I walk by a house with a Santa Claus in front. It is a little different than other Santa Clauses I have seen with ruffled satin around the cuffs, bottom of the jacket and pants instead of the traditional, smooth white velvet. Perhaps this is more of a Victorian Santa Claus. Heaven knows there are probably thousands of iterations of Santa Claus, especially in other countries. I am always interested in how traditions get started and why they are perpetuated. As a child, I really don’t remember anything at all about the red suits of the many Santa Clauses’ laps I sat on. All I cared about was that he heard loud and clear exactly what I wanted for Christmas. But now that I am older, the various traditions of celebrating the birth of Christ all over the world are fascinating to me. Let’s learn more about them.
History
Origins
According to Wikipedia, early representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore — notably Saint Nicholas — merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus," a phonetic derivation of "Sinterklaas" in Dutch.
In the English and later British colonies of North America — and later in the United States — British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. For example, in Washington Irving's “History of New York” in 1809, Sinterklaas was anglicized into "Santa Claus" — a name first used in the U.S. press in 1773 — but lost his bishop's apparel and was at first pictured as a thick-bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe in a green winter coat. Irving's book was a parody of the Dutch culture of New York and much of this portrait is his joking invention. Irving's interpretation of Santa Claus was part of a broader movement to tone down the increasingly wild Christmas celebrations of the era, which included aggressive home invasions under the guise of wassailing, substantial premarital sex — leading to shotgun weddings in areas where the Puritans, waning in power and firmly opposed to Christmas, still held some influence — and public displays of sexual deviancy; the celebrations of the era were derided by both upper-class merchants and Christian purists alike.
19th century
In 1821, the book “A New-year’s present, to the little ones from five to twelve” was published in New York. It contained “Old Santeclaus with Much Delight,” an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh, bringing presents to children. Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” — better known today as "The Night Before Christmas" — in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823; Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston, Jr., who died nine years before Moore's claim, was the author. St. Nick is described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly" that "shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly," in spite of which the "miniature sleigh" and "tiny reindeer" still indicate that he is physically diminutive. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem. Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen.
By 1845 "Kris Kringle" was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States. A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for "a fabulous personage" whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called "Krishkinkle," but in New York he is "St. Nicholas" or "Santa Claus." The author quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too.
As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved in popular culture into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century. In 1863, a picture of Santa illustrated by Nast appeared in Harper’s Weekly.
Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly. Santa was dressed in an American flag and had a puppet with the name "Jeff" written on it, reflecting its Civil War context.
The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation. His Christmas image in the Harper’s issue dated December 29, 1866 was a collage of engravings titled “Santa Claus and His Works,” which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P." A color collection of Nast's pictures, published in 1869, had a poem also titled "Santa Claus and His Works" by George P. Webster, who wrote that Santa Claus's home was "near the North Pole, in the ice and snow." The tale had become well known by the 1870s. A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey."
The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors, beginning in the mid-19th century. In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride."
“Is There a Santa Claus?” was the title of an editorial appearing in the September 21, 1897 edition of The New York Sun. The editorial, which included the famous reply "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," has become an indelible part of popular Christmas lore in the United States and Canada.
In Russia, Ded Moroz emerged as a Santa Claus figure around the late 19th century where Christmas for the Eastern Orthodox Church is kept on January 7.
20th century
L. Frank Baum is the author of 14 novels in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” series, and his “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” — a 1902 children’s book — further popularized Santa Claus. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not set in stone at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" or Necile's Little One a wide variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho and ten reindeer — who could not fly, but leapt in enormous, flight-like bounds. Claus's immortality was earned, much like his title of "Santa," decided by a vote of those naturally immortal. This work also established Claus's motives: a happy childhood among immortals. When Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, exposes him to the misery and poverty of children in the outside world, Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children and eventually, invents toys as a principal means. Santa later appears in “The Road to Oz” as an honored guest at Ozma's birthday party, stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he is announced as "The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme Highness – Santa Claus."
Images of Santa Claus were further popularized through Haddon Sundblom's depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Co.’s Christmas advertising in the 1930s. The popularity of the image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Co. or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand. Coca-Cola's competitor Pepsi-Cola used similar Santa Claus paintings in its advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s. Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising — White Rock Beverages had already used a red and white Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923. Earlier still, Santa Claus had appeared dressed in red and white and essentially in his current form on several covers of Puck magazine in the first few years of the 20th century.
The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly by organizations such as the Salvation Army. Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fundraising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time.
In 1937, Charles W. Howard, who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades, established the Charles W. Howard Santa School, the oldest continuously run such school in the world.
In some images from the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the idea emerged that he had numerous elves responsible for making the toys, but the toys were still handmade by each individual elf working in the traditional manner.
The 1956 popular song by George Melachrino, "Mrs. Santa Claus," and the 1963 children's book “How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas,” by Phyllis McGinley, helped standardize and establish the character and role of Mrs. Claus in the popular imagination.
Seabury Quinn's 1948 novel “Roads” draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of Christmas. Other modern additions to the "story" of Santa include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the ninth and lead reindeer created in 1939 by Robert L. May, a Montgomery Ward copywriter and immortalized in a 1949 song by Gene Autry.
In popular culture
In 1912 the actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film. “Santa Claus,”, which he also directed, included scenes photographed in a limited, two-tone color process and featured the use of detailed models. Since then, many feature films have featured Santa Claus as a protagonist, including “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Santa Clause” and “Elf.” Santa Claus is also a meetable character at all of the Disney parks and resorts during the holiday season and can be seen during various parades throughout the parks. His grotto is usually located in Fantasyland.
In the cartoon base, Santa has been voiced by several people, including Stan Francis, Mickey Rooney, Ed Asner, John Goodman and Keith Wickham.
Santa has been described as a positive male cultural icon:
Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who's male, does not carry a gun, and is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for other people. That's part of the magic for me, especially in a culture where we've become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future.
— TV producer Jonathan Meath who portrays Santa, 2011
Many television commercials, comic strips and other media depict this as a sort of humorous business, with Santa’s elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss. For instance, a Bloom County story from December 15, 1981 through December 24, 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO or Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room and "short broads," with the elves then going on strike. President Reagan steps in, fires all of Santa's helpers, and replaces them with out-of-work air traffic controllers — an obvious reference to the 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike — resulting in a riot before Santa vindictively rehires them in humiliating new positions such as his reindeer. In “The Sopranos” episode, "To Save Us All from Satan’s Power," Paulie Gualtieri says he "used to think Santa and Mrs. Claus were running a sweatshop over there. The original elves were ugly, traveled with Santa to throw bad kids a beatin' and gave the good ones toys."
In Kyrgyzstan, a mountain peak was named after Santa Claus, after a Swedish company had suggested the location be a more efficient starting place for present-delivering journeys all over the world, than Lapland. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, a Santa Claus Festival was held on December 30, 2007, with government officials attending. 2008 was officially declared the Year of Santa Claus in the country. The events are seen as moves to boost tourism in Kyrgyzstan.
The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa Clauses is held by Thrissur, Kerala, India where on December 27, 2014, 18,112 Santas overtook the previous record. Derry City, Northern Ireland had held the record since September 9, 2007, when a total of 12,965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa's helpers. Prior to that, the record was 3,921, which was set during the Santa Dash event in Liverpool City Centre in 2005. A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest, Romania attempted to top the world record, but failed with only 3,939 Santas.
In professional wrestling, on the December 23, 2019 edition of Monday Night Raw filmed on December 22, independent wrestler Bear Bronson dressed up as Santa Claus to win the WWE 24/7 Championship from Akira Tozawa at Columbus Circle in New York during a sightseeing trip. Santa later lost the championship to R-Truth via a roll-up at the Lincoln Center.
Chimney tradition
The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. In pre-Christian Norse tradition, Odin would often enter through chimneys and fire holes on the solstice. In the Italian Befana tradition, the gift-giving witch is perpetually covered with soot from her trips down the chimneys of children's homes. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. In Dutch artist Jan Steen's painting, “The Feast of Saint Nicholas,” adults and toddlers are glancing up a chimney with amazement on their faces while other children play with their toys. The hearth was held sacred in primitive belief as a source of beneficence, and popular belief had elves and fairies bringing gifts to the house through this portal. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” where the author described him as an elf.
Christmas Eve rituals
In the United States and Canada, children traditionally leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies intended for Santa to consume; in Britain and Australia, sherry or beer and mince pies are left instead. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it is common for children to leave him rice porridge with sugar and cinnamon instead. In Ireland it is popular to leave Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies.
In Hungary, St. Nicolaus or Mikulás comes on the night of December 5, and the children get their gifts the next morning. They get sweets in a bag if they were good, and a golden colored birch switch if not. On Christmas Eve "Little Jesus" comes and gives gifts for everyone.
In Slovenia, Saint Nicholas or Miklavž also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of December 6. Božiček or Christmas Man brings gifts on the eve of December 25, and Dedek Mraz or Grandfather Frost brings gifts in the evening of December 31 to be opened on New Year’s Day.
New Zealand, British, Australian, Irish, Canadian and American children also leave a carrot for Santa's reindeer and are told that if they are not good all year round that they will receive a lump of coal in their stockings, although the actual practice of giving coal is now considered archaic. Children following the Dutch custom for sinterklaas will "put out their shoe" — leave hay and a carrot for his horse in a shoe before going to bed, sometimes weeks before the Sinterklaas avond. The next morning they will find the hay and carrot replaced by a gift; often, this is a marzipan figurine. Naughty children were once told that they would be left a roe or a bundle of sticks instead of sweets, but this practice has been discontinued.
Other Christmas Eve Santa Claus rituals in the United States include reading “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or other tale about Santa Claus, watching a Santa or Christmas-related animated program on television such as the aforementioned “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and similar specials, such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” among many others and the singing of Santa Claus songs such as "Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Up on the House Top.” Last minute rituals for children before going to bed include aligning stockings at the mantelpiece or other place where Santa cannot fail to see them, peeking up the chimney in homes with a fireplace, glancing out a window and scanning the heavens for Santa's sleigh and in homes without a fireplace unlocking an exterior door so Santa can easily enter the house.
After the children have fallen asleep, parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree. Tags on gifts for children are sometimes signed by their parents "From Santa Claus" before the gifts are laid beneath the tree.
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra was a fourth-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra — now Demre — in Lycia on the southern coast of Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In continental Europe — more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany — he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes.
In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of Myra were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Selijuq dynasty, and soon after their Greek Orthodox church had been declared to be in schism by the Catholic church in 1054 AD, a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the Greek church in Myra. Over the objection of the monks of Myra, the sailors took the bones of St. Nicholas to Bari, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola or Monastery of Saint Nicholas. Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas' skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the church sarcophagus. These were later taken by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and placed in Venice, where a church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors, was built on the San Nicolò al Lido. St. Nicholas' vandalized sarcophagus can still be seen in the St. Nicholas Church in Myra. This tradition was confirmed in two important scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice, which revealed that the relics in the two Italian cities belong to the same skeleton. Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups — from archers, sailors and children to pawnbrokers. He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow.
During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before his name day of December 6, children were bestowed gifts in his honor. This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children, which moved in the course of the Reformation, and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on December 24 and 25. The custom of gifting to children at Christmas has been propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first suggested the Christkind as the bringer of gifts. But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people.
Father Christmas
Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry. As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on December 6, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to December 25 to coincide with Christmas Day. The Victorian revival of Christmas included Father Christmas as the emblem of good cheer. His physical appearance was variable, with one famous image being John Leech’s illustration of the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's festive classic “A Christmas Carol” in 1843, as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace.
Dutch, Belgian and Swiss folklore
In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus has to compete with that of Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas, Santa's presumed progenitor. Santa Claus is known as “de Kerstman” in Dutch or "the Christmas man" and “Père Nöel”
or "Father Christmas" in French. But for children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift-giver in December; 36% of the Dutch only give presents on Sinterklaas evening or the day itself of December 6, whereas Christmas December 25 is used by another 21% to give presents. Some 26% of the Dutch population gives presents on both days. In Belgium, presents are offered exclusively to children on December 6, whereas on Christmas Day, all ages may receive presents. Saint Nicolas/Sinterklaas' assistants are called “Zwarte Piten” in Dutch or “Père Fouettard” in French, so they are not elves. In Switzerland, Père Fouettard accompanies Père Noël in the French-speaking region, while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlaus in the Swiss German region. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children.
Germanic paganism, Wodan and Christianization
Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples — including the English — celebrated a midwinter event called Yule. With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas. During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky. The leader of the wild hunt is frequently attested as the god Wodan or Odin in Norse, bearing — among many names — the names Jólnir, meaning "Yule figure," and Langbarðr, meaning "long-beard," in Old Norse.
Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides — compare Odin's horse Sleipnir — or his reindeer in North American tradition. Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that "the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is the 25th of December, owes much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St. Nicholas and the Christchild, became a leading player on the Christmas stage."
In Finland, Santa Claus is called Joulupukki; direct translation is “Christmas Goat.” The flying reindeer could symbolize the use of fly agaric — a type of mushroom — by Sámi, indigenous Finno-Ugric people, shamans.
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