Santa Claus Around the World
Submitted by Justin Steigely, New Mexico State University
Father Christmas (England)
Father Christmas is the traditional British name for a figure associated
with Christmas, a forerunner of Santa Claus. The term is also used in
many English-speaking countries outside Britain.
He does not distribute presents to children but is associated with adult
celebrations. Giving news of Christ's birth, Father Christmas
encourages everyone to eat and drink: "Make good cheer and be right
merry." Since the mid-Victorian era however, Father Christmas has
gradually merged with the pre-modern gift-giver St Nicholas associated
folklore. Nowadays, most people consider Santa Claus and Father
Christmas to be different names for the same figure.
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet (The Netherlands)
Sinterklaas is a traditional figure based on Saint Nicholas who gives gifts to
children on the night before Saint Nicholas Day (December 5th) in the
Netherlands and on the morning of 6 December, Saint Nicholas Day itself, in
Belgium, Luxembourg, and Northern France.
He traditionally rides a white horse and carries a big book that tells whether
each child has been good or naughty in the past year.
Zwarte Piet is a companion of Sinterklaas, usually portrayed by a man in
blackface with black curly hair, dressed up like a 17th-century page in
colorful dress, often sporting a lace collar and a feathered cap. The tradition
of Zwarte Piet appears to date back at least as far as the early 19th Century.
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet usually carry a bag which contains candy for
nice children and a roe, a chimney sweep's broom made of willow branches,
used to spank naughty children. Some of the older Sinterklaas songs make
mention of naughty children being put in the bag and being taken back to
Spain. The Zwarte Pieten toss candy around, a tradition supposedly
originating in the story of Saint Nicholas's saving three young girls from
prostitution by tossing golden coins through their windows at night to pay
their dowries.
Ded Moroz and Snegurochka (Father Frost and the Snow Maiden)
(Russia & other Slavic countries)
Ded Moroz is said to bring presents to children; however, unlike the secretive Santa Claus, the
gifts are often delivered "in person" at New Year's Eve parties and other New Year celebrations.
Although it may look like the Snow Maiden found herself a nice sugar daddy to give her the
things she wants, Snegurochka is actually the granddaughter of Father Frost. She is a unique
attribute of Ded Moroz; no traditional gift-givers from other cultures are portrayed with a female
companion.
The earliest tales of Ded Moroz presented him as a wicked and cruel sorcerer, similar to the Old
Slavic gods "Pozvizd"—the god of wind and good and bad weather, "Zimnik"—god of winter, and
the terrifying, "Korochun"—an underworld god ruling over frosts. According to legend, Ded
Moroz liked to freeze people and kidnap children, taking them away in his gigantic sack. Parents
were said to have to give him presents as a ransom in return for their children. Under the
influence of Orthodox traditions, the character of Ded Moroz was completely transformed into a
benevolent figure.
In early Soviet Union, the tradition of Christmas was banned, together with other Christian
traditions. However in 1935 the celebration of the New Year was allowed, which included, in
part, the fir tree and Ded Moroz. The image of Ded Moroz took its current form during these
times, becoming the main symbol of the New Year’s holiday that replaced Christmas. During
Stalinist times, Ded Moroz, Snegurochka, and New Year Boy were featured in Communist-type
Nativity scenes with Ded Moroz as the equivalent of Joseph, Snegurochka as the equivalent of
Mary, and the New Year Boy as the equivalent of the Christ child.
Joulupukki (Finland)
Joulupukki is an old Scandinavian custom and Finnish Christmas figure. The
name "Joulupukki" literally means "Christmas goat." The figure eventually
became more or less conflated with Santa Claus. He is connected to Wōden of
Norse mythology and said to wear red leather pants and a fur trimmed red
leather coat.
The Joulupukki may also be a man turned into a goat-man on Christmas Eve.
There persists today in some parts of Finland the custom of persons dressing in
goat costume to perform in return for leftover food after Christmas. Historically,
such a person was an older man, and the tradition refers to him as a nuuttipukki.
Today, Joulupukki looks and behaves mostly like his American cousin, but there
are differences. Joulupukki's house and workshop are situated in the mountains
of Korvatunturi, whereas his American counterpart resides somewhere near the
North Pole.
Le Père Fouettard (France)
Santa’s Foreign Helpers
Le Père Fouettard is a sinister figure dressed in black who accompanies
Saint Nicolas in his rounds during St. Nicholas' Day (December 6th)
dispensing lumps of coal and/or spankings (with a whip) to the naughty
children while St. Nick gives gifts to the well behaved.
The most popular story about the origin of Le Père Fouettard was first told
in the year 1150. Le Père Fouettard, an innkeeper (or in other versions a
butcher), captures three boys who appear to be wealthy and on their way to
enroll in a religious boarding school. Along with his wife, he kills the children
in order to rob them. One gruesome version tells that they drug the
children, slit their throats, cut them into pieces, and stew them in a barrel.
St. Nicholas discovers the crime and resurrects the children. After this, Le
Père Fouettard repents and becomes St. Nick's partner. A slightly altered
version of this story claims that St. Nicholas forced Le Père Fouettard to
become his assistant as a punishment for his crimes.
Krampus (Germany)
Santa’s Foreign Helpers
On December 5th in places like in Austria, Switzerland, Croatia and Germany, children may face
Krampus. American kids have never truly earned a Christmas gift—they know that no matter how
bad they've been all year, there's still probably an iPod with their name on it come December 25th.
There's a reason you don't see that same sense of self-entitlement in German kids, and that reason
is Krampus, the Christmas Demon.
While smug American children sleep easy knowing the old "lump of coal" threat is empty and
baseless, many naughty European children are annually threatened with a Pagan Fertility Demon
from deepest, darkest hell—a goat-legged, horned satyr who won't leave coal as much as he will
beat them savagely for their misdeeds and then drag them to hell (it's somewhat more effective).
Krampus is St. Nick's right hand man: a good cop/bad cop team of pure emotional torture. If it's
decided you're good (AND you pass a grueling pop-quiz on religious catechism, in some traditions),
the gifts are yours. If not, you are swiftly whipped raw and right to the edge of death by Krampus'
unrelenting birch rods.
As a young German child you may reach an age where you don't believe in Krampus anymore. And
that's about the time a herd of men dressed as Krampus—or Krampi, I guess—will approach your
bedroom window, in full-Satan regalia, rattling rusty chains and large bells and screaming at
you...every December 5th. And while you're peeing in your lederhosen, your parents then LET
THEM IN THE HOUSE, LET THEM TORMENT YOU, AND THEN HAVE DRINKS WITH THEM.
According to a series of very popular 1800s postcards, Krampus enjoyed: ripping pigtails out,
leading children off a cliff, sadistic ear-pulling, putting pre-teens in shackles, forcing children to beg
for mercy, and throwing youngsters on an Express Train to The Lake of Fire (making no local
stops). And then there's my favorite: drowning children to death in ink and fishing out the corpse
with a pitchfork.