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Secret Santa is a Western Christmas or Saint Nicholas tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift-giver remains a secret until the end when Secret Santas are revealed.
Deriving from a tradition, the ritual is known as Secret Santa in the United States and the United Kingdom; as Kris Kringel or Kris Kindle in Ireland; as Wichteln, Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, Chris Kindle or Engerl-Bengerl in parts of Austria; as Secret Santa or Kris Kringle in Canada and Australia; as Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, or Monito-Monita in the Philippines; as Angelito in the Dominican Republic; as Amigo Oculto or Amigo Secreto in Brazil, and as Wichteln or Julklapp in Germany. Wichteln is what a Wichtel, a wight, does, a good deed. In Poland and the Netherlands, the tradition is not associated with Christmas but with the feast of Saint Nicholas, on the eve of December 5 in the Netherlands, Poland (Mikołajki) and Ukraine (Mykolay). In Belgium it[ vague ] is done on Christmas as well. [1] [ better source needed ]
All of these names derive from traditional gift-bringers: the American custom is named after Santa Claus, or St Nicholas (Poland and Ukraine), while Chris Kindle and Kris Kringle are both corruptions of the original name of the Austrian gift-bringer Christkindl , which means the "Christ Child". Exceptions are the UK (where the traditional gift-bringer is Father Christmas) and the Philippines (which has the Three Kings). Spain, Portugal and most places in Latin America use amigo secreto [2] ("secret friend"), amigo invisible/invisível ("invisible friend"), and also amigo oculto ("hidden friend") in parts of Brazil.
In this completely different game, participants (players) bring one gift each that is potentially suitable or interesting to any of the other participants. The gifts should be wrapped in such a way as to disguise their nature. Ideally, the provider of each gift is not disclosed. Players take turns and can either open a new gift or steal a previously opened gift. This game is more commonly known as the white elephant gift exchange, or Yankee Swap. [3] [ unreliable source? ]
In this version, each participant brings a gift for their assigned person, along with a letter. This letter may or may not have hints on who the giver might be, depending on the rules participants have established. Each receiver must guess who made the gift.
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In this version, each person buys a gift for a specific amount, not for anyone specifically. Each person also puts a specific amount of money into a pot. Who goes first in gift selection can be determined by random selection. The options are:
At the end, the gifts that were chosen are opened, and the winner of the money and leftover gifts is drawn.
In this version, participants engage in a "conspiracy" in which all participants work together to select a gift for a single participant without that participant's direct involvement or knowledge. Conspiracies run concurrently, one for each participant. A common theme of Conspiracy Santa is collectively learning about participants, making it popular for workplaces and schools. [4]
The tradition of Secret Santa is also practiced in online communities.
Several Secret Santa Generators tell every participant in a group for whom to buy a gift. This is especially useful for groups that can't meet in person.
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 liturgical feast central to Christianity, preparation for Christmas begins on the First Sunday of Advent and it is followed by 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.
Christmas in Poland, known in the Polish language as Boże Narodzenie or Gwiazdka, is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. The observance of Christmas in Poland developed gradually over the centuries, beginning in ancient times; combining old Polish pagan customs with the religious practice introduced after the Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church. Later influences include the mutual permeating of local traditions, lore, and folk culture. It is one of the most important religious holidays for Poles, who follow strict traditional customs, some of which are not found elsewhere in Europe.
Sinterklaas or Sint-Nicolaas is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include De Sint, De Goede Sint and De Goedheiligman. Many descendants and cognates of "Sinterklaas" or "Saint Nicholas" in other languages are also used in the Low Countries, nearby regions, and former Dutch colonies.
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 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.
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 Grandfather Frost or 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.
Friendship Day is a day in several countries for celebrating friendship. It was initially promoted by the greeting card industry; evidence from social networking sites shows a revival of interest in Friendship Day that may have grown with the spread of the internet, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Mobile phones, digital communication, and social media have contributed to popularize the custom. Those who promote the day in South Asia attribute the tradition of dedicating a day in honour of friends to have originated in the United States in 1935.
A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing and impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities. The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to give or acquire a genuinely valuable or highly sought item.
The Yule goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition. Its origin is from Germanic paganism and has existed in many variants during Scandinavian history. Modern representations of the Yule goat are typically made of straw.
"Christmas Party" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixteenth episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Charles McDougall. It was first broadcast on December 6, 2005 on NBC. The episode guest stars David Koechner as Todd Packer.
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is a 1970 American stop-motion Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in New York, New York. The film is narrated by Fred Astaire and stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Robie Lester, Joan Gardner, and Paul Frees, as well as an assistant song performance by the Westminster Children's Choir. The film tells the story of how Santa Claus and several Claus-related Christmas traditions came to be. It is based on the hit Christmas song, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", which was written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie for Leo Feist, Inc. and introduced on radio by Eddie Cantor in 1934; and the story of Saint Nicholas.
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.
Elfster is a proprietary software application providing social networking features related to "secret Santa" style gift exchanges. It is available, without charge, as software as a service, via a website and via mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Kringel may refer to:
The Krampus is a horned anthropomorphic figure who, in the Central and Eastern Alpine folkloric tradition, 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. In this tradition, Saint Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with small gifts, while Krampus punishes badly behaved ones with birch rods.
Noelle is a 2019 American Christmas fantasy comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film stars Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, and Shirley MacLaine with supporting roles done by Diana Maria Riva, Maceo Smedley, Jason Antoon, Michael Gross, and Billy Griffith. The film tells the story of the daughter of Santa Claus who goes to look for her brother who is next in line to become the new Santa Claus when he doesn't return from a week off and enlists a private investigator to help find him. She must find her brother and bring him back in time for Christmas. It was filmed from October 2017 to January 2018 in British Columbia and Woodstock, Georgia.
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.
