First there is a rumble at the door, then a man walks in: he still smells of the cold air from outside, is wrapped in a red cloak, has a miter on his head, has a long beard and is holding the golden crosier in his hand. Nicholas is here. One of them is Christian Gretz, he has been visiting children and adults for nine years and brings them joy before Christmas. In the corona pandemic, he usually stays on the doorstep or reads from his golden book in the home office.
Christian Gretz became Nicholas by chance. The 41-year-old works full-time as a marketing manager and also leads city tours through Munich. At a further training course, a woman asked him that he had to be on the road as Nikolaus with his size and deep voice – and the idea was born. The costume was quickly obtained, tips from the professionals were important: Always have several pairs of white gloves with you in case they get dirty on the way, and safety pins if the rubber of the beard breaks. And off we went.
Once his coat caught fire on a candle
You hardly suspect what happens to you as Nikolaus. “Once someone had the whole house full of candles and at some point I was standing there with a burning coat,” says Gretz. Fortunately, the fire was quickly suffocated and nothing worse happened. Another time he was with a family who had lots of presents for their two children. Gretz had to pack his huge sack full to the brim. The well-behaved children were modest, according to Gretz: “The boy, he was around six years old, first opened the first, then the second present. Then he said: That’s enough for me, you can take the other one with you and the other children give.” Grandma almost fell off the chair. Gretz has also already received the request to appear on a marriage proposal.
But the pandemic is troubling good men. Both the number of inquiries and the number of Santa Clauses on offer decreased. The online platform “Jobcafé”, which arranges Santa Clauses and Santa Clauses in Munich, has meanwhile canceled all inquiries on its own initiative. According to spokesman Sebastian Moser, these were “counted on one hand” anyway.
The number of bookings declined even before the pandemic
According to Moser, the unemployment of the long beards is not exclusively due to the pandemic. Even before that, demand had fallen, both from private customers and from companies. Even among the Nikolaus actors there was only “the hard core” left: three veteran Santa Clauses would have wanted to shoulder the sack this year, younger ones could hardly keep up. Moser suspects: “Many people are no longer so attached to tradition.” And then, according to the Jobcafé, the trend is moving away from the bishop to the not always welcome Santa Claus with pointed hat.
Because of Corona, the employment agency has also stopped providing Santa Clauses last year. “That is not possible in the current situation,” says press spokeswoman Anne Beck. However, she was not yet able to observe a general decline in St. Nicholas inquiries before the pandemic.
But the giving of presents doesn’t have to be completely canceled: for nine years now, the Jobcafé, together with sponsors and a law firm, whose employees slip into costumes, has surprised needy children on St. Nicholas Day. The social department mediates the contacts. This year, 25 volunteers are on their way to at least put a bag in front of the door for 450 children. They are not allowed to hand over the presents in person, but they will still disguise themselves – then at least Santa Claus waves through the window. “The ambience should still be there,” says Jobcafé managing director Jens Wittenberger.
He sent nine videos on St. Nicholas Day
Christian Gretz got creative: last year he started visits by video. “I’ll make myself comfortable in my wing chair,” he says. There he read from his golden book – everything as always, only without interaction. He sends the videos to the parents via a link. He says: “It’s not only great for me because of Corona, but also because I can record the videos three days before St. Nicholas.” He’s sending out nine videos this year and he’s also appeared nine times in person, mostly outdoors, on the terrace, in the courtyard or in front of the door.
In addition, 2-G-plus applies: Gretz is vaccinated and tests himself before he comes to customers. These, at least the adults, should also be vaccinated or recovered and tested. Gretz has disinfectant with her because the children are allowed to hold the bishop’s staff while he reads out their good and less good deeds from the golden book. The wand is disinfected after each visit.
With or without Corona – the visit to St. Nicholas remains something special. The children react differently: some are very awesome, others relaxed, as Gretz says. One child was particularly casual. To say goodbye it called afterwards: “So, ciao, Niko!”