Hi All,

So this will be our first Christmas in CH and I was wondering what the story was with SamiKlaus and his mate? I kinda got the idea that SamiKlaus is like Father Christmas and the other guy is for the kids who have been bad. Have also been told that they come in early Dec?

So if you have the full story on these two characters please share lol!

Also if anyone can recommend a good spot to go and seem them in and around Bremgarten/Baden then I would be very grateful.

Thanks
Ali

Schmutzli

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Schmutzl...ml?cid=7082046

Previous threads:

Who is this scary guy next to Santa?

Who is christkindly

Who is Black Peter?

Christmas customs for children

St. Nicholas day - what's the tradition?

St. Nikolaus Day Oddities: Care to Share?

We Dutch people have Sinterklaas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Which is actually a hard thing to explain to foreighners, a white bearded catholic white guy with only black slaves who will come and get you when you have been a bad boy/girl

I don't know if your "SamiKlaus" is the same? Sinterklaas is on the 5th of December.

"Sinterklaas is the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus. It is often claimed that during the American war of Independance 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."


* but we gave it away...

Ali, I have to say I don't know how to answer that without maybe shattering your childhood dreams...

To see them you can pay for them to come to your home.

Schmutzli / Knecht Ruprecht aren't black. They are dirty (carrying a bag of ashes).

Thanks for the links. I did a search but it came up blank, must have been spelling it wrong.

Shatter away, I am to old to still have childhood dreams lol

yep, one version says they are dirty from going down people's chimneys.

Ever wondered how Santa manages to never get soot on his face despite delivering all those presents?

The Dutch Schmutzli/Knecht Ruprecht is black however.
It is also called "Black Pete" instead.

Because he is the superhero.

Also, he rides on his white horse over the roofs of the houses. (at least, in Holland he does)

Because Schmutzli goes first and sweeps it for him. It's one of the key perks of the job.

Zürich has a Samichlaus parade. Maybe Baden has something similar?

So far all this is all that appears on the official Baden website.
http://www.kulturagenda.baden.ch/xml...922&cID=604109

But for sure there will be more information on the website or in the local papers.

I still prefer the Dutch way where Sinterclaas has lots of happy helpers in Moorish clothes and blackened faces...

Sorry, but that's something entirely different: Knecht Ruprecht is the same as Schmutzli: A demon.
The black petes are Moors - the dark skinned Arabs that used to rule over Spain. Cause in the maritime traditions of the Netherlands does Santa come with a sailing ship from Spain with a happy crew of little Moors...

I prefer "mom and dad give you presents because they love you"...don't know why people had to invent who brings presents...when I was a kid I thought grown ups where silly to make kids try to believe someone other then parents and relatives put the presents under the tree...tsk tsk..I was not a normal child..

But Santa Klaus and Schmutzli are in action on 6th December, but not on Christmas. Santa Clauses have a book with them in which they can read what mischief the children have done over the year, and so will give positive advice to improve ! Christmas Eve is the day of the Christ-Kind, an angel-like small girl, who silently brings round the presents.

In most towns there is a local club who will arrange visits in your home. Schmutzli can be scary ...He has a twig to slap you if you were naughty ( obviously he doesn't use it) .... but Saemi Chlaus is very respectful to the kids. We phone to arrange, then put 25 franks in an envelope in the mailbox, (donation to the sports club - for as many kids as you want, bring your neighbors) together with a bag of nuts and mandarines and ..... importantly..., a piece of paper with the child's name and two or three things they were good at and something that could do with improvement. Saemi puts the list inside his big book before he knocks loudly on the door causing everyone to scream .... and when hes inside and settled he reads from it. If playing guitar well is on the list Saemi asks for a demonstration, if keeping room tidy is an issue he might ask for a look. (!) All in all it's a very impressive show and keeps the kids fascinated and totally in awe.

The visits are on or near 6 Dec (sometimes they have to spread the workload).

Christmas itself; in our house, Santa Claus comes overnight on 24th leaving presents to be found on 25th, and the "christkindli" also comes on 24th at a random time and either leaves a gift under the tree or at the front door depending what we can get away with (harder to pull off as kids get older). So too many presents, but traditions and excitement for kids maintained.

6th Dec was new for me .. and I love it. Embrace Saemi Chlaus


Lisa

Please don't call him Santa Klaus. He is Sankt Nikolaus (= Saint Nicholas). Santa Claus is a fat old guy with a drinker's nose, living at the North Pole, where he makes hundreds of millions of toys per year, wearing funny red clothes, driving a totally insane vehicle with even more insane means of propulsion, intruding through chimneys and doing other weird things.

The look of Santa Claus mainly was an invention of Thomas Nast, 1840 - 1902, a German-born caricaturist and cartoonist who immigrated to the USA in 1849. Most of the rest is based on an American poem, anonymously published in 1823, except the propulsion unit with the red bulbous protrusion, which was added to the equipment in 1939.

On the other hand, St. Nikolaus, originally Agios Nikolaos of Myra, was a bishop in what is now Southern Turkey. He is said to have died on December 6, 343, hence St. Nicholas Day on December 6, and hence the bishop outfit still found in most catholic communities in Central Europe.

Now please don't ask me about the details concerning Christchindli's look, outfit and activities. It's almost as eccentric as Santa Claus.

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