To our surprise, Fribourg hosted its own little Christmas Market! There were many stands selling various items such as; candy, baked goods, meat, costumes, balloons, crafts, hats, etc. They were even selling the hot wine (vin chaud) here. However, Mike and I were more interested in something hot and ended up with coffee. We walked all around the area, appreciating the festivities.
At one point, we visited a marvelous smelling meat booth that was selling spare ribs, and brats that were either beef, veal, pork or homemade. I got the "homemade" option and it was fabulous!
We ran into a friend who explained a little more of what was going on around the town…She described that is was a celebration of St. Nicholas (or modern day Santa Claus), and that he was coming to the town. However, there were two of them, one good and one bad. The good one wears a red suit and hands out fruit to all of the good kids, and the bad one wears a black suit and is rumored to punish the bad kids. When night falls, St. Nicholas (the good one) then rides through the town on a donkey leading a procession to the Cathedral. He then gets on a platform and does a speech reviewing the past year of Fribourg, following his remarks there is a big feast.
I looked more into this celebration and found out that St Nicholas Day dates back to an ancient custom celebrated in Fribourg in the 18th century. Saint Nicholas is Fribourg's patron saint who performed a miracle at this time. "...Legend has it that St. Nicholas brought three children back to life after they had been cut up by a butcher and put in the salting tub. This story, which is depicted on the cathedral portico in Fribourg, has established St. Nicholas as the tutelary saint of children, especially boys, while St. Catherine is the guardian angel for girls. St. Catherine's Day, November 25, used to be celebrated in similar fashion in Fribourg."
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| You could pay 5 CHF to take a picture with St Nicholas, I just snapped a quick one of him myself! |
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