Jan Steen: St. Nicholas Feast (1663); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.


The day after tomorrow most Dutch celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas. This painting by Jan Steen shows that this festival on the evening of December 5th is a centuries-old tradition in the Netherlands. St. Nicholas (or Sinterklaas, as the Dutch say) is basically a children’s feast: they get presents from St. Nicholas, who rides the rooftops on his horse and brings gifts through the chimney. Children sing carols and leave their shoes empty before the fireplace, to see them filled with presents from the Saint when they return. That is, if they have been obedient; naughty children will find nothing or a birch rod in their shoe.
The figure of Sinterklaas is based on bishop Nicholas of Myra, a city in Asia Minor, who lived around the turn of the fourth century. He was known for his charity and became the patron saint of sailors and children. The fact that the Northern Netherlands converted to Protestantism in the late 16th century did not keep people from celebrating this typically Catholic feast. In North America, Dutch colonists reinvented their tradition away from home, which eventually led to the appearance of another children’s friend: Santa Claus.
Jan Steen is, of course, a brilliant storyteller and he is clearly in his element with this subject. He depicts scenes which are still familiar to us: the children gazing and pointing at the chimney in awe, the little girl who is so content with her doll and the father who watches the whole scene with delight. The most touching element is the crying boy, who must have behaved badly and therefore didn’t get a present from Sinterklaas in his shoe. His little brother and sister poke fun at him, but the old woman in the back beckons: she has a present for the naughty boy after all, hidden behind the curtain.

Comments