Our Holiday Traditions, Vol. 1 – Saint Nicolas

Personal traditions can be a balm to the soul in a hectic world. Here at The Attic on Eighth, we hail from all over the globe and so we head into the holiday season with a variety of traditions influencing our content. In this series inspired by and dedicated to our founding Lifestyle Editor, Lee Clark, we hope to add to the joyous community spirit of the season and share holiday traditions that are dear to our hearts. Kicking off the series, Editor-in-Chief Olivia Gündüz-Willemin delves into the new life that she’s created for herself and talks all things Saint Nicholas Day, concentrating on her chosen family’s Swiss traditions.

Fribourg the day of the Saint Nicolas parade, 2017. Photo by Olivia Gündüz-Willemin.

“There’s an agency in both creating your own traditions and an excitement in seeing favorite activities become traditions. ”

As I’ve gotten older and moved across the world, establishing my own traditions is something that has become quite meaningful to me. I’m a creature of habit, and as someone who has long suffered from anxiety, there is something deeply reassuring in the reliability of doing the same things over again in new but meaningful ways. Whether it’s making the same mulled wine for Halloween or hosting a gingerbread pancake brunch for your friends in early December, there’s something beautiful in knowing that no matter how hectic the world may be, you can find yourself gathered and doing the same things at the same time of year, with the same beloved people, year in and year out. 

This love of celebrating tradition has become all the more important to me during the holiday season, as I’ve forged my own path and connected more to my adopted homeland but also established my own found family. There’s an agency in both creating your own traditions and an excitement in seeing favorite activities become traditions. 

Perhaps ironically given my non-religious background, my favorite new holiday tradition has been participating in the celebration of Saint Nicolas in the Swiss city of Fribourg. 

Saint Nicholas probably isn’t a stranger to any of you. Originally a fourth century bishop of Myra – an ancient Greek city that stood in what is now modern day Turkey – Saint Nicholas was known and celebrated for his generosity, his travels, and his protection of children. He came to be hailed as a saint, and over time, popular mythology morphed him into the personnage we now commonly know as Santa Claus.

Saint Nicholas is still celebrated in his own right, with many cities (and people) embracing him as their patron saint and many cultures celebrating Saint Nicholas Day – either on the 5th or 6th of December in Western Christianity or on December 19th in Eastern Christianity. Many traditions exist around this day – small presents are often associated with it, recognizing Saint Nicholas’s reputation for secretly giving gifts, with tokens being placed under pillows or in shoes overnight. Gingerbread is often associated with the day, and in Switzerland, you find breads in the shape of the character at this time of year. I’m not at all religious, but I find great peace and beauty in the way one figure can bring people together in celebration all across the globe in a variety of ways. 

The Saint Nicolas Christmas market, Fribourg 2017. Photo by Olivia Gündüz-Willemin.

Following the path of the Saint Nicolas parade, 2017. Photo by Olivia Gündüz-Willemin.

The city of Fribourg in Switzerland has Saint Nicolas as their patron saint, and the celebration of Saint Nicholas Day has become one of the city’s most emblematic events. A Christmas market spreads across the city, selling local crafts and food, and the holiday culminates in a parade. The city’s oldest school, the Collège Saint Michel, picks a student to play Saint Nicolas every year, and on the first Saturday of December, he parades through the city on his donkey, waving through the crowd as his companions hand out sweets to the city’s children. The parade makes its way to the city’s cathedral – dedicated to the saint – where Saint Nicolas gives a speech to the city from one of the cathedral’s balconies. The speech is a local favorite as he highlights – and satirizes – local events of the past year.

The event is also a favorite in my family as my in-laws both grew up in Fribourg and my husband’s grandparents host a family party for Saint Nicolas every year. It’s the one event of the year where everyone gets together and it was the first family event I attended when I first began dating my husband. Whether we attend the parade or not, going to Fribourg every December has become something I greatly look forward to. Christmas itself can sometimes feel too alienating to me, but Saint Nicolas somehow feels more inclusive with its market, its gingerbread, its company, and the cheerful little traditions that go along with it. I even found myself tying a bow around a clementine and sneaking out in the middle of the night to drop it and a loaf of gingerbread in my husband’s boots this year. 

Fribourg the night of Saint Nicolas, 2017. Photo by Olivia Gündüz-Willemin.

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Olivia Gündüz-Willemin is Editor-in-Chief of The Attic on Eighth. She is dedicated to reading her way through the world and trying to stay as calm as possible.