(Thunderstorm approaching Petra; photo: Jeroen Koster)
According
to Wikipedia the Wild Hunt
“is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe.
The fundamentals in all instances is the same: a phantasmal, spectral group of
huntsmen with the accoutrements
of hunting with horses and hounds in mad pursuit, cross the skies or along the
ground, or just above it.”, announcing a thunderstorm and mostly taking place
in mid–winter.
People
still believing in this old legend must have been pretty happy these last few days
seeing plenty of the Wild Hunt here on the island. For days heavy thunderstorms
passed and each day we could enjoy (or quiver) while seeing bright lightshows as
lightning illuminated the clouds like light bulbs, or we could wonder about the
freakish lightning that was sent straight into the ground or the sea.
Was it
Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus that kept the rain away for a few hours during
the Christmas market which was held in the schoolyard in Molyvos on Sunday
December 2? Did they also delay the Wild Hunt, in order that the villagers could get in the
mood for Christmas? Or was it both Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus — who are
believed to be the same person (see: Saint Nicholas)?
In German
mythology the leader of the troop of hunters who chased along the thundering
sky was the old German god Wodan, but there are also people who believe that it
was Saint Nicholas who lead this group of men.
Some people
believe that there are connections between the rituals around Wodan and Saint
Nicolas celebrated of on December 6th by the Dutch. They both ride a
grey horse, Wodan through the sky, Saint Nicholas over the roofs; Wodan commanded
an army of black soldiers, while Saint Nicholas is helped by black servants;
Wodan used black ravens to spy for him, Saint Nicholas has his servants spy on
the children for him; Wodan had an upbringing role in reprimanding people who
were not living according to gods laws and Saint Nicholas puts naughty children
in a sack. These and other similarities lead people to believe that a few of
these old German stories about Wodan were the origins of some of the Dutch
rituals around the Dutch Saint Nicholas celebration.
Here in
Greece there are no similarities between Wodan and Saint Nicholas. December 6th
in Greece is the name day for all people named after Saint Nicholas (Agios
Nikolaos), the patron saint of the seafarers. That is why there are thousands
of Saint Nicholas churches to be found in Greece, most of them close to the
sea. There is a Saint Nicholas church in Mytilini, close to the old harbour, an
ancient mosque rebuilt in 1912 as a church. Another Saint Nicholas church on
the island is the very old basilica in Petra, hidden under a huge plane tree,
not far from the rock that is home to the famous Maria Glykofiloussa Church. In
this ancient church you will find very old frescoes of a series of saints,
amongst them of course Saint Nicholas. Some of the wall paintings are 3 layers
thick, the eldest dating as far back as the 16th century. Beautiful
woodcarving and a bishop’s throne 500 years old, complete the faded glory of
this old basilica.
Certainly
there will be more Saint Nicholas churches on the island; there are still
plenty of small ports where fishing boats keep on coming in and out and they all
need to be able to burn a candle for a safe journey. On December 6th
all those churches will be lit with extra candles because all men called Nikos
will celebrate their name day.
So Saint
Nicholas exists in Greece. And it is generally believed that the Saint Nicholas
so celebrated in Holland originally was the Greek bishop of Myra. This bishop
was also buried in this area (near Demre, Turkey). Italian merchants believed
in all the miracles Saint Nicholas did and when the muslims threatened to take
over the region of Myra, they exhumed the remains of Saint Nicholas and brought
them to Bari in Italy, where they built a basilica, and where his remains still
rest.
I think
that in Turkey they have no Saint Nicholas celebration, nor are people named
after this saint. However, the Turkish government has more than once asked
Italy to return the remains of Saint Nicholas: they claim that they belong to
the Turkish heritage.
Maybe
secretly Saint Nicholas is also for them a patron saint for seafarers. For days
now, here on Lesvos as well as at the other side of the sea, intensive storms have
raced over the area, causing havoc. The first winds came from the south,
shaking the olive trees, causing garden furniture to fly through the air, walls
to crumble and streets to flood. For two days there have been long, strong
rollers from the west, making some coasts of Lesvos look like Hawaii with huge
waves tumbling over the streets. It will be no paradise these days on the sea.
May Saint Nicholas keep all seafarers safe.
(With thanks
to Mary Staples)
@ Smitaki
2012
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