disposed by nature to prefer blondes. I have myself seen them, and known others who had seen their forebears, from the days of al-Nasir's reign down to the present day; every one of them has been fair-haired, taking after their mothers, so that this has become
30082-404: Was not until 902 that almost the entire island was in the control of the Aghlabids , from their capital Kairouan ( Tunisia ), with the exception of some minor strongholds in the rugged interior. During that period some parts of southern Italy fell under Muslim control, most notably the port city of Bari , which formed the Emirate of Bari from 847 to 871. In 909, the Aghlabids was replaced by
30260-490: Was of Arab-Berber lineage, managed to evade the Abbasids and flee to the Maghreb and then Iberia, where he founded the Emirate of Córdoba and the Andalusian branch of the Umayyad dynasty. The Moors ruled northern Africa and Al-Andalus for several centuries thereafter. Ibn Hazm , the polymath, mentions that many of the Caliphs in the Umayyad Caliphate and the Caliphate of Córdoba were blond and had light eyes. Ibn Hazm mentions that he preferred blondes, and notes that there
30438-427: Was on display for veneration at Christ the Savior Cathedral before being taken to Saint Petersburg in mid-June prior to returning to Bari. More than a million people lined up in Moscow for a momentary glimpse of the gilded ark holding one of the saint's ribs. The sailors from Bari took only the main bones of Nicholas's skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the grave. The city of Venice had interest in obtaining
30616-423: Was originally buried in his home town of Myra, where his relics are later known to have been kept, but some recent archaeological evidence indicates that Saint Nicholas may have originally been entombed in a rock-cut church located at the highest point on the small Turkish island of Gemile , only twenty miles away from his birthplace of Patara. Nicholas's name is painted on part of the ruined building. In antiquity,
30794-439: Was originally entombed is at the western end of the great processional way. In the mid-7th century, Gemile was vulnerable to attack by Arab fleets, so Nicholas's remains appear to have been moved from the island to the city of Myra, where Nicholas had served as bishop for most of his life. Myra is located roughly 40 km (25 mi) east of Gemile and its location further inland made it safer from seafaring Arab forces. It
30972-402: Was reported to have found a temple below the modern church, with excavation work to be done that will allow researchers to determine whether it still holds Nicholas's body. After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Byzantine Empire temporarily lost control over most of Asia Minor to the invading Seljuk Turks , and so Greek Christians of Myra became subjects of the Turks. At the same time
31150-409: Was seen as "The Lord of the Sea", often described by modern Greek scholars as a kind of Christianized version of Poseidon . In modern Greece, he is still easily among the most recognizable saints and 6 December finds many cities celebrating their patron saint. He is also the patron saint of all of Greece and particularly of the Hellenic Navy . In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Saint Nicholas's memory
31328-432: Was shown on a BBC2 TV program The Real Face of Santa . In 2014, the Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University produced an updated reconstruction of Saint Nicholas's face. In 2017, two researchers from Oxford University , Professor Tom Higham and Doctor Georges Kazan, radiocarbon dated a fragment of a pelvis claimed to belong to Saint Nicholas. The fragment originally came from a church in Lyon, France and, at
31506-413: Was split between three Arab emirs, and the Christian population in many parts of the island rose up against the ruling Muslims. One year later, Messina fell, and in 1072 Palermo was taken by the Normans. The loss of the cities, each with a splendid harbor, dealt a severe blow to Muslim power on the island. Eventually all of Sicily was taken. In 1091, Noto in the southern tip of Sicily and the island of Malta,
31684-442: Was the bishop of the city of Myra , also in Lycia. Recognizing his nephew's calling, Nicholas's uncle ordained him as a priest. After his parents died from an epidemic, Nicholas is said to have distributed their wealth to the poor. In his most famous exploit, which is first attested in Michael the Archimandrite's Life of Saint Nicholas , Nicholas heard of a devout man who had once been wealthy but had lost all of his money due to
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