The history of mythical or folkloric gift-bringing figures who appear in winter, often at or around the Christmas period, is complex, and in many countries the gift-bringer – and the gift-bringer's date of arrival – has changed over time as native customs have been influenced by those in other countries. While many though not all gift-bringers originated as religious figures, gift-bringing is often now a non-religious custom and secular figures exist in many countries that have little or no tradition of celebrating Christmas as a religious festival. Some figures are entirely local, and some have been deliberately and more recently invented.
The main originating strands – all of which have their roots in Europe – are
Not all gift-bringers were or are specifically focused on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day: other common customs are 6 December (St Nicholas), 1 January, New Year (St Basil, or secular), and 6 January, Epiphany (Three Kings).
The international popularity of the figure of Santa Claus has transformed the older traditions of many countries.[2]
List of gift-bringers
Given the overlapping nature of gift-bringers throughout the world in name, attributes, date of arrival, and religious versus secular identity, this list may include winter gift-bringers that are not specifically associated with Christmas. The list should however not include mythical or folkloric characters that do not bring gifts, such as Father Time.
Gaghant Baba is a more traditional figure associated with the old Armenian new year (gaghant), while Dzmer Papik is a more recent importation to the Republic of Armenia[citation needed]
El Viejito Pascuero[13] (The Easter Oldman), referring to him appearing at "Christmas Time", which in Chile is often called "Nativity's Easter" (Pascua de la Natividad) or simply "Easter" (Pascua), in contrast to "Resurrection Easter" (Pascua de Resurrección).
China
Shengdan laoren (Traditional Chinese: 聖誕老人, Simplified Chinese: 圣诞老人, Cantonese: sing daan lo jan, pinyin: shèngdànlǎorén (Old Man Christmas)[14]
Colombia
Papá Noel (Father Christmas)
El Niño Dios[15] (Child God), El Niño Jesús (Child Jesus)
Costa Rica
Santa Clós (Santa Claus),[16]San Nicolás (Saint Nicholas) or his nickname Colacho.
Babbo Natale[42] (Father Christmas); in Trieste, St Nicholas 6 December.
Gesù Bambino (Baby Jesus)
La Befana[42] 6 January. In Sicily,[42] Udine, Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Verona and Western Trentino, St Lucy[42] arrives on the eve of her feast day, 13 December.
Japan
Santa Kurōsu (サンタクロース) or Santa-san (サンタさん)[43] is known, but is not a traditional visitor[citation needed]
Moș Crăciun[63] (Old Man Christmas, Christmas Old Man, Grandfather Christmas, Christmas Grandfather), Moș Nicolae (St Nicholas)
Jézuska or Kis Jézus (Child Jesus) (for the Hungarian minorities)
Angyal (The Angel) (for the Hungarian minorities)
Moș Gerilă (Grandfather Frost, Old Man Frost) during the previous Communist era[63]
Russia
- In Russian: Дед Мороз (Ded Moroz) (Grandfather Frost[64])
- In other languages: Nenets: Ямал Ири (Yamal Iri) (Grandpa of Yamal); Tatar: Кыш Бабай (Grandfather Winter); Yakut: Чысхаан (Chyskhaan) (Lord of the Cold)[citation needed]
Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden and granddaughter of Ded Moroz) and the New Year Boy[64]
Before 1917, during the pre-Communist era, the gift-bringers were St Nicholas, Baboushka and Kolyáda[64]
Святий Миколай (Sviatyj Mykolaj) (St Nicholas), Санта Клаус (Santa Claus), sometimes Різдвяний Дід (Rizdvianyi Did) (Father Christmas)
Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on December 25. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar. [72]
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the liturgical year in Christianity, it follows the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast, and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season surrounding it.
Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrelated English folkloric tradition. The recognisably modern figure of the English Father Christmas developed in the late Victorian period, but Christmas had been personified for centuries before then.
Santa Claus is a folkloric figure in many Western cultures associated with Christmas.
The companions of Saint Nicholas are a group of closely related figures who accompany Saint Nicholas throughout the territories formerly in the Holy Roman Empire or the countries that it influenced culturally. These characters act as a foil to the benevolent Christmas gift-bringer, threatening to thrash or abduct disobedient children. Jacob Grimm associated this character with the pre-Christian house spirit which could be benevolent or malicious, but whose mischievous side was emphasized after Christianization. The association of the Christmas gift-bringer with elves has parallels in English and Scandinavian folklore, and is ultimately and remotely connected to the Christmas elf in modern American folklore.
Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 5 or 6 December in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra; it falls within the season of Advent. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to Saint Nicholas' reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of church services.
A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that is hung on Saint Nicholas Day or Christmas Eve so that Saint Nicholas can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. The tradition of the Christmas stocking is thought to originate from the life of Saint Nicholas. In some Christmas stories, the contents of the Christmas stocking are the only toys the child receives at Christmas from Santa Claus; in other stories, some presents are also wrapped up in wrapping paper and placed under the Christmas tree. Tradition in Western culture threatens that a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece or pile of coal. Some people even put their Christmas stocking by their bedposts so Santa Claus can fill it by the bed while they sleep.
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration ; in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday.
Ded Moroz, or Morozko, is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus who has his roots in Slavic mythology. The tradition of Ded Moroz is mostly spread in East Slavic countries and is a significant part of Russian culture. At the beginning of the Soviet era, communist authorities banned Ded Moroz. However, the ban was lifted and he soon became a significant part of Soviet culture. The literal translation of DedMoroz is Old Man Frost, but traditionally the name is translated as Father Frost.
The Christkind, also called Christkindl, is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in Austria, Switzerland, southern and western Germany, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the eastern part of Belgium, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of northeastern France, Upper Silesia in Poland, parts of Latin America, in certain areas of southern Brazil, and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. Christkind is called in Portuguese Menino Jesus, in Hungarian Jézuska, in Slovak Ježiško, in Czech Ježíšek, in Latin America Niño Dios or Niño Jesús and in Croatian Isusić or Isusek, in Silesian Dziyciōntko Jezus, in Cieszyn Silesian Aniołek, in Polish Dzieciątko. In some parts of Italy, the analogous figure of the Christkind is known as Gesù Bambino.
A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmastide and the greater holiday season. The traditional colors of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Gold and silver are also prevalent, as are other metallic colours. Typical images on Christmas decorations include Baby Jesus, Mother Mary, angels, Father Christmas, Santa Claus, and the star of Bethlehem. Advent wreaths, nativity scenes, illuminations, and Moravian stars are popular Christmas decorations.
Knecht Ruprecht is a companion of Saint Nicholas as described in the folklore of Germany. He is the most popular gift-bringing character in Germany after Saint Nicholas, Christkindl, and Der Weihnachtsmann but is virtually unknown outside the country. He first appears in written sources in the 17th century, as a figure in a Nuremberg Christmas procession.
In Scottish, Northern English, and Manx folklore, the first-foot is the first person to enter the home of a household on New Year's Day and is seen as a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Similar practices are also found in Greek, Vietnamese, and Georgian new year traditions.
In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus and his elves live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local culture, however it is generally believed to be somewhere around or on the North Pole. There are at least eight claimed locations for his workshop. For example, people in Canada send letters to Santa's Workshop at his North Pole location in Canada, with the unique postal code of "H0H 0H0". People in the United States believe the workshop is a sprawling commune located at the North Pole. Some people in the United Kingdom and Finland believe that Father Christmas' Workshop is located in Finland in Korvatunturi, Lapland. In addition to housing the factory where toys are either manufactured or distributed by the elves, the complex also houses the residence of Santa, his wife, companions, and all of the reindeer.
Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.
A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian hagiography, even before the modern period. In Eastern Slavic countries, the figure is Father Frost. In Scandinavia, it is an elf-like figure or tomten who comes at Yule. In German-speaking Europe and Latin Europe, it became associated with the Christian Saint Nicholas. In some parts of Central Europe, there is a separate tradition of a young child or fairy-like being bringing presents, known as Christkind. Early modern England had Father Christmas, a character initially associated with feasting and good cheer, though he was not originally a gift bringer.
The Krampus is old Christian character from old world Catholic Christmas traditions. The Krampus is one of the variations of St Nicholas’s helpers; a tradition where another character is assigned St Nicholas’s naughty list duties. The Krampus is a horned anthropomorphic goat figure with one human foot and a very long tongue who, in the Central and Eastern Alpine folkloric tradition Christianity, is said to accompany Saint Nicholas on visits to children during the night of 5 December, immediately before the Feast of St. Nicholas on 6 December. The Krampus knocks on the homes of children’s doors to warn them to be good or will return on Christmas Eve with St. Nicholas. In this tradition, Saint Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with small gifts, while Krampus punishes badly-behaved ones with birch rods. Krampus also wears a whisker basket on these visit and will kidnap the extremely naughty children after the visit.
"Old Santeclaus with Much Delight" is an anonymous illustrated children's poem published in New York in 1821, predating by two years the first publication of A Visit from St. Nicholas. It is the first publication to mention Santa Claus's reindeer and his sleigh, as well as being the first to describe his arrival on Christmas Eve. The accompanying illustrations are the earliest published artistic depictions of a Santa Claus figure.
Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of these traditions vary by country or region, while others are practiced virtually identically worldwide.
↑ van Gennep, Arnold (1958). Manuel de folklore français contemporain tome 1; livre 7 cycle des douze jours: Noël (in French). Paris: Editions A. et J. Picard et Cie. pp.3014–3016.
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