Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Santa" is a
legendary and historical character associated with bringing gifts on Christmas Day. The popular North American form Santa Claus
originated as a mispronunciation of Dutch Sinterklaas, which in turn is a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas). However, the
Dutch Sinterklaas is different from Santa Claus in many ways: see the section on Dutch folklore. The Dutch word for Santa Claus is Kerstman ("Christmas
man"). Santa Claus has a suit that comes in many colors depending on the country. The most common depiction (red with white
sleeves, collar, and belt) became the more popular image in the United States in the mid-to-late 19th century.[1]
Origins
Early Christian origins
Saint Nicholas of Myra is the primary inspiration for the Christian figure of Santa
Claus. He was a 4th century Christian bishop of Myra in
Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, now in 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 Europe (more precisely the Netherlands,
Belgium, Austria and Germany)
he is still portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes. The relics of St. Nicholas were transported to Bari in southern Italy by some enterprising Italian merchants;[2] a basilica was constructed in 1087 to house
them and the area became a pilgrimage site for the devout. Saint Nicholas became revered by
many as the patron saint of seamen, merchants, archers,
children, prostitutes, pharmacists, lawyers, pawnbrokers, prisoners, the city of Amsterdam, and of Russia. In Greece, Saint Nicholas is substituted for Saint Basil (Agios Vasilis in Greek), a 4th century AD bishop
from Caesarea. Also, the Northern part of the Netherlands and a few villages in Flanders,
Belgium, celebrate a near identical figure, Sint-Maarten (Saint Martin of Tours).
Germanic folklore
Prior to the Germanic peoples' Christianization, Germanic folklore contained stories
about the god Odin (Wodan), who would each year, at Yule,
have a great hunting party accompanied by his fellow gods and the fallen warriors residing in
his realm. Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their
kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy [Siefker, chap. 9, esp.
171-173]. This practice survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated
with Saint Nicholas.
Children still place their straw filled shoes at the chimney every winter night, and Saint Nicholas rewards them with candy
and gifts. Odin's appearance was often similar to that of Saint Nicholas, being depicted as an old, mysterious man with a beard.
This practice in turn came to America via the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam prior to the British seizure in the 17th century, and evolved into the hanging of socks or
stockings at the fireplace. In many regions of Austria and former Austro-Hungarian
Italy (Friuli, city of Trieste) children are given sweets and
gift Saint Nicholas's Day (San Niccolò in Italian), in accordance with the Catholic calendar, December the 6th.
An early folk tale, originating among the Germanic tribes, tells of a holy man
(sometimes Saint Nicholas), and a demon (sometimes the Devil,
Krampus, or a troll).
Young men dressed as Krampus are still involved in the celebration of Saint Nicholas's Day in Kärnten (southern Austria) and
Carnia (northeastern Italy). The story states that the land was terrorized by a monster who at night would slither down the
chimneys and slaughter children (disembowelling them or stuffing them up the
flue, or keeping them in a sack to eat later). The holy man sought out the demon, and tricked it
with blessed or magical shackles (in some versions the same shackles that imprisoned
Christ prior to the crucifixion, in other versions the
shackles were those used to hold St. Peter or Paul of
Tarsus); the demon was trapped and forced to obey the saint's orders. The saint ordered him to go to each house and make
amends, by delivering gifts to the children. Depending on the version, the saint either made the demon fulfill this task every
year, or the demon was so disgusted by the act of good will that it chose to be sent back to Hell.
Yet other versions have the demon reform under the saint's orders, and go on to recruit other elves and imps into helping him, thus becoming Santa Claus. Another form of the above
tale in Germany is of the Pelznickel or Belsnickle ("Furry
Nicholas") who visited naughty children in their sleep. The name originated from the fact that the person appeared to be a huge
beast since he was covered from head to toe in furs.
Dutch folklore
- Further information: Sinterklaas and Saint
Nicholas
In the Netherlands Saint Nicolas (often called "De Goede Sint" — "The Friendly Saint") is
now aided by helpers commonly known as Zwarte Piet ("Black Peter").
The folklore of Saint Nicolas has many parallels with the Germanic mythology. Saint Nicolas has many resemblances with
Odin, like the beard, hat and spear (nowadays a staff) and the cloth bag held by the servants to
capture naughty children. Both Saint Nicolas and Odin ride white horses that can fly through the air. The white eight-legged
steed of Odin is named Sleipnir. The letters made of candy given by the Zwarte Pieten to the
children reminisce of the fact that Odin ‘invented’ the rune letters. The poems made
during the celebration and the songs the children sing has to do with the fact that Odin was the god of the arts of poetry.
On the origins of the helper there are various explanations. The oldest explanation is that the helpers symbolize the two
ravens Hugin and Munin who informed Odin on
what was going on. In later stories the helper depicts the defeated devil. The devil is defeated
by either Odin or Odin's helper Nörwi, the black father of the
night. Nörwi is usually depicted with the same staff of birch (Dutch: "roe") as Zwarte Piet.
Another, more modern, story is that Saint Nicolas lilberated an Ethiopian boy slave called 'Piter' (from Saint Peter) from a Myra market, and the boy was so gracious he decided
to stay with Saint Nicolas as a helper. In Belgium Zwarte Piet is still called "Pieter baas", derived from 'Piter'. With the
influx of immigrants to the Netherlands starting in the late 1950's, this story is felt by some to be racial. Nowadays Zwarte
Piet has become a modern servant who have black faces because they climb through chimneys and get blackened by the
soot from the fire. The tools they held (cloth bag and staff of birch) are chimney cleaning
tools.
Until the second world war Saint Nicolas was only helped by one servant. When the Canadians liberated the Netherlands in 1945,
they reinstated the celebrations of Sinterklaas for the children. Unaware of the traditions, the Canadians thought that if one
Zwarte Piet was fun, several Zwarte Pieten is even more fun. Ever since Saint Nicolas is helped by a goup of Zwarte Pieten.
Presents given during this feast are often accompanied by poems, sometimes fairly basic, sometimes quite elaborate pieces of
art that mock events in the past year relating to the recipient (who is thus at the receiving end in more than one sense). The
gifts themselves may be just an excuse for the wrapping, which can also be quite elaborate. The more serious gifts may be
reserved for the next morning. Since the giving of presents is Sinterklaas's job, presents are traditionally not given at
Christmas in the Netherlands, but commercialism is starting to tap into this market.
The Zwarte Pieten are roughly to the Dutch Saint Nicolas what the elves and reindeer are to America's Santa Claus. According
to tradition, the saint has a Piet for every function: there are navigation Pieten to navigate the steamboat from Spain to
Holland, or acrobatic Pieten for climbing up the roofs to stuff presents through the chimney, or to climb through themselves.
Throughout the years many stories have been added, mostly made up by parents to keep children's belief in Saint Nicolas intact
and to discourage misbehaviour. In most cases the Pieten are quite lousy at their job, such as the navigation Piet (Dutch
"wegwijs piet") pointing in the wrong direction. This is often used to provide some simple comedy in the annual parade of Saint
Nicolas coming to the Netherlands, and can also be used to laud the progress of children at school by having the Piet give the
wrong answer to, for example, a simple mathematical question like 2+2, so that the child in question is (or can be) persuaded to
give the right answer.
Santa Claus, as known in the US (white beard, red and white outfit, etc.), is an entirely other person, called (de)
Kerstman (trans. (the) Christmasman. Although Sinterklaas is the predominant celebration in the Netherlands in
December (36% of the population only celebrates Sinterklaas), Christmas is celebrated by a fifth of the Dutch population (21%
celebrates only Christmas). 26% Of the Dutch population celebrates both. [1] [http://www.example.com link title]
Modern origins
Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore merged with the British character Father
Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as
far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man
dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the "Ghost of
Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's A
Christmas Carol.
The name Santa Claus is derived from Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for the
character based on St. Nicholas. He is also known there by the name of Sint Nicolaas which explains the use of the two fairly
dissimilar names Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas or St. Nick.
-
Folk tale depiction of Father Christmas riding on a
goat. Perhaps
an evolved version of the Swedish
Tomte.
In other countries, the figure of Saint Nicholas was also blended with local folklore. As an example of the still surviving
pagan imagery, in Nordic countries there was
the Yule Goat (Swedish julbock, Norwegian "julebukk", Danish "julebuk" Finnish
joulupukki), a somewhat startling figure with horns which delivered the presents on
Christmas Eve. A straw goat is still a common Christmas decoration in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
In the 1840s, the Tomte or Nisse in Nordic folklore started to deliver the Christmas presents in Denmark, but was then called the "Julenisse", dressed in gray clothes and a red hat. By the end of the 19th
century this tradition had also spread to Norway and Sweden
(where the "nisse" is called Tomte), replacing the Yule Goat. The same thing happened in
Finland, but there the more human figure retained the Yule Goat name.
American origins
In the British colonies of North America and later the United States, British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. For example, in
Washington Irving's History of New York, (1809), Sinterklaas was Americanized
into "Santa Claus" 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 lampoon of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this
portrait is his joking invention.
Modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the 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. In this poem Santa is established as a heavyset individual with eight reindeer (who are named
for the first time). Santa Claus later appeared in various colored costumes as he gradually became amalgamated with the figure of
Father Christmas, but red soon became popular after he appeared wearing such on an 1885 Christmas card. Still, one of the first artists to capture Santa Claus' image as we know him today was
Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century.
In 1863, a picture of Santa illustrated by Nast appeared in Harper's Weekly.
Another popularization was L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, a 1902
children's book. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not set in stone at the time,
leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a wide variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of
Hohaho, and ten reindeer which could not fly, but leapt in enormous, flight-like bounds. Claus's immortality was earned, much like his title ("Santa"), decided by a vote of those
naturally immortal. 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, he strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of
all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means.
Images of Santa Claus were further cemented through Haddon Sundblom's depiction of
him for The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising. The popularity of the image
spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was in fact invented by Coca-Cola or that Santa
wears red and white because those are the Coca-Cola colors. In fact, Coca-Cola was not even the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image Santa Claus in its advertising – White Rock Beverages used Santa in advertisements for its ginger
ale in 1923 after first using him to sell mineral
water in 1915. Even though Coca-Cola was not the first to do this, their massive campaigns
was one of the main reasons for why Santa Claus ended up with the red and white colours, in contrast to the variety of colours he
had prior to the campaign. [3][4]
The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly 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 1889, the poet Katherine Lee Bates created a wife for Santa, Mrs. Claus, in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride." The 1956 popular song by George Melachrino, "Mrs. Santa Claus," helped standardize and establish the character and role in the
popular imagination.
In some images of 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 concept of Santa Claus continues to inspire writers and artists, such as in author Seabury
Quinn's 1948 novel "Roads", which draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of
Christmas. Other modern additions to the "mythology" of Santa include Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the ninth and lead reindeer immortalized in a Gene Autry song,
written by a Montgomery Ward copywriter.
Santa Claus in popular culture
Santa parading with a Santa Christmas ornament
In Poland, Santa Claus gives gifts on the 6th of December. On the Christmas Eve it is the
Angel that brings presents, though. In Hungary, Santa Claus (Télapó or Mikulás) brings small
gifts (usually candy and chocolate) during the night of the 6th of December and Little Jesus
(Jézuska) brings the tree as well as the presents on Christmas
Eve. Santa is often dressed up in red.
By the end of the century, the reality of mass mechanized production became more fully accepted by the Western public. That
shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence—now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production
and distribution facility, equipped with the latest manufacturing technology, and overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus
as executives and/or managers [see Nissenbaum, chap. 2; Belk, 87-100]. An excerpt from a 2004 article, from a supply chain
managers' trade magazine, aptly illustrates this depiction:
- Santa’s main distribution center is a sight to behold. At 4 million square feet,
it’s one of the world’s largest facilities. A real-time warehouse management system is of
course required to run such a complex. The facility makes extensive use of task interleaving, literally combining dozens of DC
activities (putaway, replenishing, order picking, sleigh loading, cycle counting) in a dynamic queue...the DC elves have been on
engineered standards and incentives for three years, leading to a 12% gain in productivity...The WMS and transportation system are fully integrated, allowing (the elves) to make optimal
decisions that balance transportation and order picking and other DC costs. Unbeknownst to many, Santa actually has to use many
sleighs and fake Santa drivers to get the job done Christmas Eve, and the TMS optimally builds thousands of consolidated sacks
that maximize cube utilization and minimize total air miles. [2].
Many television commercials, comic
strip 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, an early Bloom County story has Santa telling the story of how his elves went on strike, only to be fired by Ronald Reagan and replaced by
unemployed Aircraft control personnel.
Christian opposition to Santa Claus
-
Excerpt from
Josiah King's
The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas (1686), published
shortly after
Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in
England.
Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.
Though some elements of Santa Claus have Christian origins, he has become a secular representation of Christmas. As such, a number of Christian churches dislike the
secular focus on Santa Claus and the materialist focus that present-receiving gives to the holiday.
Such a condemnation of Santa Claus is not a 20th-century phenomenon, but originated
among some Protestant groups of the 16th century and
was prevalent among the Puritans of 17th-century England
and America who banned the holiday as either pagan or Roman Catholic. Following the English Civil War, under
Oliver Cromwell's government Christmas was banned. Following the Restoration of the monarchy and with Puritans out of power in England,[3] the ban on Christmas was satirized in works such as Josiah
King's The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas; Together with his
Clearing by the Jury (1686) [Nissenbaum, chap. 1].
Rev. Paul Nedergaard, a clergyman in Copenhagen,
Denmark attracted controversy in 1958 when he declared Santa to be
a "pagan goblin" after Santa's image was used on fund raising materials for a Danish welfare
organization Clar, 337. One prominent religious group that refuses to celebrate Santa Claus, or
Christmas itself, for similar reasons is the Jehovah's Witnesses [4]. A number of
denominations of Christians have varying concerns about Santa Claus, which range from acceptance to denouncement.
Most Christians believe that their own focus in the Christmas season should be placed on the birth of Jesus [5] and many would prefer this to be the focus of the festival in general [citation needed], though attitudes to this vary
according to country. In addition, some parents are uncomfortable about lying to their children about the existence of Santa.
This is a concern which both Christians and non-Christians may have on the general basis that it is wrong to systematically lie
to one's children. Christians are also often concerned that the lie suggests, when it is revealed, that Christianity is also a
childish belief which one grows out of, thus providing a model for the critics of religion. Those with such concerns may tell
their children that Santa Claus is just a sort of game, a "pretend" activity. Those whose objections are more to the materialist
nature of the modern festival but still wish to participate in the festive gift-giving atmosphere of "Santa season" will shop for
toys to donate to poor children on St. Nicholas's feast
day, December 6. This is an opportunity to instill the Christian value of secret
charity, which Nicholas was known for. Although feast days are usually not acknowledged in Protestant
denominations, this tradition has found acceptance there as well.
Notes
- ^ "The Claus That Refreshes" Snopes.com, 'Santa Claus was an
evolutionary creation, brought about by the fusion of two religious personages (St. Nicholas and Christkindlein, the Christ
child) to become a fixed image which is now the paramount symbol of the secular Christmas celebration.', 'Boston printer named
Louis Prang ... in 1885 he issued a card featuring a red-suited Santa. The chubby Santa with a red suit (like an "overweight
superhero") began to replace the fur-dressed Belsnickle image and the multicolored Santas.'
- ^ St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Encyclopedia
- ^ The White Rock Collectors Association, "Did White Rock or The Coca-Cola® Company
create the modern Santa Claus Advertisement?," whiterocking.org, 2001 (accessed January 19, 2007).
- ^ White Rock Beverages, "Coca-Cola's
Santa Claus: Not The Real Thing!," BevNET.com, December 18, 2006 (accessed January 19, 2007).
References
- "Santa's Elves in Alaskan Town Reply to Letters". AOL News. Dec. 9, 2006.
- Barnard, Eunice Fuller. "Santa Claus Claimed as a Real New Yorker." New York Times. December, 19, 1926.
- Baum, L. Frank. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. 1902; reprint, New
York: Penguin, 1986. ISBN 0-451-52064-5
- Belk, Russel W. "A Child's Christmas in America: Santa Claus as Deity, Consumption as Religion." Journal of American
Culture, 10, no. 1 (Spring 1987), pp. 87-100.
- Clar, Mimi. "Attack on Santa Claus." Western Folklore, 18, no. 4 (October 1959), p. 337.
- Clark, Cindy Dell. Flights of Fancy, Leaps of Faith: Children's Myths in Contemporary America. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1995. ISBN 0-226-10778-7
- Dini, Paul. Jingle Belle various issues [6]
- Flynn, Tom. The Trouble with Christmas. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1993. ISBN 0-87975-848-1
- Horowitz, Joseph. Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. ISBN
0-393-05717-8
- "Is There a Santa Claus?" New York
Sun. September 21, 1897.
- King, Josiah. The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas; Together with his Clearing by the Jury . . . London:
Charles Brome, 1686. Full text available here
- Lalumia, Christine. "The restrained restoration of Christmas". In the Ten Ages of Christmas from the BBC website.
- Moore, Clement Clarke. "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel. December 23, 1823.
- Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. ISBN 0-679-74038-4
- Otnes, Cele, Kyungseung Kim, and Young Chan Kim. "Yes, Virginia, There is a Gender Difference: Analyzing Children's Requests
to Santa Claus." Journal of Popular Culture, 28, no. 1 (Summer 1994), pp. 17-29.
- Ott, Jonathan. Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Kennewick, Wash.: Natural Products
Company, 1993. ISBN 0-9614234-9-8
- Plath, David W. "The Japanese Popular Christmas: Coping with Modernity." American Journal of Folklore, 76, no. 302
(October-December 1963), pp. 309-317.
- Quinn, Seabury. Roads. 1948; facsimile reprint, Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: Red Jacket Press, 2005. ISBN 0-9748895-8-X
- "St. Nicholas of Myra" in the
Catholic Encyclopedia at NewAdvent.org.
- Sedaris, David. The Santaland Diaries and
Seasons Greetings: Two Plays. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1998. ISBN 0-8222-1631-0
- Shenkman, Richard. Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History. New York: HarperCollins, 1988. ISBN
0-06-097261-0
- Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000
Years. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0246-6
- Twitchell, James B. Twenty Ads that Shook the World. New York: Crown Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-609-60563-1
- "Why Track Him?" at
NORADsanta.org.
See also
Related topics
Variations of Christmas around the world
Related figures
External links
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