Nicholas of Myra was one of the most popular late medieval saints in
German-speaking regions, not merely in what is now the Netherlands.
Judging from trends in naming boys, church dedications etc., he was very
popular in 14th- and 15th-century German regions. I can't speak for other
regions of Europe and it's been a long time since I read Charles Jones's
wonderful book, but I think he assesses the degree of popularity of the
cult in various regions. (Keep in mind that the names derived from
St. Nicholas have many variants: Klaus and Nixon are only two that I
recall from Jones's long list.)
That doesn't necessarily militate against the suggestion that the
present-day way of celebrating Nicholas's day in the Netherlands owes
something to 19th-century medievalism; certainly the American Santa Claus
was such an invention.
When I was a student in Marburg, Germany, in 1971, on St. Nicholas eve, I
encountered a Sankt Nikolaus, dressed in a bishop's vestments, with a
miter on his head, making rounds (presumably to visit children of friends
or relatives). So the episcopal Nikolaus and the December 6 date (as
I understand it, key elements in the Dutch Sinterclaas approach) were
alive and well at that point in a German university town. Perhaps others
on the list can tell us whether the practice can still be found in Germany
today.
Dennis Martin
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