Is Santa Claus pagan

Answer 1

I hate to say this, but the closest paralell in classic Greco-Roman mythology was Bacchus, who was always fat, jolly, possibly Bowlegged and the Patron of Wines and Alcoholic Beverages ( sadly two very popular lines at Yule Tide) apart from the Hat, even the costume was vaguely similar. Much of the Santa Claus myth was developed in the nineteenth century by various poets and writers such as Clement Moore. Some details were not added until much later, Rudolph did not make the scene until, I believe some time in the late thirties or possibly during the War ( World War II) if you carefully listen to the Night before Christmas poem- it seems to imply that Santa and Crew can alter their physical size ( like Brick Bradford"s Time top) to sneak down heating ducts- or chimneys. This miniaturization aspect rarely is a rubric of the Santa Myth but it is suggested in the poem- note Eight Tiny Reindeer! I don"t know but aren"t there enough real wonders of the world- do we really need Clausism, which is founded on a whole chorus of wild exaggerations and impossibilities?

Answer 2

Yes, the Holly King. He brought presents to the Norse peoples around the winter solstice.