Santa Claus is a folkloric and imaginary figure from American folklore. An Americanized version of the mythical Saint Nicohlas, Santa Claus is believed to, on the night before Christmas, deliver presents to all children who had proven to be nice and good the year before. He is said to live in the North Pole and manages to deliver presents by riding his sleigh pulled by his pet reindeer capable of flight.
Historical Background[]
Pre-Modern[]
The mythological framework of Santa Claus is owed to Saint Nicohlas (traditionally believed to be 270-343), a saint who is believed to have been born and lived in the historical Greek city of Myra, which had been located in present southwestern Turkey. One of the most iconic tales of Saint Nicohlas, written in The Life of Saint Nicohlas by Byzantine hagiographer Micheal the Archimandrite (c.814 to c.842), was a tale where the saint aided three teenage girls who lived in poverty and could not afford to get married, their father preparing to hand them to a brothel. To help them, he dropped off three sacks of gold to each of the three girls, allowing them to pay their dowries and escape from poverty through marriage. This tale became famous and made the saint a beloved figure in his region.[1][2]
After the tale of Saint Nicholas was spread into Western Europe thanks to the Crusades, with the crusaders having heard of the saint and then sharing this information once they returned home, new tales began to emerge. One folktale sprung up involving Saint Nicholas rescuing and restoring three little boys to life after they were chopped into pieces by a malevolent butcher, which after becoming widespread resulted with Saint Nicholas being now venerated as the patron saint of children. By the Rennaissance, Saint Nicholas was the most popular saint in all of Europe and the cultural tradition of parents gifting their children presents in the name of the saint was beginning to take root.[1][2]
In modern times, it is often thought that Santa Claus as a mythical figure derived inspiration from the Norse god Odin. Although there are some baseline similarities such as both figures giving gifts and both of them have pets capable of flight, either these similarities are more distinct upon further inspection (ex. Odin only gave gifts for the purpose of causing violent deaths so he can harvest the spirits of brave men and train them for the time of Ragnarok, sharply contrasting Santa Claus's selfless and charitable gift-giving) or the similarity is common enough in mythology that said similarity was likely just coincidental. In addition, the legend of Saint Nicohlas was not notably present in Western Europe until several centuries after the decline of Norse paganism. Overall, the potential inspiration is unlikely.[3]
Modern[]
The modern image of Santa Claus can be traced to the folkloric telling of "December gift-givers", all mythological successors of Saint Nicohlas, of various immigrant demographics that emigrated to the United States. Father Christmas from English folklore, Sinterklass from Dutch folklore, and Christkind from German folklore all had influences on the image on Santa: Father Christmas his appearance and demeanor, Sinterklass his name, and Christkind his alias "Chris Cringle". The Dutch Sinterklass was notably influential, with the figure as well as Saint Nicohlas becoming prominent in New York where the Dutch had particularly emigrated to. This was noted in author Washington Irving's satirical book The History of New York (1809), which says that Saint Nicohlas is the patron saint of New York. The book also mentions that the Dutch Commodore Olaf Van Cortlandt had a dream where Saint Nicohlas was riding a wagon above the treetops and delivering presents to children. It is likely Irving's work had an influence on further works of Saint Nicohlas and therefore Santa, specifically the notion that Santa delivers presents while riding on a vehicle.[1][2]
Myths and Legends[]
The most defining account of Santa Claus comes from the short poem A Visit from Saint Nicohlas (1823), written anonymously (Poet and professor Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, however this is still a matter a debate) and published throughout the United States soon after. The poem solidified Santa Claus's appearance as a plump and jolly man with a white beard, that he slides down the chimney to deliver presents, and that he has eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixern (the latter two are renamed to Donner and Blitzen in later versions, the original names meaning "Thunder" and Lightning" in Dutch respectively).[1]
Author L. Bank Faum's (the same author who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) account of Santa Claus in the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902) was also influential. In the work, Santa Claus was raised by a wood nymph in the Forest of Burzee. In adulthood, he becomes renowned for his kindness, and on his deathbed, all the immortals have a meeting and decide to grant him immortality so he can keep bestowing happiness to all children across the world. Although most of the telling is not present in any other works before and after featuring Santa, it was nonetheless popular, and it could've been the work that what made the notion of Santa Claus placing presents on or below the Christmas tree common practice (before Santa was thought to exclusively put presents in stockings).[1]
Additional folklore tells that Santa Claus has elf helpers who help him make the toys he delivers to children and that he lives in the North Pole with his wife Mrs. Claus, both tropes of which arose in the 19th century. Each year before Christmas, children write their lists from what they want from Santa and mail them to the North Pole. Santa also has two lists, a naughty and nice list, of which he writes all the children across the world in each respective list depending on each children's behavior which directly influences which children he brings presents to. The latter aspect of the Santa myth was crystalized thanks to the 1934 Christmas song "Santa Claus is coming to Town".[1][2]
Gallery[]
References[]
External Links[]
- Santa Claus - Wikipedia
- Santa Claus - Encyclopedia Britannica
- A Visit from Saint Nicohlas - Poetry Foundation
- The Life of Saint Nicohlas the Wonderworker - St. Nicohlas Center