St. Nicholas Festivals

Examples from around the world

There are different kinds of festivals that celebrate St. Nicholas in different places.

Postcard, Monica Maas — Sinterklaas Arrives
Postcard: Monica Maas, the Netherlands
*St Nicholas Center Collection*

St Nicholas with crowd — St Nicholas in Canterbury Cathedral, England
St Nicholas Festival, *St Nicholas Society,* Photo: Robert Berry, Outlook

In November many Dutch cities and villages hold parades marking St. Nicholas' arrival for the season. Amsterdam is a well-known example of a Sinterklaas' arrival parade.

St. Nicholas' Eve and/or Day are observed in various ways, often smaller and family centered.

Each year in May, Bari, Italy, hosts a huge religious folk festival to commemorate the bringing of St. Nicholas' remains to Bari from Myra. This important festival of the Translation of the Relics is one-of-a-kind.

St. Nicholas is patron of many things and places. Nowhere is he more beloved than in the Lorraine region of France, where St.-Nicolas-de-Port has a splendid patronal festival.

Sinterklaas Official Entry, the Netherlands
MID-NOVEMBER, Saturday the 12th, 2022, lin Hellevoetsluis

Sinterklaas Entry ~ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
MID-NOVEMBER, Sunday the 13th in 2022

St. Nicholas Day ~ DECEMBER 6TH
Or December 19 if following the Julian Calendar

Festival of the Translation of the Relics ~ Bari, Italy
MAY 7, 8, and 9

Patronal Festival of Saint Nicolas ~ Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, France
WHIT MONDAY (the Monday after Pentecost)

December Festival in Saint-Nicolas-de-Port

In another section

Saintly and Generous: Saint Nicholas and the Low Countries
How Sinterklaas traditions developed