Tag: saint nicholas
Santa’s Dark Side
Why is this kid cowering in fear you ask…? Because Samichlaus is comin’ to town, that’s why. When Saint Nicholas visits schools in Switzerland fear is in the air. It’s not old Saint Nick that has them worried–it’s his helper “Black Pete”. If the kids have been good, Saint Nicholas lets them reach into his bag and take a tangerine, nuts, gingerbread, or some other treat. If they’ve been bad, that’s when Black Pete steps forward. He gathers up the bad children and puts them in a bag (sometimes the very one that Samichlaus had his treats in), then takes them away to work in the forest until next year. One year of hard labour. That’s what naughty kids get. And rumour is, the work has something to do with coal…hence “black” Pete. Naughty children in Switzerland don’t get a lump of coal in their stocking. They have to mine it. The next time your kids are complaining about their Christmas presents, click on this link and show them what they could have got. Merry Christmas...
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