When Americans think about Santa Claus, they picture a jolly, old, white man in a thick red suit. They imagine the man sneaking down their chimney in the middle of the night and leaving presents under the Christmas tree. While this is the way Santa is depicted on cards, cookie jars and so much more in our country, the American Santa isn’t the only version who delivers presents to the world’s children during the holiday season.
The Santa that is well known in North America today comes from the legend Sinterklaas. His origins come from stories of a man named St. Nicholas who was a 4th century Greek bishop.
English Heritage writer Tom Moriarty reports, “Over time, tales of his gold-giving exploits gave rise to a tradition of leaving gifts for children on the night before 6 December – which was St. Nicholas’s Day.”
The Netherlands celebrated this day by having people dress up in red bishop costumes as St. Nicholas or Sinterklass.
“Tradition had it that, in his quest to deliver presents, St. Nicholas would enter houses by passing through locked doors or descending chimneys to leave gifts in shoes and stockings,” Moriarty wrote.
St. Nicholas transformed into the Santa that is more known in America today through a Dutch colony in present day New York. Due to violent mobs in the streets around Dec. 25, it’s speculated that the New Yorkers were attempting to create a more family-centered Christmas tradition.
Moriarty wrote, “In 1821, an anonymous illustrated poem called Old Santeclaus with Much Delight introduced Santa’s red coat, reindeer and sleigh and put his arrival on Christmas Eve rather than St. Nicholas’s Day.”
Moriarty explained that it was just two years later that a Hebrew professor named Clement Clark Moore took the legend to a new level. “St. Nick” got his bushy beard. The magical flying reindeer came into play. The old, traditional Dutch bishop look disappeared, and instead he was illustrated as a “right jolly old elf” with “clothes all tarnished with ashes and soot” and a beard “as white as snow.”
Back across the sea in Europe, Père Noël, the Santa of France, shares many similar features to the American Santa. He is still in a thick red suit with a long white beard, however his style is different.
According to the French cultural site My French Life, instead of being seen in a traditional red Christmas hat with a white pom-pom on the top, he’s pictured wearing a red hood that’s trimmed with white fur.
Père Noël traditionally drinks wine and Calvados, a French brandy, instead of the American tradition of milk and cookies, because French adults find it laughable that a grown man would drink a glass of milk. But those aren’t the only differences.
“[He] doesn’t leave coal for naughty children,” according to My French Life. “Le Père Fouettard (the name coming from ‘Fouetter,’ which means to whip or lash) follows the Père Noël whipping and beating badly behaved children.”
In German tradition, St. Nikolas brings gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day.
According to Hamburg.com, a website guide to navigating the German city, “Throughout Germany, children leave their shoes near the fireplace or front door on the night of 5 December. The next morning, they find that their footwear has been filled overnight with small presents and treats by Nikolas.”
St. Nikolas, like Père Noël, has a devilish companion to discipline misbehaving children. Krampus is a central European legend of a half-goat, half-demon creature who punishes children during the holiday season. His name came from the German word “krampen,” which translates to “claw.” The legend describes Krampus as the son of Hel, the Norse god of the underworld, and he is believed to have been a part of pagan rituals for the winter solstice.
According to Britannica, “With the spread of Christianity, Krampus became associated with Christmas… [St. Nikolas and Krampus] are said to arrive on the evening of Dec. 5 (Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night). While St. Nikolas rewards nice children by leaving presents, Krampus beats those who are naughty with branches and sticks. In some cases, he is said to eat them or take them to hell.”
The Slavic version of Santa Claus goes by Ded Moroz, which means Father Frost. This gift-giver is mostly celebrated in eastern Slavic countries such as Russia and Belarus.
In most legends, Santa’s female sidekick is his wife, Mrs. Claus. The Slavic version is the only one in which his companion is his granddaughter.
According to Russiapedia, an informational website, “[Ded Moroz] is usually accompanied by his granddaughter Snegurochka riding with an evergreen tree in a traditional Russian troika, a sleigh drawn by three horses abreast.”
While Americans throughout the country leave out a glass of milk and warm cookies and wait for Santa Claus to arrive on the night of Dec. 24, other people around the world are celebrating their own traditions. Santa is a man who has been adapted to fit customs and religions around the world and to help bring all children a sprinkle of holiday magic.
