Santa Claus in Northern American culture: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Santa Claus]] |
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''For places in the United States of this name see [[Santa Claus (disambiguation)]].'' |
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'''Santa Claus''' (also known as '''Father Christmas''', '''Saint Nicholas''' or '''Saint Nick''') is the [[United States|American]], [[Latin America]]n, and [[United Kingdom|British]] variant of the European folk [[myth]] of [[Saint Nicholas]], explaining the source of [[Christmas]] presents given to children on Christmas Day. The [[Japan|Japanese]] also observe Santa Claus in Christmas, although the holiday is different. The name ''Santa Claus'' is a degeneration of the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word ''[[Sinterklaas]]''. |
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[[Image:Santa.jpg|right]] |
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==Introduction== |
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Conventionally, Santa Claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled man in a red suit trimmed with white fur, with a long white [[beard]]. On Christmas eve, he rides in his flying [[sled|sleigh]] (pulled by [[reindeer]]) from house to house to give presents to children. |
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During the rest of the year he lives at the [[North Pole]], in [[Finland|Finnish]] [[Lapland, Finland|Lapland]], or [[Dalecarlia]] in [[Sweden]] (traditions vary) together with his wife, Mrs. Claus, and his [[elf|elves]] who serve as his [[toy]] production staff. |
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Traditionally, the names of his reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Rudolph, 'the red-nosed reindeer', was not one of the original reindeer, but has featured in many modern aspects of the Santa Claus [[myth]], including the song of the same name. |
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Amongst virtually all adults the nonexistence of Santa Claus is a given, but many young children believe strongly in his existence. |
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A majority of parents, at least in [[English language|English]]-speaking households that celebrate Christmas, either actively attempt to convince their children of Santa's existence, or at least keep the source of their children's presents a secret from them and so fail to disprove the myth. |
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Children who believe in the existence of Claus often tend to lose such beliefs by early primary school, as their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality improves and older children disillusion them. |
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==Origins== |
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The modern Santa Claus is a composite character, made up from the merging of two quite separate figures. The first of these is [[Saint Nicholas]] a bishop of [[Byzantine]] [[Anatolia]], modern-day [[Turkey]], famous for generous gifts to the poor. In Europe he is still portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes. The second character is '''Father Christmas''', which remains the British name for Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the [[1600s]] in Britain, and pictures survive of him from that era, portrayed as a well-nourished bearded man, dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and is reflected in the 'Spirit of Christmas Present' in [[Charles Dickens]]' famous story, ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''. |
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When the Dutch still owned the land that later became [[New York]], they brought the Saint Nicholas' eve legend with them to the Americas; however without the red mantle and other symbols. |
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Note that in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], the feast is called '[[Saint Nicholas|sinterklaas]] feest', it celebrates the birthday of ''sinterklaas'' during ''sinterklaasavond'' ("sinterklaas's evening") [[December 5]]th or in [[Belgium]] at [[December 6]]th. |
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Sinterklaas was Americanized to Santa Claus, 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. |
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Santa Claus appeared in various colored costumes, as he gradually became amalgamated with the figure of Father Christmas, but red soon became popular after he appeared wearing such on an [[1885]] Christmas card. |
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The horse was converted to reindeers and a sleigh. |
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The black peters (which are in fact [[moors|Moorish]] slaves) were converted to elves, and in an attempt to move the origin of the festivities away from their pagan background to a more Christian one, the date was moved a few weeks to the celebrated day of the birth of Jesus, Christmas. |
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Santa's image was further modernized by the [[Coca-Cola]] company, who at the turn of the [[20th century]] featured the character in a variety of advertising campaigns. The final version was designed in 1931 by the American artist [[Haddon Sundblom]], who used the [[Swedish]] [[Tomte]] as a model for Santa. These campaigns helped establish a "uniform" Santa character, whereas prior to this his appearance and costume had varied from artist to artist. |
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Americans leave Santa a [[milk|glass of milk]] and [[cookie]]s. In Britain they leave Santa Claus [[whisky]] and [[mince pies]]. |
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[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]], has been immortalized in a song which is frequently played at Christmas. |
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The other names, outside Rudolph, were invented in a poem, ''[[A Visit From St. Nicholas]]'' (better known today as ''The Night Before Christmas''), ascribed to [[Clement Moore]], although there is some question as to his authorship. |
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It is suspected that the names ''Donner'' and ''Blitzen'' come from the German phrase ''Donner und Blitz'' which means ''Thunder and Lightning''. |
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An alternative explanation is that ''Donder'' is the original name of the seventh reindeer, as ''Donder en bliksem'' is Dutch for ''Thunder and Lightning''. |
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The reindeer are traditionally pictured with antlers, although male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter. Female reindeer keep their antlers until spring. |
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Many Christian churches dislike the secular focus on Santa and the materialist focus that present-giving gives to the holiday. |
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They would prefer that focus be given to the birth of [[Jesus]], their nominal reason for the Christmas celebration. |
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It should be noted that the festivities at this time of year are predated by the pagan [[Yule]] festivals which were subsumed within Christianity. It should also be noted that the date of Jesus' birth is not known. The connexion between [[Yule]] festival and Jesus' birth was a clerical decision in order to compete with rival religions concerning holidays during winter [[solstice]]. As an example of the still surviving pagan imagery, in Nordic countries there is ''Yule goat'' (Swedish ''julbok''), a somewhat scary figure with horns which however will deliver the presents in Christmas eve, and a straw goat is a common Christmas decoration. |
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A history of Santa Claus was written by [[L. Frank Baum]], the same man who wrote the ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|Wizard of Oz]]''. |
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However, the historical basis for Santa Claus was Saint [[Nicholas of Myra]]. |
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Historically, one of the first artists to capture Santa Claus' image as we know him today was [[Thomas Nast]], a cartoonist of the [[19th century]]. |
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In [[1862]], a picture of Santa appeared in Harper's Weekly by Nast. It is believed the inspiration for his image came from a mythical German character called ''[[Pelznickel]]'' (Furry Nicholas) who visited naughty children in their sleep. The [[Coca-Cola]] Company featured in its advertising a final Santa Claus designed by artist [[Haddon Sundblom]], who was inspired by the looks of the [[Swedish]] [[Tomte]], as he was depicted on the Christmas cards of [[Jenny Nyström]] in Sweden. In [[Scandinavia]], the [[Tomte]] is closely associated with Christmas, kindness and generosity. This blend of [[Nicholas of Myra]] and North European folklore helped popularize the design of Santa. ([[Urban legend]] has it that Santa Claus in his current guise was in fact created by Coca-Cola, though this is highly unlikely.) |
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To this day, Santa Claus still appears on Coca-Cola products each year around Christmastime. |
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In addition, the depiction of Santa at the North Pole also reflected toward the popular opinion about industry. In early images in the early 1900s, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the image changed to the idea 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. By the end of the century, the reality of mass mechanized production became more fully accepted by the Western public. That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence which is often humorously depicted as a fully mechanized production facility equipped with the latest manufacturing technology overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus as managers. Many TV commercials reflect this depiction with humorous business with the elves as a sometimes michieviously disgruntled workforce cracking jokes and pulling pranks on the boss. |
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Unlike the Santa in the United States and the United Kingdom, the Japanese Santa Claus does not carry any religious connotations. Christmas is mainly a time for lovers to exchange gifts. [[New Year's Day]] is a more important holiday in Japan. |
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== "Santa" in shopping centres == |
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Santa Claus is also a costumed character who appears at Christmas time in [[department store]]s or [[shopping mall]]s. He is played by an [[actor]], usually helped by other actor(s) dressed as elves or other creatures of [[folklore]]. His function is either to promote the store's image by distributing small gifts to children, or to provide a seasonal experience to children by having them sit on his knee, state what they wish to get, and often have a [[photograph]] taken. The area set up for this purpose is festively decorated, usually with a large [[throne]], and is called variously ''"Santa's [[Grotto]]"'', ''"Santa's Workshop"'' or a similar term. |
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==Grandfather Frost== |
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Since the [[1880s]], in Eastern European [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] countries a similar character known as ''Ded Moroz'' or "Grandfather Frost" travels around on a magic sled with his young, blond assistant Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden, said to be his granddaughter) giving gifts to good children. Ded Moroz and Snegurochka travel in a [[troika]] — a decorated sleigh drawn by three horses. He only delivers presents to children while they are asleep and unlike Santa he does not travel down chimneys but comes to the front door of the children's homes. It is traditional for the children to leave him some food for Ded Moroz just as Americans leave Santa a [[milk|glass of milk]] and [[cookie]]s. In Britain they leave Santa Claus [[whisky]] and [[mince pies]]. |
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== Bibliography == |
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Siefker, Phyillis: ''Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men. The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years''. Jefferson (North Carolina): McFarland, 1996. ([http://www.grapevine.net/~kic/ Website about the book.]) |
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== See also == |
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* [[Saint Nicholas]] |
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* [[Nicholas of Myra]] |
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* [[Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]] |
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== External links == |
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* The Original 1860's [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/Original_Santa_Claus.htm Thomas Nast Santa Claus] Illustrations |
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* [http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp Santa Claus - The Urban Legend] |
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* [http://www.samlaren.se-swed.net/jn.htm Jenny Nyström, the artist whose Christmas cards inspired Haddon Sunblom when he designed Coca Cola's Santa] |
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* [http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&q=santa%27s+grotto Google search: "Santa's Grotto"] |
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[[da:Julemanden]] |
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[[de:Weihnachtsmann]] |
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[[eo:Avo Frosto]] |
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[[fr:Père Noël]] |
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[[fi:Joulupukki]] |
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[[ja:サンタクロース]] |
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[[nl:kerstman]] |
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[[no:Julenissen]] |
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[[ro:Moş Crăciun]] |
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[[sv:Jultomte]] |
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[[Category:Christmas]] |
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Latest revision as of 00:26, 24 December 2014
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