The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas

by William J. Bennett

SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS AGO, Spanish kings controlled the Netherlands. The Spanish court sent governors to look after Dutch ports and bishops to look after Dutch souls. From time to time, a Spanish bishop would appear in Holland and make himself known by distributing gifts to children and the needy. That is why Dutch children can tell you with assuredness all about Sinterklaas, as they call Saint Nicholas. Sinterklaas lives in Spain and visits the Netherlands once a year dressed in a bishop’s red finery. During much of the Middle Ages, southern Spain was ruled by Arabic-speaking Muslims from North Africa known as Moors. The Spaniards eventually defeated the Moors, so it seemed only natural that Sinterklaas should have at his side a Moorish servant named Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter. According to Dutch lore, Sinterklaas spends most of the year in Spain, keeping track of who’s been good and who’s been bad in a big red ledger. Every November, with Black Peter’s help, he packs up his presents for all the children who have made his good list and sets sail for the Netherlands. Upon his arrival, the white-bearded saint travels from town to town, checking up on children to see if they are behaving. At night, he flies over rooftops on a great white horse, listening at the chimneys to confirm his suspicions. Before going to bed on Saint Nicholas’s Eve, Dutch children set out their shoes in hopes of gifts. Black Peter has the job of slipping down chimneys to leave presents and collect a...