Have yourself amerry

Have yourself amerry scary littleChristmas!Nativity plays are replaced with reenactmentsabout cannibalism in thiseastern French city, that’s just an hourand a half from Paris by train says AnnaRichards as she traces the history of theunusual Christmas event.Krampus, Hans Trapp, Zwarte Piet — FatherChristmas (or St Nicolas, as he was originallyknown) has many nemeses across Europe.The Father Christmas we know today, rotundyet still mysteriously capable of sliding downthe chimney with much more elegance thanBridget Jones on a fireman’s pole, jolly anddressed in red, is a modern creation. If youdon’t consider it Christmas until the illuminatedCoca-Cola float crosses your TV screen,you’re not wrong. Father Christmas as we knowhim was arguably the cleverest marketingcampaign in history, created by Coca-Cola.His predecessor was St Nicolas, and St NicolasDay, December 6th, is celebrated with morezeal than Christmas in many parts of Europe,including Lorraine, France.Here, St Nick’s adversary doesn’t have horns,red eyes and fangs like Austria’s Krampus.He is vagabond-like, dressed in grubby ragsand a hooded cape, with dirt smeared acrosshis face. If bad children are lucky, they mightreceive everything they need to make a wintersoup: turnips or potatoes. If they’ve been reallybad, they’d better watch out for his enormouswhip, lest Père Fouettard (Father Flog) live upto his name.One of the biggest St Nicolas Daycelebrations is held in Nancy, and the storyof St Nicolas is projected onto the handsomebuildings of Place Stanislas, Nancy’s mainsquare. It’s a bit like a Halloween slasher set toslightly eerie choral singing, and could easilyconfuse first-timers. Who is the butcher, andwhy is he dismembering, salting and curingthree children into lardon-like chunks?Nancy’s cannibal butcher and Père Fouettardare one and the same, but to find out how thetwo became intertwined requires retracing theregion’s entire history.St Nicolas Day in Nancy, Place Stansislas © Pierre Defontaine ARTGEOne of the most famous Christian saints, StNicolas was said to have been a bishop, bornin Turkey in the 3rd century CE. There arecountless legends about his life, but one ofthe most famous involves three Constantinegenerals falsely accused of inciting rebellion.The soldiers had been sentenced to death,until St Nicholas appeared and revealed thatthe juror had been bribed.In 1087, Italian merchants raided his tomb inMyra, Turkiye, and took his remains to Bari,Italy. St Nicholas was the saint of sailors,merchants, children and the unmarried,among many others, and his body was asource of great interest for many. Amongthem was a lord of Lorraine, who during thefirst crusade, stole St Nicolas’ severed fingertipfrom its new home in Bari, brought it backto his homeland and built a church aroundit in St-Nicolas-de-Port, 12 km from Nancy.In the 11th century, Nancy was still a swamp.It’s hard to believe now, the gold gilding andmix of Baroque, rococo and Art Nouveauarchitecture is certainly more Princess Fiona’sancestral home than Shrek’s.34 | The Good Life France Aerial view of Place Stanislas in December © Thuria ARTGEThe Good Life France | 35