Okay, so he isn’t necessarily a creature. But since he is geared up to around the world bringing all good little boys and girls their Christmas wishes, there has to be something a little different about him. Perhaps more Myth than Mythical Creature, this post shines the light on some of the earlier stories of the jolly old elf we now know as Santa Claus. I thought I would show Santa some love and wish him well on his much-deserved upcoming vacation. Side note… where exactly does Santa go to unwind? Maybe for another post…
Origins of Santa Claus
From what I could find, the origins of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk, St. Nicholas of Myra, to around 280 A.D. who was known for his giving nature and kindness. The day of his death, December 6th was set aside as a feast day in his honor and is celebrated in many cultures to this day. This was believed to be a great day to make large purchases or get married, so for those of you who aren’t into Black Friday shopping, keep that in mind! According to TimeandDate.com other notable things that happened on this date include: Adoption of the 13th Amendment in 1865 and the World’s First Pediatric Heart Transplant in 1967.
Shoes and Stockings
As the traditions continued, children put their shoes out overnight by the fireplace so that St. Nicholas could fill them with special fruits, candies, and treats. The stockings that we use in the US today are very reminiscent of that tradition, don’t you think? Children also left carrots by their shoes for St. Nicholas to feed his donkey, since he didn’t upgrade to flying reindeer until much later. The carrots may have been a better option since Santa didn’t get his belly until he moved to the US and started eating cookies. But I digress.
According to the Smithstonian Magazine, the myth of the Christmas stocking was told through a story of a widowed man who had three beautiful daughters. It seems that St. Nicholas overheard some villagers discussing the man’s worries that his daughters were too impoverished to make a good match. Knowing the man wouldn’t take charity directly, he slid down the chimney and placed gold coins in the freshly laundered stockings that the girls had hung near the fire to dry. In other versions, sacks of coins were tossed through the window, one for each daughter who needed a dowry.
During the time of Vikings, Odin was known by many names, one such title was Master of the Yule (Jólnir). There is also a reference of straw being left in boots to feed Odin’s eight-legged flying horse, Sleipnir, which was replaced by toys and candy. I found two articles digging way deeper into Norse legend than I will get into in this post, which each have differing opinions on whether the origins of Santa Claus lead to Odin, which I will link to below. However, I did find it interesting that the filling-the-stocking idea went so far back in our story-telling history.
Protestant Reformation
During the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, praying to saints was believed to be against scripture, so Martin Luther and his followers introduced the idea that the “Kristkindl” (German for “Christ-child”) would come on Christmas Eve with presents for all good children. The name was modified to Kris Kringle in the 1840s and became a popular nickname in many countries for Santa Claus. It seems that the gift-giving elf wouldn’t let a little thing like a name change stop him, so he embraced his new identity and went on his merry way.
It seems that this change may have also taken the Yuletide season festivities from paganism and blended them into the Christian calendar. I’m certainly not a scholar on any of this, but I can’t help make the connection. Because it interests me, this will be a post for another time, but I can’t help but think about Odin and his title as Master of the Yule. Also about the fact that the winter solstice is at the end of December when we are celebrating Christmas. Oh and one more, Yuletide is from December 21 to January 1 which lasts… you guessed it, 12 days. What I find cool is that we are all celebrating the same thing in different ways… and our celebrations are all about closing out one season, and looking forward to the birth of a new one.
Sinterklaas
As traditions wound their way to Holland, St. Nicholas became Sinterklaas and continued to delight children with his gift-giving shenanigans. Major celebrations are held the night before St. Nicholas Day on the 5th which is when he makes all his deliveries to the households. You might even answer the door after a knock and find a whole sackful of them on the doorstep! By the 6th, his job is done, and he heads home for a night of well-deserved rest.
The Jolly Old Elf takes New York
Sinterklaas made his way to the US through a celebration in his honor held by the Dutch families who had moved to New York. There are mentions of him as early as 1773. During his time here, his name evolved to Santa Claus and the gift-giving elf we picture today was born.
In the 1800s the stores got in on the fun, and visits with Santa were offered for children. We have been shopping for the holiday ever since. Multiple artist renderings helped with the image we now picture and the famous poem, written by an Episcopal minister Clement Clark Moore, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (AKA ‘Twas the Night before Christmas), gave us the “jolly old elf” we know and love today.
Whatever name he is known by, Santa Claus is a worldwide symbol of giving and joyous celebration. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be saving that for once a year, I think we could all use a little Santa in our lives each and every day. Now more than ever, we need to keep his spirit in our hearts.
Happy Holidays however you celebrate and hope you’ve been good this year, you know he’s going to be checking that list twice no matter what name he goes by! XO
Some great posts I found when poking around if you want to learn more:
https://www.norwegianamerican.com/dont-take-odin-out-of-yule/
https://www.livescience.com/5953-santa-claus-real-man-myth.html
https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus
https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/st-nicholas-and-your-shoes/
D.A. Henneman - Romance Author 
This was such a fun post. I had no idea that Santa used to be slender (or at least not have his characteristic round belly)! That’s interesting.
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Thank you! I had so much fun poking around when writing it! It is on my agenda for next year to do further research since there are so many variations on how we celebrate around the world. Have a great New Year!
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