Costumes of St. Nicholas - a wizard raising children
Costumes
for the New Year are increasingly of interest not only to
representatives of the event industry, but also to private clients who want to
maximize the magic time - childhood, because a child remains a child only as
long as he believes in a fairy tale and fairy-tale characters. The winter
season of celebrations begins on December 19 - St. Nicholas Day.
The story of the appearance of the
holiday and the character
A few centuries ago, Christmas was
more often celebrated in families, and children were congratulated on this
particular holiday, and not on the New Year. The costume of St. Nicholas, in the form as we see it now, did not
yet exist, but there were separate attributes - clothes resembling the
appearance of a priest, and a staff. According to legend, St. Nicholas of Myra,
who lived during the Roman Empire, became the prototype. He remained in the
memory of people for his kindness, generosity, and also that he always came to
the aid of those in need. On December 6, in the 4th century (and the year is
not important here), according to the old style, he died, and since then it has
been customary to celebrate the feast of "Winter Nicholas" on this
day. The new style is December 19th.
Holiday Legend
The
costume of St. Nicholas is often worn by cultural workers - groups of
artists who, on this day or on the eve, show a performance where the best
qualities of a clergyman are revealed and an interesting story is illustrated.
A gray-haired old man
with a long beard helped a poor man with his daughters. Since there was no
money to buy the dowry for the children, the girls could fall into slavery.
Their father asked the higher powers for help, and Saint Nicholas once visited
the house, looked out the window at a small candle, and the eldest daughter
found a rich groom who took her in marriage without a dowry. On the second
night, the wizard also looked out the window, and the next day the middle
daughter found a treasure, after which she successfully married. On the third
night, Saint Nicholas did not see the light in the house, and decided to look
through the smoker. At this time, the youngest daughter was hanging clean socks
on a rope by the hearth of the fireplace, and several gold coins, issued from
the wizard's hands, fell into them. And after a while, the youngest married
successfully and was happy.
How was the image formed?
The image of the Wonderworker,
familiar to our generation, reminds Santa Claus only with certain elements of
his image:
· long gray
beard;
·
a hat;
· a staff
(although this element is not always used by the character).
If an adult New Year's costume of Santa Claus
or Santa Claus is often presented in a red fur coat, and even a short one, with
a belt and a cap, then Saint Nicholas
is a completely different costume: it is of light shades with characteristic
silver or gold embroidery. Often the character is dressed in a long,
snow-white, straight-cut silk shirt or robe, which resembles a robe, and
additionally its frame is decorated with blue. In many ways, the image is
similar to the priest during the festive service in the temple.
In some
garments, a wide, long, straight-sleeved shirt is decorated with a quilted
cuff, which also depicts Christian elements and symbols. They are repeated on
the belt, which is made of brocade with lurex, which adds shine and beauty to
it. Completing the look and warming (do not forget that snow often falls on
December 19 and temperatures are below zero) an exquisite vest made of the same
brocade, which uses a golden curly ribbon to trim such elements:
· neck;
·
sides;
·
hem;
· armhole
sleeves.
The entire surplice is decorated with
a belt, where the priority designs are monograms and crosses.
Red or blue?
Since the costume of St. Nicholas is largely tied precisely to religious
motives, then traditionally, in addition to the white color of the shirt as a
symbol of purity, vests and surplice of 2 shades are used:
· blue;
· red.
These colors in the attire of
clergymen are the main ones for decoration during festive services. Plus, in
both the first and second versions, the embroidery is done in golden and silver
shades, which emphasizes the noble character of the character.
Headdress
It is not a hat, a cap, or a crown
that adorns the head, but a miter. This is the traditional religious head
decoration. A hat in a suit of
small height, made of dense jacquard, which shimmers under the influence of
light rays, and its lining is made of light satin. The accessory is crowned
with an embroidered cross as a symbol of faith. To complete the look, a golden
border in the form of a patch is used, which visually forms a slightly raised
miter shape.
Hero's shoes and accessories
The character
appears in winter boots, and as a rule, special attention is not paid to the
shoes. But the hands are closed. And if you want to buy a St. Nicholas costume, take a closer look at the models that
additionally include snow-white gloves. We emphasize that this is a tradition
from Catholicism: the hands of the Pope are always crowned with such a
perfectly clean accessory.
Many New Year's costumes for male characters
have a staff. One of the best Ukrainian manufacturers
offers options with a staff with a very interesting, but understandable finish.
This is a golden monogram, which at the same time resembles a ram's horn, both
a symbol of abundance and a "fantastic month" - a symbol of
rejuvenation. At the same time, on the very surface of the monograms there are
individual curls that indicate the cyclical nature of life and partially means
the eternity of life, however, spiritual and with the right behavior.
What is Saint Nicholas doing?
The sale of carnival costumes has gone far
ahead, offering clothing for characters, with which they can transform into
wizards, not only on the eve of January 1. It is this mythical image that acts
as a kind of motivator for children. Parents often say: "If you misbehave,
then instead of a gift for December 19, you will get a willow or a small coal
under the pillow, and other children will get sweets and toys." Children
try to study well, not indulge, help adults in order to get their well-deserved
prize under the pillow.
If you decide
to fully organize a fabulous morning for your child, then you should buy a St. Nicholas costume and ask a
friend to change into it, so that when the kid wakes up, he sees the wizard and
forever remembers that he came to him. Of course, you can reincarnate into him
yourself, but then you need to think about how to explain your absence to the
child. Another option is to order services from a professional event agency, or
to rent a carnival costume, but it
is still better when these are clothes, especially for such a respected wizard,
yours or loved ones.
Despite the
fact that often the wizard
does not personally appear in front of the child, he comes to visit at
matinees, lights the main trees of kindergartens, schools, cities and even the
country with a wave of his magic staff. The elder can be seen in his
residences, which are set in parks and squares. Children come to visit to do
something (or even everything) and list:
· recite
poetry;
·
sometimes even talk about what exactly they behaved
badly;
·
take a picture;
· receive a
memorable gift.
Saint Nicholas is a magician who motivates children to behave as best they can. And even as they get older, many are still looking for something sweet or cute under the pillow. And if you want to perform in themed performances or congratulate other children in this way, then the catalog will allow you to choose clothes of different styles, sizes, made of high-quality fabrics and with hand-made finishing.
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