The lore of St. Nicholas

By Lisa Kaczke | The Daily Journal

Published 04:30 p.m., November 27, 2009

By Lisa Kaczke

Daily Journal

The story of Santa Claus waiting until children fall asleep to travel down through their chimney with presents on Christmas Eve first entered American culture in the 19th century.

However, versions of Santa Claus have existed in countries around the world for centuries.

Whether it’s a Christmas goat living in the snow in northern Finland, Santa Claus at the North Pole or an old woman giving the wrong directions to Bethlehem, each country adds its own twist to the story of Old St. Nick.

The real Nicholas

The legend of Santa Claus began with a monk named St. Nicholas, who was born around 280 A.D. in Patara, which sits in modern-day Turkey, according to The History Channel. Nicholas was known for his piety and kindness and, according to legend, he gave away all of his wealth, traveling throughout the country to help the poor and sick.

His feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, the anniversary of his death.

St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe by the Renaissance. He continued to have a positive reputation after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints were discouraged, according to The History Channel.

The American Santa

Santa Claus first appeared on the scene in the United States as “Sinter Klaas.”

It was first reported in a New York newspaper in December of 1773 and 1774 that groups of Dutch families were gathering to honor the anniversary of St. Nicholas’ death.

Sinter Klaas was the Dutch nickname for St. Nicholas, or as they spelled it, Sint Nikolaas, according to The History Channel.

Sint Nikolaas’ visits to the Dutch families were meant to judge good and evil, according to Phyllis Siefker, author of “Santa Claus: Last of the Wild Men.”

“Far from being a fun-loving gift-giver, this seasonal visitor was a stern, dour, judgmental bishop who visited homes in full Episcopal attire and demeanor,” she wrote.

He gained popularity after the publishing of Washington Irving’s 1809 book “The History of New York,” where he refers to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York, according to The History Channel.

As he grew more popular, he was described as wearing a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat and yellow stockings or wearing a broad-brimmed hat and Flemish pants.

In Europe, St. Nicholas continues to be portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes that resembles the actual St. Nicholas. However, in the United States, the modern image of Santa as a portly fellow in a red suit was created with a cartoon that was inspired by Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” now known as “’Twas The Night Before Christmas.” Moore wrote the poem for his three daughters and originally wasn’t going to publish it due to its frivolous subject, according to The History Channel. Political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore’s account of St. Nicholas to draw a cheerful man with a red suit trimmed with white fur, along with his North Pole workshop, elves and Mrs. Claus, according to The History Channel. The cartoon was published in Harper’s Weekly in 1881.

Visiting Santa at a store was popularized in the mid-19th century. Advertising for Christmas shopping began in the 1820s and by the 1840s, newspapers were printing separate holiday shopping sections featuring images of Santa Claus, according to The History Channel.

In 1841, a Philadelphia store had a life-size Santa Claus model that attracted thousands of children. From there, more stores began attracting children and their parents with a “live” Santa Claus, according to The History Channel.

A jolly troll

Scandinavian folklore describes a troll in a sleigh pulled by goats visiting children at Christmastime.

In Swedish, the troll is called a tomte; in Finnish, he is tonttu; and in Norwegian, Danish and southern Swedish dialects, he is called nisse, according to Visit Sweden.

He is typically drawn as a small, bearded, elderly man dressed like a farmer.

During Christianization, the troll became unpopular and was connected to heathenism, according to Visit Sweden.

However, in the 1840s he became the bearer of Christmas presents in Denmark. Later in Sweden and Norway, and influenced by the Dutch tradition, he began to bring presents to children instead of a traditional Julbock (Yule goat). He typically goes through the front door at night and delivers the presents directly to the children. Some Scandinavians also put out porridge for him to eat.

In Finland, children are visited by Joulupukki, or Christmas Goat, who lives in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland Finland. He goes through the front door during Christmas Eve celebrations and asks if there are any well-behaved children there, instead of waiting for the children to be asleep. He typically wears red clothes and uses a walking stick and travels on a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

The god Odin

Prior to the Christianization of the Germanic people, Odin was one of their major gods. Odin, on an eight-legged horse, would lead a hunting party through the sky during the Germanic holiday of Yule. Children would fill their shoes with carrots, straw or sugar and place them near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse to eat, according to Siefker. Odin would then fill the empty boots with gifts and candy. The practice evolved into hanging stockings and was brought to the United States by the Dutch.

In central Europe, the tradition continues with children placing a boot or shoe outside the front door on the night of Dec. 5. During the night, the boots and shoes of the children who were good are filled with gifts and candy by St. Nicholas. The children who were bad receive a tree branch from St. Nicholas.

A second figure also travels with St. Nicholas on Dec. 6 in some European countries. In Germany and Switzerland, Christkind (meaning Christ child) delivered presents to well-behaved children, according to The History Channel. The Christkind is believed to be an angel-like figure. However, in some countries, the second figure elicits fear in the children by threatening them with beatings for misbehavior.

An old woman

In Russia and Italy, a woman delivers presents to children instead of Father Christmas.

The Russian folklore tells of a elderly woman named Babouschka who purposely gives the wise men the wrong directions to Bethlehem so they can’t find Jesus, according to The History Channel. However, she later begins to feel remorseful. But she can’t find the wise men to undo what she’s done.

A different version of the story tells that Babouschka declined to go with the wise men due to cold weather. She then regrets her decision and sets off to catch up with them, filling her basket with presents along the way. She never catches up and finds Jesus, and instead leaves presents for children.

Babouschka now gives presents to children on Jan. 5, the Russian Orthodox Christmas, every year in the hopes that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven, according to The History Channel.

Italian children are also visited by a woman, this one is a kindly witch called La Befana who rides her broomstick down the chimney, according to The History Channel.

The beginning of Rudolph

Santa wouldn’t be able to travel through the foggy night without the nose of his lead reindeer, Rudolph.

Rudolph was created in 1939 by a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store, according to The History Channel.

Using a similar rhyme pattern as “’Twas The Night Before Christmas,” May wrote a story about a young reindeer who was teased by the others because of his glowing red nose to entice holiday shoppers into the store, according to The History Channel.

The message of Rudolph turning his red nose into a positive was popular and the department store sold 2.5 million copies of it that year, according to The History Channel. The book sold more than 3.5 million copies when it was reissued in 1946.

The song was written by May’s friend Johnny Marks in 1949 and recorded by Gene Autry, according to The History Channel.

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