FollowThere are many names that Santa is known by in the western world. He is known as Saint Nicolas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, St. Nick, and even Kris Kringle. He is a legendary person with historical origins. Folklore tells us that he delivers presents or gifts to children of the world the night before Christmas. His demeanor is friendly, and he is quite jolly. He is depicted as a white bearded man who is joyous, and rather stout. Mrs. Claus is his wife, and together they reside at the North Pole, Canada. Read further to gain insight into other facts about the beliefs of Santa and Mrs. Claus.
De Goede Sint
In Belgium, Luxemborg, and the Netherlands, Santa Claus is known as “De Goede Sint” this meant “The Good Saint”. In these countries, he is known as a saintly figure who dressed in a white bishop’s alb and sometimes wore a red stola. He is known as an elderly gentlemen who holds a long ceremonial shepherd’s staff with a fancy curled top. He wears a long red cape over the white bishop’s alb. He has a book in which he writes the names of children and whether they have been good or bad. He delivers presents to good children by delivering them to their homes by riding on a white-grey horse over the rooftops. The bad children might be caught by Sinterklaas’ helpers who are known as “Black Peter” or Zwarte Piet. The feast of Sinterklaas’ or St. Nicholas is celebrated on Dec 6th. Presents are given out on the eve of Dec 5th in the Dutch speaking countries.
Nisse
During the 1840’s, a mythical person in Nordic folklore started to deliver gifts in Denmark. He was known as “Nisse” or “Tomte” and was a short bearded man that was dressed in gray clothes and wore a red hat. Other Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Sweden adapted to this new version of Santa Claus and replaced the Yule Goat. However, the newly updated Santa Claus figure in Norway still retains the Yule Goat name. Icelandic folklore has 13 Yule lads that come down from the mountains 13 days before Christmas Eve.
Odin and The Wild Hunt
Prior to Christianization of Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, those with Germanic culture as well as England believed in Yule. This celebration was held during the midwinter. When Germanic Europe adapted the Christian tradition ghostly apparitions were said to appear in the sky. These sightings were known as “The Wild Hunt” in which the god “Odin” led. He was also characterized as having a long, white, flowing beard and elderly. He wore a long, blue hooded cloak and delivered gifts atop his eight footed steed, Sleipner. Over the centuries he transformed into Father Christmas and then eventually became known as Santa Claus.
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is a figure that appeared in England during the 16th century. He was known to wear scarlet or green robes that were lined with fur. He was jolly, and always in good spirits and brought joy to many people. Happy times, good food and wine was things that he exemplified. The Father Christmas celebration was moved to Dec 25th, seeing that England no longer celebrated St. Nicholas Day.
20th Century Santa Claus
During the 20th century Santa Claus was further popularized in a 1902 children’s book entitled “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Advertisements for the Coca-Cola company around Christmas time in the 1930’s depicted Santa Claus in his red and white suit because that was the colors that represented the Coca-Cola brand. It is believed that Mrs. Claus was the invention of American authors as she was first mentioned in the mid 19th century. Mrs. Claus became more popular in 1889 when she was written into a poem entitled “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride”. Goody is an old English term meaning “goodwife”.
Did You Know
Pre-modern representations of Santa Claus from church history and folklore was actually two notable mythical people called St. Nicholas and Sinterklaas. Both of these mythical people merged with Father Christmas to bring about the modern day Santa Claus who he is known by in the English speaking world.
An editorial which was entitled, “Is There a Santa Claus?” appeared 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 very famous within Canada and the United States.
Do you celebrate this holiday? If so, what is one of your family traditions?
