Christmas
(Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual
commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ[6][7] and a widely observed
holiday, celebrated generally on December 25[3][4][5] by millions of
people around the world.[2][8] A feast central to the Christian
liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve
days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night.[9] Christmas
is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations,[10][11][12] is
celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians,[1][13][14] and is
an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.
While
the birth year of Jesus is estimated among modern historians to have
been between 7 and 2 BC, the exact month and day of his birth are
unknown.[15][16] His birth is mentioned in two of the four canonical
gospels. By the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian Church
had placed Christmas on December 25,[17] a date later adopted in the
East.[18][19] The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to
correspond with the day exactly nine months after early Christians
believed Jesus to have been conceived,[20] or with one or more ancient
polytheistic festivals that occurred near southern solstice (i.e., the
Roman winter solstice); a further solar connection has been suggested
because of a biblical verse[a] identifying Jesus as the "Sun of
righteousness".[20][21][22][23][24]
The
original date of the celebration in Eastern Christianity was January 6,
in connection with Epiphany, and that is still the date of the
celebration for the Armenian Apostolic Church and in Armenia, where it
is a public holiday. As of 2013, there is a difference of 13 days
between the modern Gregorian calendar and the older Julian calendar.
Those who continue to use the Julian calendar or its equivalents thus
celebrate December 25 and January 6, which on the Gregorian calendar
translate as January 7 and January 19. For this reason, Ethiopia,
Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, and the
Republic of Moldova celebrate Christmas on what in the Gregorian
calendar is January 7. Eastern Orthodox Churches in Bulgaria, Greece,
Romania, Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Finland, and the Orthodox Church
in America celebrate Christmas on December 25 in the revised Julian
calendar, corresponding to December 25 also in the Gregorian calendar.
The
celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have
a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins.[25]
Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas
music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations,
a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations,
including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands,
wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and
often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas,
Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to
children during the Christmas season and have their own body of
traditions and lore.[26] Because gift-giving and many other aspects of
the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both
Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant
event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic
impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past
few centuries in many regions of the world.
Santa
Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and
simply "Santa", is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and
folkloric origins who, in many western cultures, is said to bring gifts
to the homes of the good children on the night before Christmas,
December 24. However in some European countries children receive their
presents on St. Nicholas' Day, December 6.[1] The modern figure of Santa
Claus was derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, which, in turn,
was part of its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical
figure of Christian bishop and gift giver Saint Nicholas. During the
Christianization of Germanic Europe, this figure may have absorbed
elements of the god Odin, who was associated with the Germanic pagan
midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession
through the sky.
Santa
Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded
man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white collar and
cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and
carries a bag full of gifts for children. Images of him rarely have a
beard with no moustache. This image became popular in the United States
and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of
Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of
caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast.[2][3][4] This image
has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television,
children's books and films.
According
to a tradition which can be traced to the 1820s, Santa Claus lives at
the North Pole, with a large number of magical elves, and nine
(originally eight) flying reindeer. Since the 20th century, in an idea
popularized by the 1934 song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Santa
Claus has been believed to make a list of children throughout the world,
categorizing them according to their behavior ("naughty" or "nice") and
to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the
well-behaved children in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty
children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this
feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the
reindeer who pull his sleigh.
ather
Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries outside
the United States for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar
figure with the same name (in other languages) exists in several other
countries, including France (Père Noël), Spain (Papá Noel, Padre Noel),
Russia (Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost), almost all Hispanic South America
(Papá Noel), Brazil (Papai Noel), Portugal (Pai Natal), Italy (Babbo
Natale), Ireland (Daidí na Nollag), Armenia (Dzmer Papik), India
(Christmas Father), Andorra (Pare Noel), Romania (Moş Crăciun) and
Turkey (Noel Baba).
In
the English-speaking world, Father Christmas is associated with the
development in the United States of Santa Claus, and most people now
consider them to be different names for the same figure.
A
wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used
as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for
wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes
used.
Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional male reindeer with a glowing red
nose, popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer." When depicted, he is
the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The
luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path
through inclement winter weather.
Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward.[1][2][3]
The
story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been adapted in
numerous forms including a popular song, a television special and
sequels, and a feature film and sequel. Character Arts, LLC manages the
licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P. In many countries, Rudolph has
become a figure of Christmas folklore.
Santa Claus
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Santa" redirects here. For other uses, see Santa Claus (disambiguation) and Santa (disambiguation).
Santa Claus
Santa Claus portrayed by Jonathan Meath in 2010
Other names Saint Nicholas
Saint Nick
Kris Kringle
Known for Delivering gifts to children at Christmas
Spouse Mrs. Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure[1] 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 North Pole workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.[2][3]
The modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas, and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas.
Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, red hat with white fur, and black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. He is commonly portrayed as laughing in a way that sounds like "ho ho ho". This image originated in North America during the 19th century and has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, family Christmas traditions, films, and advertising.
Predecessor figures
A 13th-century depiction of St. Nicholas from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai
Saint Nicholas
Main article: Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire, today in Turkey. Nicholas was known 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.[4] He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In continental Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany), he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes.
In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of Myra were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuq dynasty, and soon after their Greek Orthodox church had been declared to be in schism by the Catholic church (1054 AD), a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the Greek church in Myra. Over the objection of the monks of Myra the sailors took the bones of St. Nicholas to Bari, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola. Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas' skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the church sarcophagus. These were later taken by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and placed in Venice, where a church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors, was built on the San Nicolò al Lido. St. Nicholas' vandalized sarcophagus can still be seen in the St. Nicholas Church in Myra. This tradition was confirmed in two important scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice, which revealed that the relics in the two Italian cities belong to the same skeleton. Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups, from archers, sailors, and children to pawnbrokers.[4][5] He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow.[6]
During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before his name day of 6 December, children were bestowed gifts in his honour. This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children, which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on 24 and 25 December. The custom of gifting to children at Christmas was propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first suggested the Christkind as the bringer of gifts. But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people.[7][8]
Christmas Vocabulary
Christmas
merry
festive
Santa Claus
Saint Nicholas
Kris Kringle
elves
jolly
reindeer
carols
caroling
carolers
mistletoe
frankincense
myrrh
nativity
Xmas
yuletide
tinsel
stocking
presents
fruitcake
chimney
Jesus
birth
family
candy
pinecone
spirit
tidings
tradition
Rudolph
sleigh
holiday
holly
ornaments
Scrooge
sled
snowball
St. Nicks
snowman
rejoice
Father Christmas
Christmas Eve
Christmas tree
Jack Frost
Santa's helpers
Santa's workshop
Christmas carol
Christmas card
Frosty the Snowman
December 25
sleigh bells
gingerbread house
North Pole
plum pudding
season's greetings
Father Christmas
"Ghost of Christmas Present", an illustration by John Leech made for Charles Dickens's festive A Christmas Carol (1843)
Main article: Father Christmas
Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur.[9] He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.[9] As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25 December to coincide with Christmas Day.[9] The Victorian revival of Christmas included Father Christmas as the emblem of good cheer.[10] His physical appearance was variable,[11] with one image being John Leech's illustration of the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's festive story A Christmas Carol (1843), as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace.[9][10]
Dutch, Belgian and Swiss folklore
Sinterklaas, Netherlands (2009) on his horse called Amerigo
1850 illustration of Saint Nicolas with his servant Père Fouettard/Zwarte Piet
See also: Sinterklaas and Saint Nicholas
In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus competes with that of Sinterklaas, based on Saint Nicolas. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch ("the Christmas man") and Père Noël ("Father Christmas") in French. For children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift-giver in December; 36% of the Dutch only give presents on Sinterklaas evening or the day itself, 6 December,[12] while Christmas, 25 December, is used by another 21% to give presents. Some 26% of the Dutch population gives presents on both days.[13] In Belgium, presents are offered exclusively to children on 6 December, and on Christmas Day all ages may receive presents. Saint Nicolas/Sinterklaas' assistants are called "Pieten" (in Dutch) or "Père Fouettard" (in French), so they are not elves.[14] In Switzerland, Père Fouettard accompanies Père Noël in the French speaking region, while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlaus in the Swiss German region. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children.[15]
Germanic paganism, Wodan, and Christianization
An 1886 depiction of the long-bearded Norse god Odin by Georg von Rosen
Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule (Old English geola or giuli).[16] With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas.[17] During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.[citation needed] The leader of the Wild Hunt is frequently attested as the god Odin (Wodan), bearing (among many names) the names Jólnir, meaning "Yule figure", and Langbarðr, meaning "long-beard", in Old Norse.[18]
Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas and Santa Claus in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American tradition.[19] Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that "the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is the 25th of December, owes much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild, became a leading player on the Christmas stage."[20]
In northern Europe, the Yule goat was an earlier bearer of gifts, which has to some degree become conflated with Santa Claus, for instance in the Finnish Joulupukki tradition.[21]
History
Origins
Early representations of the gift-giver from Church history and folklore, especially St Nicholas, merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus" (a phonetic derivation of "Sinterklaas" in Dutch).
In the English and later British colonies of North America, and later in 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 Anglicized into "Santa Claus" (a name first used in the U.S. press in 1773)[22] 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 parody of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention.[23] Irving's interpretation of Santa Claus was part of a broader movement to tone down the increasingly wild Christmas celebrations of the era, which included aggressive home invasions under the guise of wassailing, substantial premarital sex (leading to shotgun weddings in areas where the Puritans, waning in power and firmly opposed to Christmas, still held some influence) and public displays of sexual deviancy; the celebrations of the era were derided by both upper-class merchants and Christian purists.[23]
19th century
Illustration to verse 1 of "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight"
1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who, along with Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus
Francis Pharcellus Church, author of the famous 1897 The Sun editorial which, responding to a letter from eight-year old Virginia O'Hanlon, contains the line "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"
In 1821, the book A New-year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York. It contained "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight", an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh, bringing rewards to children.[24] Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (better known today as The Night Before Christmas) in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on 23 December 1823; Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston, Jr. (who died nine years before Moore's claim) was the author.[4][25] St. Nick is described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly", that "shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly", in spite of which the "miniature sleigh" and "tiny reindeer" still indicate that he is physically diminutive. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen).[26]
By 1845, "Kris Kringle" was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States.[27] A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for "a fabulous personage" whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called "Krishkinkle", but in New York he is "St. Nicholas" or "Santa Claus". The author[28] quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too.[29]
As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century who immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly in which Santa was dressed in an American flag, and had a puppet with the name "Jeff" written on it, reflecting its Civil War context. In this drawing, Santa is also in a sleigh pulled by reindeers.[citation needed]
The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation. His Christmas image in the Harper's issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works, which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P."[30] A color collection of Nast's pictures, published in 1869, had a poem also titled "Santa Claus and His Works" by George P. Webster, who wrote that Santa Claus's home was "near the North Pole, in the ice and snow".[31] The tale had become well known by the 1870s. A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey." [32]
The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors, beginning in the mid-19th century. In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride". "Is There a Santa Claus?" is the title of an iconic editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church in the 21 September 1897 edition of The New York Sun that became the most reprinted in the U.S. and included the famous reply, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".[33][34]
In Russia, Ded Moroz emerged as a Santa Claus figure around the late 19th century[35] where Christmas for the Eastern Orthodox Church is kept on 7 January.
20th century
A man dressed as Santa Claus fundraising for Volunteers of America on the sidewalk of street in Chicago, Illinois, in 1902. He is wearing a mask with a beard attached.
L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, a children's book, was published in 1902. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not firmly established at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, and ten reindeer—who 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. This work 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, Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means. Santa later appears in The Road to Oz as an honored guest at Ozma's birthday party, stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he is announced as "The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme Highness – Santa Claus".
Rose O'Neill's illustration for the 1903 issue of Puck
Images of Santa Claus were conveyed through Haddon Sundblom's depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising in the 1930s.[4][36] The image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand.[37] Coca-Cola's competitor Pepsi-Cola used similar Santa Claus paintings in its advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s. Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising—White Rock Beverages had used a Santa figure in monochrome advertisements for mineral water in 1915, and in 1923-25, the same company used colour images of Santa Claus in adverts for drink mixers.[38] Earlier, Santa Claus had appeared dressed in red and white and essentially in his current form on several covers of Puck magazine in the first few years of the 20th century.[39]
Santa Claus portrayed by Nick Tribuzio in 1961 (Kent Studio, Hayward, CA)
The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly by 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 1937, Charles W. Howard, who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades, established the Charles W. Howard Santa School, the oldest continuously-run such school in the world.[40]
In some images from 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 1956 popular song by George Melachrino, "Mrs. Santa Claus", and the 1963 children's book How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, by Phyllis McGinley, helped standardize and establish the character and role of Mrs. Claus in the US.[41]
Seabury Quinn's 1948 novel Roads draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of Christmas. Other modern additions to the "story" of Santa include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the 9th and lead reindeer created in 1939 by Robert L. May, a Montgomery Ward copywriter, and immortalized in a 1949 song by Gene Autry.
In popular culture
Santa on the December 1905 cover of Puck magazine, v. 58, no. 150
See also: Santa Claus in film and SantaCon
Elves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century. 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 or managers.[42]
In 1912, actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film. Santa Claus, which he also directed, included scenes photographed in a limited, two-tone color process and featured the use of detailed models.[43] Since then many feature films have featured Santa Claus as a protagonist, including Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause, and Elf.
In the cartoon base, Santa has been voiced by several people, including Mickey Rooney, Jim Cummings, Mel Smith, Ricky Tomlinson, Jim Belushi, and Alec Baldwin.
Santa has been described as a positive male cultural icon:
Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who's male, does not carry a gun, and is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for other people. That's part of the magic for me, especially in a culture where we've become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future.
— TV producer Jonathan Meath who portrays Santa, 2011[44]
Norman Corwin's 1938 comic radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas, set entirely in rhyme, details a conspiracy of the Devil Mephistopheles and damned figures of history to defeat the good will among men of Christmas, by sending the Roman emperor Nero to the North Pole to assassinate Santa Claus. Through a battle of wits, Santa saves himself by winning Nero over to the joys of Christmas, and gives him a Stradivarius violin. The play was re-produced in 1940 and 1944.
Santa Claus with reindeer at Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania 2021
Many television commercials, comic strips 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, a Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO (Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization) for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room, and "Aggressive recruitment of a wider gender spectrum of employee" ("short broads"}, with the elves then going on strike. President Reagan steps in, fires all of Santa's helpers, and replaces them with out-of-work air traffic controllers (an obvious reference to the 1981 air traffic controllers' strike), resulting in a riot before Santa vindictively rehires them in humiliating new positions such as his reindeer.[45] In the 2001 The Sopranos episode, "To Save Us All from Satan's Power", Paulie Gualtieri says he "Used to think Santa and Mrs. Claus were running a sweatshop over there. The original elves were ugly, traveled with Santa to throw bad kids a beatin', and gave the good ones toys."
2009 Liverpool Santa Dash
In Kyrgyzstan, a mountain peak was named after Santa Claus, after a Swedish company had suggested the location be a more efficient starting place for present-delivering journeys all over the world, than Lapland. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007, with government officials attending. 2008 was officially declared the Year of Santa Claus in the country. The events are seen as moves to boost tourism in Kyrgyzstan.[46]
The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa Clauses is held by Thrissur, Kerala, India where on 27 December 2014, 18,112 Santas overtook the previous record. Derry City, Northern Ireland had held the record since 9 September 2007, when a total of 12,965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa's helpers. Prior to that, the record was 3,921, which was set during the Santa Dash event in Liverpool City Centre in 2005.[47] A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest, Romania attempted to top the world record, but failed with only 3,939 Santas.[48]
Santa Claus appears in a few video games.[49]
Traditions and rituals
Chimneys
The Feast of Saint Nicholas by Jan Steen (c. 1665–1668)
The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers.[50] In pre-Christian Norse tradition, Odin would often enter through chimneys and fire holes on the solstice.[citation needed] In the Italian Befana tradition, the gift-giving witch is perpetually covered with soot from her trips down the chimneys of children's homes.[citation needed]
Christmas Eve
A man dressed as Santa Claus waves to children from an annual holiday train in Chicago, 2012.
In the United States and Canada, children may leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies intended for Santa; in Britain and Australia, sherry or beer, and mince pies are left instead. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it is common for children to leave him rice porridge with sugar and cinnamon instead. In Ireland it is popular to leave Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies.
In Hungary, St. Nicolaus (Mikulás) or Father Winter (Télapó) comes on the night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning. They get sweets in a bag if they were good, and a golden colored birch switch if not. On Christmas Eve "Little Jesus" comes and gives gifts for everyone.[51]
In Slovenia, Saint Nicholas (Miklavž) also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of 6 December. Božiček (Christmas Man) brings gifts on the eve of 25 December, and Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Frost) brings gifts in the evening of 31 December to be opened on New Years Day.
Hanging up stockings for Santa Claus in Worthington, Ohio, 1928
After the children have fallen asleep, parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree, which may be signed as being "from Santa Claus".[52][53][54]
A classic American image of Santa Claus
Appearance
Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red outfit consisting of jacket, trousers and hat all lined with white fur, accessorized with black leather belt and boots, and carrying a bag full of gifts for children. The 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" popularized this image in North America during the 19th century. Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa's image.[55][56][57]
Though most often portrayed as white, Santa is also depicted as black or of other races. His race or color is sometimes a subject of controversy.[58][59]
Ho, ho, ho
"Ho ho ho" redirects here. For other uses, see Ho ho ho (disambiguation).
Ho ho ho is the way that many languages write out how Santa Claus laughs. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" It is the textual rendition of a particular type of deep-throated laugh or chuckle, most associated today with Santa Claus and Father Christmas.
The laughter of Santa Claus has long been an important attribute by which the character is identified, but it also does not appear in many non-English-speaking countries. The traditional 1823 Christmas poem A Visit from St. Nicholas relates that Santa has:
"a little round belly
That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly"
Home
See also: Santa's workshop § Location
The Santa Claus Village in Lapland
Santa's House at Jerusalem Old City, St. Peter Street
Santa Claus's home is traditionally said to include a residence and a workshop where he is said to create—often with the aid of elves or other supernatural beings—the gifts he is said to deliver to good children at Christmas. Some stories and legends include a village, inhabited by his helpers, surrounding his home and shop.
In North American tradition (in the United States and Canada), Santa is said to live at the North Pole, which according to Canada Post lies within Canadian jurisdiction in postal code H0H 0H0[60] (a reference to "ho ho ho", Santa's notable saying, although postal codes starting with H are usually reserved for the island of Montréal in Québec). On 23 December 2008, Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, formally awarded Canadian citizenship status to Santa Claus. "The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete," Kenney said in an official statement.[61]
There is also a city named North Pole in Alaska where a tourist attraction known as the "Santa Claus House" has been established. The United States Postal Service uses the city's ZIP code of 99705 as their advertised postal code for Santa Claus. A Wendy's in North Pole, AK has also claimed to have a "sleigh fly through".[62]
Each Nordic country claims Santa's residence to be within their territory. Norway claims he lives in Drøbak. In Denmark, he is said to live in Greenland (near Uummannaq). In Sweden, the town of Mora has a theme park named Tomteland. The national postal terminal in Tomteboda in Stockholm receives children's letters for Santa. In Finland, Korvatunturi has long been known as Santa's home, and two theme parks, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located near Rovaniemi. In Belarus, there is a home of Ded Moroz in Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park.[63]
In France, Santa is believed to reside in 1 Chemin des Nuages, Pôle Nord (1 Alley of Clouds, North Pole). The French national postal service has operated a service that allows children to send letters to Père Noël since 1962.[64] In the period before Christmas, any physical letter in the country that is addressed to Santa Claus is sent to a specific location, where responses for the children’s letters are written and sent back to the children.[65]
Parades, department stores, and shopping malls
See also: Santa's workshop § Santa Claus grottos and department stores
Eaton's Santa Claus Parade, 1918, Toronto, Canada. Having arrived at the Eaton's department store, Santa is readying his ladder to climb up onto the building.
Representation of Santa Claus in Italy
Actors portraying Santa Claus are present at various venues in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The practice of this has been credited[dubious – discuss] to James Edgar, as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton, Massachusetts department store.[66] Having a Santa actor set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918.[67] An area is often set aside for the actors portraying Santa to use for the duration of the holiday season. It usually features a chair for the actors to sit in surrounded by various holiday-themed decorations. In Canada, malls operated by Oxford Properties established a process by which autistic children could "visit Santa Claus" at the mall without having to contend with crowds.[68] The malls open early to allow entry only to families with autistic children, who have a private visit with the actor portraying Santa Claus. In 2012, the Southcentre Mall in Calgary was the first mall to offer this service.[69]
In the United Kingdom, discount store Poundland changes the voice of its self-service checkouts to that of Santa Claus throughout the Christmas retail period.[70]
There are schools offering instruction on how to act as Santa Claus. For example, children's television producer Jonathan Meath studied at the International School of Santa Claus and earned the degree Master of Santa Claus in 2006. It blossomed into a second career for him, and after appearing in parades and malls,[71] he appeared on the cover of the American monthly Boston Magazine as Santa.[72] There are associations with members who portray Santa; for example, Mr. Meath was a board member of the international organization called Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas.[73]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Santa grottos were not operating for the 2020 Christmas season. Due to this, some companies offered video calls for a fee using apps such as Zoom where children could speak to an actor who was dressed as Santa Claus.[74]