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Santa Claus

February 05, 2023

"Santa" redirects here. For other uses, see Santa Claus (disambiguation) and Santa (disambiguation).

Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure[1] originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve to "nice" children,[2] and either coal or nothing to "naughty" children.[3][4] He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his North Pole workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.[5][6]

Santa Claus
Santa Claus portrayed by Jonathan Meath in 2010
Other namesSaint Nicholas
Saint Nick
Kris Kringle
Known forDelivering gifts to children at Christmas
SpouseMrs. Claus

The modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas, and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas.

Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, red hat with white fur, and black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. He is commonly portrayed as laughing in a way that sounds like "ho ho ho". This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas". Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa's image.[7][8][9] This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, family Christmas traditions, films, and advertising.

Predecessor figures

 
A 13th-century depiction of St. Nicholas from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

Saint Nicholas

Main article: Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire, today in Turkey. Nicholas was known for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.[10] He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In continental Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany), he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes.

In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of Myra were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuq dynasty, and soon after their Greek Orthodox church had been declared to be in schism by the Catholic church (1054 AD), a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the Greek church in Myra. Over the objection of the monks of Myra the sailors took the bones of St. Nicholas to Bari, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola. Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas' skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the church sarcophagus. These were later taken by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and placed in Venice, where a church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors, was built on the San Nicolò al Lido. St. Nicholas' vandalized sarcophagus can still be seen in the St. Nicholas Church in Myra. This tradition was confirmed in two important scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice, which revealed that the relics in the two Italian cities belong to the same skeleton. Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups, from archers, sailors, and children to pawnbrokers.[10][11] He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow.[12]

During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before his name day of 6 December, children were bestowed gifts in his honour. This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children, which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on 24 and 25 December. The custom of gifting to children at Christmas was propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first suggested the Christkind as the bringer of gifts. But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people.[13][14][15]

Father Christmas

 
"Ghost of Christmas Present", an illustration by John Leech made for Charles Dickens's festive A Christmas Carol (1843)
Main article: Father Christmas

Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur.[16] He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.[16] As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25 December to coincide with Christmas Day.[16] The Victorian revival of Christmas included Father Christmas as the emblem of good cheer.[17] His physical appearance was variable,[18] with one image being John Leech's illustration of the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's festive story A Christmas Carol (1843), as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace.[16][17]

Dutch, Belgian and Swiss folklore

 
Sinterklaas, Netherlands (2009) on his horse called Amerigo
 
1850 illustration of Saint Nicolas with his servant Père Fouettard/Zwarte Piet
See also: Sinterklaas and Saint Nicholas

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus competes with that of Sinterklaas, based on Saint Nicolas. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch ("the Christmas man") and Père Noël ("Father Christmas") in French. For children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift-giver in December; 36% of the Dutch only give presents on Sinterklaas evening or the day itself, 6 December,[19] while Christmas, 25 December, is used by another 21% to give presents. Some 26% of the Dutch population gives presents on both days.[20] In Belgium, presents are offered exclusively to children on 6 December, and on Christmas Day all ages may receive presents. Saint Nicolas/Sinterklaas' assistants are called "Pieten" (in Dutch) or "Père Fouettard" (in French), so they are not elves.[21] In Switzerland, Père Fouettard accompanies Père Noël in the French speaking region, while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlaus in the Swiss German region. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children.[22]

Germanic paganism, Wodan, and Christianization

 
An 1886 depiction of the long-bearded Norse god Odin by Georg von Rosen

Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule (Old English geola or giuli).[23] With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas.[24] During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.[citation needed] The leader of the Wild Hunt is frequently attested as the god Odin (Wodan), bearing (among many names) the names Jólnir, meaning "Yule figure", and Langbarðr, meaning "long-beard", in Old Norse.[25]

Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas and Santa Claus in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American tradition.[26] Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that "the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is the 25th of December, owes much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild, became a leading player on the Christmas stage."[27]

In Finland, Santa Claus is called Joulupukki (direct translation 'Christmas Goat').[28]

History

Origins

Early representations of the gift-giver from Church history and folklore, especially St Nicholas, merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus" (a phonetic derivation of "Sinterklaas" in Dutch).

In the English and later British colonies of North America, and later in the United States, British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. For example, in Washington Irving's History of New York (1809), Sinterklaas was Anglicized into "Santa Claus" (a name first used in the U.S. press in 1773)[29] 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. Irving's book was a parody of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention.[30] Irving's interpretation of Santa Claus was part of a broader movement to tone down the increasingly wild Christmas celebrations of the era, which included aggressive home invasions under the guise of wassailing, substantial premarital sex (leading to shotgun weddings in areas where the Puritans, waning in power and firmly opposed to Christmas, still held some influence) and public displays of sexual deviancy; the celebrations of the era were derided by both upper-class merchants and Christian purists.[30]

19th century

 
Illustration to verse 1 of "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight"
 
1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who, along with Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus.
 
Francis Pharcellus Church, author of the famous 1897 The Sun editorial which, responding to a letter from eight-year old Virginia O'Hanlon, contains the line "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"

In 1821, the book A New-year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York. It contained "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight", an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh, bringing rewards to children.[31] Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (better known today as The Night Before Christmas) in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on 23 December 1823; Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston, Jr. (who died nine years before Moore's claim) was the author.[10][32] St. Nick is described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly", that "shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly", in spite of which the "miniature sleigh" and "tiny reindeer" still indicate that he is physically diminutive. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen).[33]

By 1845, "Kris Kringle" was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States.[34] A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for "a fabulous personage" whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called "Krishkinkle", but in New York he is "St. Nicholas" or "Santa Claus". The author[35] quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too.[36]

As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century who immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly in which Santa was dressed in an American flag, and had a puppet with the name "Jeff" written on it, reflecting its Civil War context. In this drawing, Santa is also in a sleigh pulled by reindeers.[citation needed]

The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation. His Christmas image in the Harper's issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works, which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P."[37] A color collection of Nast's pictures, published in 1869, had a poem also titled "Santa Claus and His Works" by George P. Webster, who wrote that Santa Claus's home was "near the North Pole, in the ice and snow".[38] The tale had become well known by the 1870s. A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey."[39]

The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors, beginning in the mid-19th century. In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride". "Is There a Santa Claus?" is the title of an iconic editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church in the 21 September 1897 edition of The New York Sun that became the most reprinted in the U.S. and included the famous reply, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".[40][41]

In Russia, Ded Moroz emerged as a Santa Claus figure around the late 19th century[42] where Christmas for the Eastern Orthodox Church is kept on 7 January.

20th century

 
A man dressed as Santa Claus fundraising for Volunteers of America on the sidewalk of street in Chicago, Illinois, in 1902. He is wearing a mask with a beard attached.

L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, a children's book, was published in 1902. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not firmly established at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, and ten reindeer—who could not fly, but leapt in enormous, flight-like bounds. Claus's immortality was earned, much like his title ("Santa"), decided by a vote of those naturally immortal. This work also established Claus's motives: a happy childhood among immortals. When Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, exposes him to the misery and poverty of children in the outside world, Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means. Santa later appears in The Road to Oz as an honored guest at Ozma's birthday party, stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he is announced as "The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme Highness – Santa Claus".

 
Rose O'Neill's illustration for the 1903 issue of Puck

Images of Santa Claus were conveyed through Haddon Sundblom's depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising in the 1930s.[10][43] The image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand.[44] Coca-Cola's competitor Pepsi-Cola used similar Santa Claus paintings in its advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s. Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising—White Rock Beverages had already used a red and white Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923.[45][46] Earlier, Santa Claus had appeared dressed in red and white and essentially in his current form on several covers of Puck magazine in the first few years of the 20th century.[47]

 
Santa Claus portrayed by Nick Tribuzio in 1961 (Kent Studio, Hayward, CA)

The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly by organizations such as the Salvation Army. Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fundraising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time.

In 1937, Charles W. Howard, who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades, established the Charles W. Howard Santa School, the oldest continuously-run such school in the world.[48]

In some images from the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the idea emerged 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.

The 1956 popular song by George Melachrino, "Mrs. Santa Claus", and the 1963 children's book How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, by Phyllis McGinley, helped standardize and establish the character and role of Mrs. Claus in the US.[49]

Seabury Quinn's 1948 novel Roads draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of Christmas. Other modern additions to the "story" of Santa include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the 9th and lead reindeer created in 1939 by Robert L. May, a Montgomery Ward copywriter, and immortalized in a 1949 song by Gene Autry.

In popular culture

 
Santa on the December 1905 cover of Puck magazine, v. 58, no. 150
See also: Santa Claus in film and SantaCon

Elves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century. That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence—now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production and distribution facility, equipped with the latest manufacturing technology, and overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus as executives or managers.[50] An excerpt from a 2004 article, from a supply chain managers' trade magazine, aptly illustrates this depiction:

Santa's main distribution center is a sight to behold. At 4,000,000 square feet (370,000 m2), it's one of the world's largest facilities. A real-time warehouse management system (WMS) is of course required to run such a complex. The facility makes extensive use of task interleaving, literally combining dozens of DC activities (putaway, replenishing, order picking, sleigh loading, cycle counting) in a dynamic queue the DC elves have been on engineered standards and incentives for three years, leading to a 12% gain in productivity. The WMS and transportation system are fully integrated, allowing (the elves) to make optimal decisions that balance transportation and order picking and other DC costs. Unbeknownst to many, Santa actually has to use many sleighs and fake Santa drivers to get the job done Christmas Eve, and the transportation management system (TMS) optimally builds thousands of consolidated sacks that maximize cube utilization and minimize total air miles.[51]

In 1912, actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film. Santa Claus, which he also directed, included scenes photographed in a limited, two-tone color process and featured the use of detailed models.[52][53] Since then many feature films have featured Santa Claus as a protagonist, including Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause, and Elf.

In the cartoon base, Santa has been voiced by several people, including Mickey Rooney, Jim Cummings, Mel Smith, Ricky Tomlinson, Jim Belushi, and Alec Baldwin.

Santa has been described as a positive male cultural icon:

Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who's male, does not carry a gun, and is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for other people. That's part of the magic for me, especially in a culture where we've become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future.

— TV producer Jonathan Meath who portrays Santa, 2011[54]

Norman Corwin's 1938 comic radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas, set entirely in rhyme, details a conspiracy of the Devil Mephistopheles and damned figures of history to defeat the good will among men of Christmas, by sending the Roman emperor Nero to the North Pole to assassinate Santa Claus. Through a battle of wits, Santa saves himself by winning Nero over to the joys of Christmas, and gives him a Stradivarius violin. The play was re-produced in 1940 and 1944.

 
Santa Claus with reindeer at Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania 2021

Many television commercials, comic strips and other media depict this as a sort of humorous business, with Santa's elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss. For instance, a Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO (Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization) for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room, and "Aggressive recruitment of a wider gender spectrum of employee" ("short broads"}, with the elves then going on strike. President Reagan steps in, fires all of Santa's helpers, and replaces them with out-of-work air traffic controllers (an obvious reference to the 1981 air traffic controllers' strike), resulting in a riot before Santa vindictively rehires them in humiliating new positions such as his reindeer.[55] In the 2001 The Sopranos episode, "To Save Us All from Satan's Power", Paulie Gualtieri says he "Used to think Santa and Mrs. Claus were running a sweatshop over there. The original elves were ugly, traveled with Santa to throw bad kids a beatin', and gave the good ones toys."

In Kyrgyzstan, a mountain peak was named after Santa Claus, after a Swedish company had suggested the location be a more efficient starting place for present-delivering journeys all over the world, than Lapland. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007, with government officials attending. 2008 was officially declared the Year of Santa Claus in the country. The events are seen as moves to boost tourism in Kyrgyzstan.[56]

The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa Clauses is held by Thrissur, Kerala, India where on 27 December 2014, 18,112 Santas overtook the previous record. Derry City, Northern Ireland had held the record since 9 September 2007, when a total of 12,965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa's helpers. Prior to that, the record was 3,921, which was set during the Santa Dash event in Liverpool City Centre in 2005.[57] A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest, Romania attempted to top the world record, but failed with only 3,939 Santas.[58]

Santa Claus appears in a few video games.[59]

Traditions and rituals

Chimneys

 
The Feast of Saint Nicholas by Jan Steen (c. 1665–1668)

The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. In pre-Christian Norse tradition, Odin would often enter through chimneys and fire holes on the solstice.[citation needed] In the Italian Befana tradition, the gift-giving witch is perpetually covered with soot from her trips down the chimneys of children's homes. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. In Dutch artist Jan Steen's painting, The Feast of Saint Nicholas, adults and toddlers are glancing up a chimney with amazement on their faces while other children play with their toys. The hearth was held sacred in primitive belief as a source of beneficence, and popular belief had elves and fairies bringing gifts to the house through this portal. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" where the author described him as an elf.[60]

Christmas Eve

 
A man dressed as Santa Claus waves to children from an annual holiday train in Chicago, 2012.

In the United States and Canada, children traditionally leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies intended for Santa to consume; in Britain and Australia, sherry or beer, and mince pies are left instead. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it is common for children to leave him rice porridge with sugar and cinnamon instead. In Ireland it is popular to leave Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies.

In Hungary, St. Nicolaus (Mikulás) comes on the night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning. They get sweets in a bag if they were good, and a golden colored birch switch if not. On Christmas Eve "Little Jesus" comes and gives gifts for everyone.[61]

In Slovenia, Saint Nicholas (Miklavž) also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of 6 December. Božiček (Christmas Man) brings gifts on the eve of 25 December, and Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Frost) brings gifts in the evening of 31 December to be opened on New Years Day.

 
Hanging up stockings for Santa Claus in Worthington, Ohio, 1928

New Zealander, British, Australian, Irish, Canadian, and American children also leave a carrot for Santa's reindeer, and are told that if they are not good all year round that they will receive a lump of coal in their stockings, although the actual practice of giving coal is now considered archaic. Children following the Dutch custom for sinterklaas will "put out their shoe" (leave hay and a carrot for his horse in a shoe before going to bed, sometimes weeks before the sinterklaas avond). The next morning they will find the hay and carrot replaced by a gift; often, this is a marzipan figurine. Naughty children were once told that they would be left a roe (a bundle of sticks) instead of sweets, but this practice has been discontinued.

After the children have fallen asleep, parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree. Tags on gifts for children are sometimes signed by their parents "From Santa Claus" before the gifts are laid beneath the tree.[62][63][64]

 
A classic American image of Santa Claus.

Appearance

Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red outfit consisting of jacket, trousers and hat all lined with white fur, accessorized with black leather belt and boots, and carrying a bag full of gifts for children. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century because of the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas". Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa's image.[7][8][9]

Though most often portrayed as white, Santa is also depicted as black or of other races. His race or color is sometimes a subject of controversy.[65][66]

Ho, ho, ho

"Ho ho ho" redirects here. For other uses, see Ho ho ho (disambiguation).

Ho ho ho is the way that many languages write out how Santa Claus laughs. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" It is the textual rendition of a particular type of deep-throated laugh or chuckle, most associated today with Santa Claus and Father Christmas.

The laughter of Santa Claus has long been an important attribute by which the character is identified, but it also does not appear in many non-English-speaking countries. The traditional 1823 Christmas poem A Visit from St. Nicholas relates that Santa has:

"a little round belly
That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly"

Home

See also: Santa's workshop § Location
 
Santa's House at Jerusalem Old City, St. Peter Street

Santa Claus's home is traditionally said to include a residence and a workshop where he is said to create—often with the aid of elves or other supernatural beings—the gifts he is said to deliver to good children at Christmas. Some stories and legends include a village, inhabited by his helpers, surrounding his home and shop.

In North American tradition (in the United States and Canada), Santa is said to live at the North Pole, which according to Canada Post lies within Canadian jurisdiction in postal code H0H 0H0[67] (a reference to "ho ho ho", Santa's notable saying, although postal codes starting with H are usually reserved for the island of Montréal in Québec). On 23 December 2008, Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, formally awarded Canadian citizenship status to Santa Claus. "The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete," Kenney said in an official statement.[68]

There is also a city named North Pole in Alaska where a tourist attraction known as the "Santa Claus House" has been established. The United States Postal Service uses the city's ZIP code of 99705 as their advertised postal code for Santa Claus. A Wendy's in North Pole, AK has also claimed to have a "sleigh fly through".[69]

Each Nordic country claims Santa's residence to be within their territory. Norway claims he lives in Drøbak. In Denmark, he is said to live in Greenland (near Uummannaq). In Sweden, the town of Mora has a theme park named Tomteland. The national postal terminal in Tomteboda in Stockholm receives children's letters for Santa. In Finland, Korvatunturi has long been known as Santa's home, and two theme parks, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located near Rovaniemi. In Belarus, there is a home of Ded Moroz in Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park.[70]

In France, Santa is believed to reside in 1 Chemin des Nuages, Pôle Nord (1 Alley of Clouds, North Pole). The French national postal service has operated a service that allows children to send letters to Père Noël since 1962.[71] In the period before Christmas, any physical letter in the country that is addressed to Santa Claus is sent to a specific location, where responses for the children’s letters are written and sent back to the children.[72]

Parades, department stores, and shopping malls

See also: Santa's workshop § Santa Claus grottos and department stores
 
Eaton's Santa Claus Parade, 1918, Toronto, Canada. Having arrived at the Eaton's department store, Santa is readying his ladder to climb up onto the building.
 
Representation of Santa Claus in Italy.

Actors portraying Santa Claus appear in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. The practice of this has been credited[dubious – discuss] to James Edgar, as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton, Massachusetts department store.[73] The actor dressed up as Santa is usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa. 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 listening to their wishlist while having them sit on his knee (a practice now under review by some organisations in Britain,[74] and Switzerland[75]). Sometimes a photograph of the child and actor portraying Santa are taken. Having a Santa actor set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918.[76]

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. In the United States, the most notable of these is the Santa at the flagship Macy's store in New York City—he arrives at the store by sleigh in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the last float, and his court takes over a large portion of one floor in the store. The Macy's Santa Claus in New York City is often said to be "the real Santa." This was popularized by the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street with Santa Claus being called Kris Kringle. Essayist David Sedaris is known for the satirical SantaLand Diaries he kept while working as an elf in the Macy's display, which were turned into a famous radio segment and later published.

In Canada, malls operated by Oxford Properties established a process by which autistic children could "visit Santa Claus" at the mall without having to contend with crowds.[77] The malls open early to allow entry only to families with autistic children, who have a private visit with the actor portraying Santa Claus. In 2012, the Southcentre Mall in Calgary was the first mall to offer this service.[78]

In the United Kingdom, discount store Poundland changes the voice of its self-service checkouts to that of Santa Claus throughout the Christmas retail period.[79]

There are schools offering instruction on how to act as Santa Claus. For example, children's television producer Jonathan Meath studied at the International School of Santa Claus and earned the degree Master of Santa Claus in 2006. It blossomed into a second career for him, and after appearing in parades and malls,[80] he appeared on the cover of the American monthly Boston Magazine as Santa.[81] There are associations with members who portray Santa; for example, Mr. Meath was a board member of the international organization called Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas.[82]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Santa grottos were not operating for the 2020 Christmas season. Due to this, some companies offered video calls for a fee using apps such as Zoom where children could speak to an actor who was dressed as Santa Claus.[83]

In 2021, Walt Disney World and Disneyland featured for the first time Black cast members portraying Santa.[84]

Letter writing

"Letters to Santa" redirects here. For the Muppet television film, see A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. For the Polish film, see Letters to Santa (film).

Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas tradition for children for many years. These letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior. Some social scientists have found that boys and girls write different types of letters. Girls generally write longer but more polite lists and express the nature of Christmas more in their letters than in letters written by boys. Girls also more often request gifts for other people.[85]

Many postal services allow children to send letters to Santa Claus. These letters may be answered by postal workers or outside volunteers.[86] Writing letters to Santa Claus has the educational benefits of promoting literacy, computer literacy, and e-mail literacy. A letter to Santa is often a child's first experience of correspondence. Written and sent with the help of a parent or teacher, children learn about the structure of a letter, salutations, and the use of an address and postcode.[87]

According to the Universal Postal Union (UPU)'s 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has the oldest Santa letter answering effort by a national postal system. The USPS Santa letter answering effort started in 1912 out of the historic James Farley Post Office[88] in New York, and since 1940 has been called "Operation Santa" to ensure that letters to Santa are adopted by charitable organizations, major corporations, local businesses and individuals in order to fulfill the wishes of children.[86] Those seeking a North Pole holiday postmark through the USPS, are told to send their letter from Santa or a holiday greeting card by 10 December to: North Pole Holiday Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Dr, Anchorage, AK 99530–9998.[89]

In 2006, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, France's Postal Service received the most letters for Santa Claus or "Père Noël" with 1,220,000 letters received from 126 countries.[90] France's Postal Service in 2007 specially recruited someone to answer the enormous volume of mail that was coming from Russia for Santa Claus.[86]

Other Santa letter processing information, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, include:[86]

  • Countries whose national postal operators answer letters to Santa and other end-of-year holiday figures, and the number of letters received in 2006: Germany (500,000), Australia (117,000), Austria (6,000), Bulgaria (500), Canada (1,060,000), Spain (232,000), United States (no figure, as statistics are not kept centrally), Finland (750,000), France (1,220,000), Ireland (100,000), New Zealand (110,000), Portugal (255,000), Poland (3,000), Slovakia (85,000), Sweden (150,000), Switzerland (17,863), Ukraine (5,019), United Kingdom (750,000).
  • In 2006, Finland's national postal operation received letters from 150 countries (representing 90% of the letters received), France's Postal Service from 126 countries, Germany from 80 countries, and Slovakia from 20 countries.
  • In 2007, Canada Post replied to letters in 26 languages and Deutsche Post in 16 languages.
  • Some national postal operators make it possible to send in e-mail messages which are answered by physical mail. All the same, Santa still receives far more letters than e-mail through the national postal operators, proving that children still write letters. National postal operators offering the ability to use an on-line web form (with or without a return e-mail address) to Santa and obtain a reply include Canada Post[91] (on-line web request form in English and French), France's Postal Service (on-line web request form in French),[92][93] and New Zealand Post[94] (on-line web request form in English).[95] In France, by 6 December 2010, a team of 60 postal elves had sent out reply cards in response to 80,000 e-mail on-line request forms and more than 500,000 physical letters.[87]

Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus, and since 1982 over 13,000 Canadian postal workers have volunteered to write responses. His address is: Santa Claus, North Pole, Canada, H0H 0H0; no postage is required.[96] (see also: Ho ho ho). (This postal code, in which zeroes are used for the letter "O", is consistent with the alternating letter-number format of all Canadian postal codes.) Sometimes children's charities answer letters in poor communities, or from children's hospitals, and give them presents they would not otherwise receive. From 2002 to 2014, the program replied to approximately "one million letters or more a year, and in total answered more than 24.7 million letters";[97] as of 2015, it responds to more than 1.5 million letters per year, "in over 30 languages, including Braille answering them all in the language they are written".[98]

In Britain it is traditional for some to burn the Christmas letters on the fire, magically transporting them by wind to the North Pole.[99] According to the Royal Mail website, Santa's address for letters from British children is: Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ[100]

In Mexico and other Latin American countries, besides using the mail, sometimes children wrap their letters to a small helium balloon, releasing them into the air so Santa magically receives them.[99]

In 2010, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" formed partnerships with public schools and social institutions to encourage children to write letters and make use of postcodes and stamps. In 2009, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" answered almost two million children's letters, and spread some seasonal cheer by donating 414,000 Christmas gifts to some of Brazil's neediest citizens.[87]

Through the years, the Finnish Santa Claus (Joulupukki or "Yule Goat") has received over eight million letters. He receives over 600,000 letters every year from over 198 countries with Togo being the most recent country added to the list.[87] Children from Great Britain, Poland and Japan are the busiest writers. The Finnish Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi, near the Santa Claus Main Post Office in Rovaniemi precisely at the Arctic circle. His mailing address is: Santa Claus' Main Post Office, Santa Claus Village, FIN-96930 Arctic Circle. The post office welcomes 300,000 visitors a year, with 70,000 visitors in December alone.[87]

Children can also receive a letter from Santa through a variety of private agencies and organizations, and on occasion public and private cooperative ventures. An example of a public and private cooperative venture is the opportunity for expatriate and local children and parents to receive postmarked mail and greeting cards from Santa during December in the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, People's Republic of China,[101] Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland, and the People's Republic of China Postal System's Beijing International Post Office.[102][103][104] Parents can order a personalized "Santa letter" to be sent to their child, often with a North Pole postmark. The "Santa Letter" market generally relies on the Internet as a medium for ordering such letters rather than retail stores.[undue weight? – discuss]

Tracking

 
The Christmas issue of NOAA's Weather Bureau Topics with "Santa Claus" streaking across a weather radar screen, 1958

A number of websites created by various organizations claim to track Santa Claus each year. Some, such as NORAD Tracks Santa, the Google Santa Tracker, the emailSanta.com Tracker[105] and the Santa Update Project, have endured. Others, such as the Airservices Australia Tracks Santa Project,[106][107][108] the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's Tracks Santa Project,[109][110][111] the NASA Tracks Santa Project,[112] and the Bing Maps Platform Tracks Santa Project,[113][114] no longer actively track Santa.

 
1955 Sears ad with the misprinted telephone number that led to the creation of the NORAD Tracks Santa program

The origins of the NORAD Tracks Santa programme began in the United States in 1955, when a Sears Roebuck store in Colorado Springs, Colorado, gave children a number to call a "Santa hotline". The number was mistyped, resulting in children calling the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) on Christmas Eve instead. The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first call for Santa and responded by claiming to children that there were signs on the radar that Santa was indeed heading south from the North Pole. A tradition began, which continued under the name NORAD Tracks Santa when in 1958 Canada and the United States jointly created the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).[115][116] This "tracking" can now be done via the Internet and NORAD's website.

In the past, many local television stations in the United States and Canada likewise claimed they "tracked Santa Claus" in their own metropolitan areas through the stations' meteorologists. In December 2000, the Weather Channel built upon these local efforts to provide a national Christmas Eve "Santa tracking" effort, called "SantaWatch", in cooperation with NASA, the International Space Station, and Silicon Valley-based new multimedia firm Dreamtime Holdings.[117] Currently, most local television stations in the United States and Canada rely upon outside established "Santa tracking" efforts, such as NORAD Tracks Santa.[118]

Many other websites became available year-round, devoted to Santa Claus and purport to keep tabs on his activities in his workshop. Many of these websites also include email addresses or web forms which claim to allow children to send email to Santa Claus. One particular website called emailSanta.com was created when a 1997 Canada Post strike prevented Alan Kerr's young niece and nephews from sending their letters to Santa; in a few weeks, over 1,000 emails to Santa were received, and the site had received 1,000 emails a day one year later.[119][120] Some websites, such as Santa's page on Microsoft's former Windows Live Spaces or emailSanta.com, have used or still use "bots" or other automated programs to compose and send personalized and realistic replies.[121][122] Microsoft's website has given occasional profane results.[123][124]

In addition to providing holiday-themed entertainment, "Santa tracking" websites raise interest in space technology and exploration,[125] serve to educate children in geography[126] and encourage them to take an interest in science.[127]

Criticism

See also: Christmas controversy

Opposition from some Christian denominations

Santa Claus has partial Christian roots in Saint Nicholas, particularly in the high church denominations that practice the veneration of him, in addition to other saints. In light of this, the character has sometimes been the focus of controversy over the holiday and its meanings. A number of denominations of Christians have varying concerns about Santa Claus, which range from acceptance to denouncement.[128][129] Some Christians, particularly Calvinists such as the Puritans, disliked the idea of Santa Claus, as well as Christmas in general, believing that the lavish celebrations were not in accordance with their faith.[130] Other nonconformist Christians condemn the materialist focus of contemporary gift giving and see Santa Claus as the symbol of that culture.[131]

Condemnation of Christmas was prevalent among the 17th-century English Puritans and Dutch Calvinists who banned the holiday as either pagan or Roman Catholic. The American colonies established by these groups reflected this view. Tolerance for Christmas increased after the Restoration but the Puritan opposition to the holiday persisted in New England for almost two centuries.[132] In the Dutch New Netherland colony, season celebrations focused on New Year's Day.

 
Excerpt from Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas (1686), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England; Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.

Following the Restoration of the monarchy and with Puritans out of power in England,[133] the ban on Christmas was satirized in works such as Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas; Together with his Clearing by the Jury (1686).[134]

Reverend Paul Nedergaard, a clergyman in Copenhagen, Denmark, attracted controversy in 1958 when he declared Santa to be a "heathen goblin" ("en hedensk trold" in Danish) after Santa's image was used on the annual Christmas stamp ("julemærke") for a Danish children's welfare organization.[135]

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement, wrote: "the children should not be taught that Santa Claus has aught to do with this [Christmas] pastime. A deceit or falsehood is never wise. Too much cannot be done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating and inclining thought of childhood. To mould aright the first impressions of innocence, aids in perpetuating purity and in unfolding the immortal model, man in His image and likeness."[136]

Opposition under state atheism

Under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign.[137][138] The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.[139][140]

In December 2018, the city management office of Langfang in Hebei province released a statement stating that people caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished.[141]

Symbol of commercialism

In his 2005 book Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus, writer Jeremy Seal describes how the commercialization of the Santa Claus figure began in the 19th century. "In the 1820s he began to acquire the recognizable trappings: reindeer, sleigh, bells," said Seal in an interview.[142] "They are simply the actual bearings in the world from which he emerged. At that time, sleighs were how you got about Manhattan."

Writing in Mothering, writer Carol Jean-Swanson makes similar points, noting that the original figure of St. Nicholas gave only to those who were needy and that today Santa Claus seems to be more about conspicuous consumption:

Our jolly old Saint Nicholas reflects our culture to a T, for he is fanciful, exuberant, bountiful, over-weight, and highly commercial. He also mirrors some of our highest ideals: childhood purity and innocence, selfless giving, unfaltering love, justice, and mercy. (What child has ever received a coal for Christmas?) The problem is that, in the process, he has become burdened with some of society's greatest challenges: materialism, corporate greed, and domination by the media. Here, Santa carries more in his baggage than toys alone![143]

In the Czech Republic, a group of advertising professionals started a website against Santa Claus, a relatively recent phenomenon in that country.[144] "Czech Christmases are intimate and magical. All that Santa stuff seems to me like cheap show business," said David König of the Creative Copywriters Club, pointing out that it is primarily an American and British tradition. "I'm not against Santa himself. I'm against Santa in my country only." In the Czech tradition, presents are delivered by Ježíšek, which translates as Baby Jesus.

In the United Kingdom, Father Christmas was historically depicted wearing a green cloak.[citation needed] As Father Christmas has been increasingly merged into the image of Santa Claus, that has been changed to the more commonly known red suit.[145] Santa had been portrayed in a red suit in the 19th century by Thomas Nast among others.[146]

A law in the U.S. state of Ohio prohibits the usage of Santa Claus or his image to sell alcoholic beverages. The law came to attention when the beer brand Bud Light attempted to use its mascot Spuds MacKenzie in a Santa Claus outfit during a December 1987 ad campaign; Bud Light was forced to stop using the imagery.[147]

Controversy about deceiving children

See also: Paternalistic deception

Psychologists generally differentiate between telling fictional stories that feature Santa Claus and actively deceiving a child into believing that Santa Claus is real. Imaginative play, in which children know that Santa Claus is only a character in a story, but pretend that he is real, just like they pretend that superheroes or other fictional characters are real, is valuable. Actively deceiving a child into believing in Santa Claus's real-world existence, sometimes even to the extent of fabricating false evidence to convince them despite their growing natural doubts, does not result in imaginative play and can promote credulity in the face of strong evidence against Santa Claus's existence.[148][149] Children will eventually know that their parents deceived them.[150]

Various psychologists and researchers have wrestled with the ways that young children are convinced of the existence of Santa Claus, and have wondered whether children's abilities to critically weigh real-world evidence may be undermined by their belief in this or other imaginary figures. For example, University of Texas psychology professor Jacqueline Woolley helped conduct a study that found, to the contrary, that children seemed competent in their use of logic, evidence, and comparative reasoning even though they might conclude that Santa Claus or other fanciful creatures were real:

The adults they count on to provide reliable information about the world introduce them to Santa. Then his existence is affirmed by friends, books, TV and movies. It is also validated by hard evidence: the half-eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning. In other words, children do a great job of scientifically evaluating Santa. And adults do a great job of duping them.[151]

— Jacqueline Woolley

Woolley posited that it is perhaps "kinship with the adult world" that causes children not to be angry that they were lied to for so long.[151] Austin Cline argued the problem is not with length, but with a complicated series of very large lies.[152]

Typical objections to presenting Santa Claus as a literally real person, rather than a story, include:

With no greater good than having some fun, some have charged that the deception is more about the parents, their short-term happiness in seeing children excited about Santa Claus, and their nostalgic willingness to prolong the age of magical thinking, than it is about the children.[149] Philosopher David Kyle Johnson wrote, "It's a lie, it degrades your parental trustworthiness, it encourages credulity, it does not encourage imagination, and it's equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior."[154]

Others see little harm in the belief in Santa Claus. Psychologist Tamar Murachver said that because it is a cultural, not parental, lie, it does not usually undermine parental trust.[155] The New Zealand Skeptics also see no harm in parents telling their children that Santa is real. Spokesperson Vicki Hyde said, "It would be a hard-hearted parent indeed who frowned upon the innocent joys of our children's cultural heritage. We save our bah humbugs for the things that exploit the vulnerable."[155]

Most children do not remain angry or embarrassed about the deception for very long. John Condry of Cornell University interviewed more than 500 children for a study of the issue and found that not a single child was angry at their parents for telling them Santa Claus was real. According to Dr. Condry, "The most common response to finding out the truth was that they felt older and more mature. They now knew something that the younger kids did not".[156] In other studies, a small fraction of children felt betrayed by their parents, but disappointment was a more common response.[149] Some children have reacted strongly, including rejecting the family's religious beliefs on the grounds that if the parents lied about the unprovable existence of Santa Claus, then they might lie about the existence of God as well.[149]

See also

Related figures

  • Amu Nowruz
  • Ayaz Ata — Grandfather Frost in Turkic folklore
  • Badalisc
  • Befana — a friendly witch who delivers gifts to children on 5 January.
  • Belsnickel — a German gift-giver and punisher of naughty children, a.k.a. Kriskringle
  • Companions of Saint Nicholas
  • Ded Moroz — (Father Frost, Russian: Дед Мороз) plays a role similar to Santa Claus
  • Joulupukki — original Santa-Claus from Finland
  • Krampus — in German-speaking Alpine folklore, a horned figure who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved
  • Mikulás — Hungary, Poland, Romania Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, a figure who brings treats before Christmas
  • Moș Gerilă — name of a character from Romanian communist propaganda
  • Olentzero — Basque character, possibly derived from Roman traditions
  • Saint Nicholas of Myra
  • Saint Basil —who is believed to bring Christmas gifts for children in Greek Orthodox tradition
  • Sinterklaas — Dutch mythical figure
  • The Three Kings — in Spain tradition, gifts for children are brought by the biblical three wise men on 6 January.
  • Tomte — Scandinavian mythical character
  • Yule Goat — Scandinavian Christmas symbol
  • Yule Lads — a group of Icelandic figures who may leave gifts or rotting potatoes in the days before Christmas

Other

References

Citations

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General and cited references

  • Belk, Russell. 1989. "Materialism with the modern U.S. Christmas". In Interpretive Consumer Research, ed. by Elizabeth C. Hirschman, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 75–104.
  • Bowler, Gerry, Editor (2004). The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Limited. ISBN 978-0-7710-1535-9 (0-7710-1535-6)
  • Bowler, Gerry, (2007). Santa Claus: A Biography, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Limited. ISBN 978-0-7710-1668-4 (0-7710-1668-9)
  • Crump, William D. Editor (2006). The Christmas Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7864-2293-7
  • Nissenbaum, Stephen (1997). The Battle for Christmas, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 978-0-679-74038-4 (0-679-74038-4)

Further reading

  • Joffe-Walt, Chana (19 December 2012). "Without Magic, Santa Would Need 12 Million Employees". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

External links

  • An article on the History of Santa Claus from the St. Nicholas Center
  • The History of Santa Claus and Father Christmas
  • North Pole Flooded With Letters—MSNBC
  • "The Knickerbockers Rescue Santa Claus: 'Claas Schlaschenschlinger' from James Kirke Paulding's The Book of Saint Nicholas" (1836)
  • NORAD Tracks Santa
  • Google Santa Tracker
  • emailSanta.com Tracker

February 05, 2023
santa, claus, santa, redirects, here, other, uses, disambiguation, santa, disambiguation, also, known, father, christmas, saint, nicholas, saint, nick, kris, kringle, simply, santa, legendary, figure, originating, western, christian, culture, said, bring, gift. Santa redirects here For other uses see Santa Claus disambiguation and Santa disambiguation Santa Claus also known as Father Christmas Saint Nicholas Saint Nick Kris Kringle or simply Santa is a legendary figure 1 originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve to nice children 2 and either coal or nothing to naughty children 3 4 He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves who make the toys in his North Pole workshop and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air 5 6 Santa ClausSanta Claus portrayed by Jonathan Meath in 2010Other namesSaint NicholasSaint NickKris KringleKnown forDelivering gifts to children at ChristmasSpouseMrs ClausThe modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas the English figure of Father Christmas and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas Santa is generally depicted as a portly jolly white bearded man often with spectacles wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs white fur cuffed red trousers red hat with white fur and black leather belt and boots carrying a bag full of gifts for children He is commonly portrayed as laughing in a way that sounds like ho ho ho This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa s image 7 8 9 This image has been maintained and reinforced through song radio television children s books family Christmas traditions films and advertising Contents 1 Predecessor figures 1 1 Saint Nicholas 1 2 Father Christmas 1 3 Dutch Belgian and Swiss folklore 1 4 Germanic paganism Wodan and Christianization 2 History 2 1 Origins 2 2 19th century 2 3 20th century 3 In popular culture 4 Traditions and rituals 4 1 Chimneys 4 2 Christmas Eve 4 3 Appearance 4 4 Ho ho ho 4 5 Home 4 6 Parades department stores and shopping malls 4 7 Letter writing 4 8 Tracking 5 Criticism 5 1 Opposition from some Christian denominations 5 2 Opposition under state atheism 5 3 Symbol of commercialism 5 4 Controversy about deceiving children 6 See also 6 1 Related figures 6 2 Other 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 General and cited references 8 Further reading 9 External linksPredecessor figures A 13th century depiction of St Nicholas from Saint Catherine s Monastery Sinai Saint Nicholas Main article Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas was a 4th century Greek Christian bishop of Myra now Demre in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire today in Turkey Nicholas was known for his generous gifts to the poor in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes 10 He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity In continental Europe more precisely the Netherlands Belgium Austria the Czech Republic and Germany he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes In 1087 while the Greek Christian inhabitants of Myra were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuq dynasty and soon after their Greek Orthodox church had been declared to be in schism by the Catholic church 1054 AD a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas s skeleton from his sarcophagus in the Greek church in Myra Over the objection of the monks of Myra the sailors took the bones of St Nicholas to Bari where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas skeleton leaving all the minor fragments in the church sarcophagus These were later taken by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and placed in Venice where a church to St Nicholas the patron of sailors was built on the San Nicolo al Lido St Nicholas vandalized sarcophagus can still be seen in the St Nicholas Church in Myra This tradition was confirmed in two important scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice which revealed that the relics in the two Italian cities belong to the same skeleton Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups from archers sailors and children to pawnbrokers 10 11 He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow 12 During the Middle Ages often on the evening before his name day of 6 December children were bestowed gifts in his honour This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on 24 and 25 December The custom of gifting to children at Christmas was propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St Nicholas to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints Martin Luther first suggested the Christkind as the bringer of gifts But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people 13 14 15 Father Christmas Ghost of Christmas Present an illustration by John Leech made for Charles Dickens s festive A Christmas Carol 1843 Main article Father Christmas Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur 16 He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas bringing peace joy good food and wine and revelry 16 As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25 December to coincide with Christmas Day 16 The Victorian revival of Christmas included Father Christmas as the emblem of good cheer 17 His physical appearance was variable 18 with one image being John Leech s illustration of the Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens s festive story A Christmas Carol 1843 as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace 16 17 Dutch Belgian and Swiss folklore Sinterklaas Netherlands 2009 on his horse called Amerigo 1850 illustration of Saint Nicolas with his servant Pere Fouettard Zwarte Piet See also Sinterklaas and Saint Nicholas In the Netherlands and Belgium the character of Santa Claus competes with that of Sinterklaas based on Saint Nicolas Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch the Christmas man and Pere Noel Father Christmas in French For children in the Netherlands Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift giver in December 36 of the Dutch only give presents on Sinterklaas evening or the day itself 6 December 19 while Christmas 25 December is used by another 21 to give presents Some 26 of the Dutch population gives presents on both days 20 In Belgium presents are offered exclusively to children on 6 December and on Christmas Day all ages may receive presents Saint Nicolas Sinterklaas assistants are called Pieten in Dutch or Pere Fouettard in French so they are not elves 21 In Switzerland Pere Fouettard accompanies Pere Noel in the French speaking region while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlaus in the Swiss German region Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children 22 Germanic paganism Wodan and Christianization An 1886 depiction of the long bearded Norse god Odin by Georg von Rosen Prior to Christianization the Germanic peoples including the English celebrated a midwinter event called Yule Old English geola or giuli 23 With the Christianization of Germanic Europe numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas 24 During this period supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency such as the Wild Hunt a ghostly procession through the sky citation needed The leader of the Wild Hunt is frequently attested as the god Odin Wodan bearing among many names the names Jolnir meaning Yule figure and Langbardr meaning long beard in Old Norse 25 Wodan s role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St Nicholas and Santa Claus in a variety of facets including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides compare Odin s horse Sleipnir or his reindeer in North American tradition 26 Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas whose day is the 25th of December owes much to Odin the old blue hooded cloaked white bearded Giftbringer of the north who rode the midwinter sky on his eight footed steed Sleipnir visiting his people with gifts Odin transformed into Father Christmas then Santa Claus prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild became a leading player on the Christmas stage 27 In Finland Santa Claus is called Joulupukki direct translation Christmas Goat 28 HistoryOrigins Early representations of the gift giver from Church history and folklore especially St Nicholas merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the mythical character known to the rest of the English speaking world as Santa Claus a phonetic derivation of Sinterklaas in Dutch In the English and later British colonies of North America and later in the United States British and Dutch versions of the gift giver merged further For example in Washington Irving s History of New York 1809 Sinterklaas was Anglicized into Santa Claus a name first used in the U S press in 1773 29 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 Irving s book was a parody of the Dutch culture of New York and much of this portrait is his joking invention 30 Irving s interpretation of Santa Claus was part of a broader movement to tone down the increasingly wild Christmas celebrations of the era which included aggressive home invasions under the guise of wassailing substantial premarital sex leading to shotgun weddings in areas where the Puritans waning in power and firmly opposed to Christmas still held some influence and public displays of sexual deviancy the celebrations of the era were derided by both upper class merchants and Christian purists 30 19th century Illustration to verse 1 of Old Santeclaus with Much Delight 1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who along with Clement Clarke Moore s 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus Francis Pharcellus Church author of the famous 1897 The Sun editorial which responding to a letter from eight year old Virginia O Hanlon contains the line Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus In 1821 the book A New year s present to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York It contained Old Santeclaus with Much Delight an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh bringing rewards to children 31 Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem A Visit From St Nicholas better known today as The Night Before Christmas in the Troy New York Sentinel on 23 December 1823 Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston Jr who died nine years before Moore s claim was the author 10 32 St Nick is described as being chubby and plump a right jolly old elf with a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly in spite of which the miniature sleigh and tiny reindeer still indicate that he is physically diminutive The reindeer were also named Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen Comet Cupid Dunder and Blixem Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen 33 By 1845 Kris Kringle was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States 34 A magazine article from 1853 describing American Christmas customs to British readers refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for a fabulous personage whose name varies in Pennsylvania he is usually called Krishkinkle but in New York he is St Nicholas or Santa Claus The author 35 quotes Moore s poem in its entirety saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too 36 As the years passed Santa Claus evolved into a large heavyset person One of the first artists to define Santa Claus s modern image was Thomas Nast an American cartoonist of the 19th century who immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper s Weekly in which Santa was dressed in an American flag and had a puppet with the name Jeff written on it reflecting its Civil War context In this drawing Santa is also in a sleigh pulled by reindeers citation needed The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation His Christmas image in the Harper s issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works which included the caption Santa Claussville N P 37 A color collection of Nast s pictures published in 1869 had a poem also titled Santa Claus and His Works by George P Webster who wrote that Santa Claus s home was near the North Pole in the ice and snow 38 The tale had become well known by the 1870s A boy from Colorado writing to the children s magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said If we did not live so very far from the North Pole I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey 39 The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors beginning in the mid 19th century In 1889 the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs Claus in the poem Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride Is There a Santa Claus is the title of an iconic editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church in the 21 September 1897 edition of The New York Sun that became the most reprinted in the U S and included the famous reply Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus 40 41 In Russia Ded Moroz emerged as a Santa Claus figure around the late 19th century 42 where Christmas for the Eastern Orthodox Church is kept on 7 January 20th century A man dressed as Santa Claus fundraising for Volunteers of America on the sidewalk of street in Chicago Illinois in 1902 He is wearing a mask with a beard attached L Frank Baum s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus a children s book was published in 1902 Much of Santa Claus s mythos was not firmly established at the time leaving Baum to give his Neclaus Necile s Little One a variety of immortal support a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho and ten reindeer who could not fly but leapt in enormous flight like bounds Claus s immortality was earned much like his title Santa decided by a vote of those naturally immortal This work also established Claus s motives a happy childhood among immortals When Ak Master Woodsman of the World exposes him to the misery and poverty of children in the outside world Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children and eventually invents toys as a principal means Santa later appears in The Road to Oz as an honored guest at Ozma s birthday party stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he is announced as The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children His Supreme Highness Santa Claus Rose O Neill s illustration for the 1903 issue of Puck Images of Santa Claus were conveyed through Haddon Sundblom s depiction of him for The Coca Cola Company s Christmas advertising in the 1930s 10 43 The image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca Cola brand 44 Coca Cola s competitor Pepsi Cola used similar Santa Claus paintings in its advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s Historically Coca Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising White Rock Beverages had already used a red and white Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923 45 46 Earlier Santa Claus had appeared dressed in red and white and essentially in his current form on several covers of Puck magazine in the first few years of the 20th century 47 Santa Claus portrayed by Nick Tribuzio in 1961 Kent Studio Hayward CA The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy particularly by organizations such as the Salvation Army Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fundraising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time In 1937 Charles W Howard who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades established the Charles W Howard Santa School the oldest continuously run such school in the world 48 In some images from the early 20th century Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman Eventually the idea emerged 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 The 1956 popular song by George Melachrino Mrs Santa Claus and the 1963 children s book How Mrs Santa Claus Saved Christmas by Phyllis McGinley helped standardize and establish the character and role of Mrs Claus in the US 49 Seabury Quinn s 1948 novel Roads draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of Christmas Other modern additions to the story of Santa include Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer the 9th and lead reindeer created in 1939 by Robert L May a Montgomery Ward copywriter and immortalized in a 1949 song by Gene Autry In popular culture Santa on the December 1905 cover of Puck magazine v 58 no 150 See also Santa Claus in film and SantaConElves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa s residence now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production and distribution facility equipped with the latest manufacturing technology and overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs Claus as executives or managers 50 An excerpt from a 2004 article from a supply chain managers trade magazine aptly illustrates this depiction Santa s main distribution center is a sight to behold At 4 000 000 square feet 370 000 m2 it s one of the world s largest facilities A real time warehouse management system WMS is of course required to run such a complex The facility makes extensive use of task interleaving literally combining dozens of DC activities putaway replenishing order picking sleigh loading cycle counting in a dynamic queue the DC elves have been on engineered standards and incentives for three years leading to a 12 gain in productivity The WMS and transportation system are fully integrated allowing the elves to make optimal decisions that balance transportation and order picking and other DC costs Unbeknownst to many Santa actually has to use many sleighs and fake Santa drivers to get the job done Christmas Eve and the transportation management system TMS optimally builds thousands of consolidated sacks that maximize cube utilization and minimize total air miles 51 In 1912 actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film Santa Claus which he also directed included scenes photographed in a limited two tone color process and featured the use of detailed models 52 53 Since then many feature films have featured Santa Claus as a protagonist including Miracle on 34th Street The Santa Clause and Elf In the cartoon base Santa has been voiced by several people including Mickey Rooney Jim Cummings Mel Smith Ricky Tomlinson Jim Belushi and Alec Baldwin Santa has been described as a positive male cultural icon Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who s male does not carry a gun and is all about peace joy giving and caring for other people That s part of the magic for me especially in a culture where we ve become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons Santa is much more organic integral connected to the past and therefore connected to the future TV producer Jonathan Meath who portrays Santa 2011 54 Norman Corwin s 1938 comic radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas set entirely in rhyme details a conspiracy of the Devil Mephistopheles and damned figures of history to defeat the good will among men of Christmas by sending the Roman emperor Nero to the North Pole to assassinate Santa Claus Through a battle of wits Santa saves himself by winning Nero over to the joys of Christmas and gives him a Stradivarius violin The play was re produced in 1940 and 1944 Santa Claus with reindeer at Hersheypark Hershey Pennsylvania 2021 Many television commercials comic strips and other media depict this as a sort of humorous business with Santa s elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss For instance a Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO Professional Elves Toy Making and Craft Organization for higher wages a hot tub in the locker room and Aggressive recruitment of a wider gender spectrum of employee short broads with the elves then going on strike President Reagan steps in fires all of Santa s helpers and replaces them with out of work air traffic controllers an obvious reference to the 1981 air traffic controllers strike resulting in a riot before Santa vindictively rehires them in humiliating new positions such as his reindeer 55 In the 2001 The Sopranos episode To Save Us All from Satan s Power Paulie Gualtieri says he Used to think Santa and Mrs Claus were running a sweatshop over there The original elves were ugly traveled with Santa to throw bad kids a beatin and gave the good ones toys 2009 Liverpool Santa Dash In Kyrgyzstan a mountain peak was named after Santa Claus after a Swedish company had suggested the location be a more efficient starting place for present delivering journeys all over the world than Lapland In the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007 with government officials attending 2008 was officially declared the Year of Santa Claus in the country The events are seen as moves to boost tourism in Kyrgyzstan 56 The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa Clauses is held by Thrissur Kerala India where on 27 December 2014 18 112 Santas overtook the previous record Derry City Northern Ireland had held the record since 9 September 2007 when a total of 12 965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa s helpers Prior to that the record was 3 921 which was set during the Santa Dash event in Liverpool City Centre in 2005 57 A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest Romania attempted to top the world record but failed with only 3 939 Santas 58 Santa Claus appears in a few video games 59 Traditions and ritualsChimneys The Feast of Saint Nicholas by Jan Steen c 1665 1668 The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift givers In pre Christian Norse tradition Odin would often enter through chimneys and fire holes on the solstice citation needed In the Italian Befana tradition the gift giving witch is perpetually covered with soot from her trips down the chimneys of children s homes In the tale of Saint Nicholas the saint tossed coins through a window and in a later version of the tale down a chimney when he finds the window locked In Dutch artist Jan Steen s painting The Feast of Saint Nicholas adults and toddlers are glancing up a chimney with amazement on their faces while other children play with their toys The hearth was held sacred in primitive belief as a source of beneficence and popular belief had elves and fairies bringing gifts to the house through this portal Santa s entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through the poem A Visit from St Nicholas where the author described him as an elf 60 Christmas Eve A man dressed as Santa Claus waves to children from an annual holiday train in Chicago 2012 In the United States and Canada children traditionally leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies intended for Santa to consume in Britain and Australia sherry or beer and mince pies are left instead In Denmark Norway and Sweden it is common for children to leave him rice porridge with sugar and cinnamon instead In Ireland it is popular to leave Guinness or milk along with Christmas pudding or mince pies In Hungary St Nicolaus Mikulas comes on the night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning They get sweets in a bag if they were good and a golden colored birch switch if not On Christmas Eve Little Jesus comes and gives gifts for everyone 61 In Slovenia Saint Nicholas Miklavz also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of 6 December Bozicek Christmas Man brings gifts on the eve of 25 December and Dedek Mraz Grandfather Frost brings gifts in the evening of 31 December to be opened on New Years Day Hanging up stockings for Santa Claus in Worthington Ohio 1928 New Zealander British Australian Irish Canadian and American children also leave a carrot for Santa s reindeer and are told that if they are not good all year round that they will receive a lump of coal in their stockings although the actual practice of giving coal is now considered archaic Children following the Dutch custom for sinterklaas will put out their shoe leave hay and a carrot for his horse in a shoe before going to bed sometimes weeks before the sinterklaas avond The next morning they will find the hay and carrot replaced by a gift often this is a marzipan figurine Naughty children were once told that they would be left a roe a bundle of sticks instead of sweets but this practice has been discontinued After the children have fallen asleep parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree Tags on gifts for children are sometimes signed by their parents From Santa Claus before the gifts are laid beneath the tree 62 63 64 A classic American image of Santa Claus Appearance Santa is generally depicted as a portly jolly white bearded man often with spectacles wearing a red outfit consisting of jacket trousers and hat all lined with white fur accessorized with black leather belt and boots and carrying a bag full of gifts for children This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century because of the significant influence of the 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa s image 7 8 9 Though most often portrayed as white Santa is also depicted as black or of other races His race or color is sometimes a subject of controversy 65 66 Ho ho ho Ho ho ho redirects here For other uses see Ho ho ho disambiguation Ho ho ho is the way that many languages write out how Santa Claus laughs Ho ho ho Merry Christmas It is the textual rendition of a particular type of deep throated laugh or chuckle most associated today with Santa Claus and Father Christmas The laughter of Santa Claus has long been an important attribute by which the character is identified but it also does not appear in many non English speaking countries The traditional 1823 Christmas poem A Visit from St Nicholas relates that Santa has a little round bellyThat shook when he laugh d like a bowl full of jelly Home See also Santa s workshop Location The Santa Claus Village in Lapland Santa s House at Jerusalem Old City St Peter Street Santa Claus s home is traditionally said to include a residence and a workshop where he is said to create often with the aid of elves or other supernatural beings the gifts he is said to deliver to good children at Christmas Some stories and legends include a village inhabited by his helpers surrounding his home and shop In North American tradition in the United States and Canada Santa is said to live at the North Pole which according to Canada Post lies within Canadian jurisdiction in postal code H0H 0H0 67 a reference to ho ho ho Santa s notable saying although postal codes starting with H are usually reserved for the island of Montreal in Quebec On 23 December 2008 Jason Kenney Canada s minister of Citizenship Immigration and Multiculturalism formally awarded Canadian citizenship status to Santa Claus The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that as a Canadian citizen he has the automatic right to re enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete Kenney said in an official statement 68 There is also a city named North Pole in Alaska where a tourist attraction known as the Santa Claus House has been established The United States Postal Service uses the city s ZIP code of 99705 as their advertised postal code for Santa Claus A Wendy s in North Pole AK has also claimed to have a sleigh fly through 69 Each Nordic country claims Santa s residence to be within their territory Norway claims he lives in Drobak In Denmark he is said to live in Greenland near Uummannaq In Sweden the town of Mora has a theme park named Tomteland The national postal terminal in Tomteboda in Stockholm receives children s letters for Santa In Finland Korvatunturi has long been known as Santa s home and two theme parks Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located near Rovaniemi In Belarus there is a home of Ded Moroz in Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park 70 In France Santa is believed to reside in 1 Chemin des Nuages Pole Nord 1 Alley of Clouds North Pole The French national postal service has operated a service that allows children to send letters to Pere Noel since 1962 71 In the period before Christmas any physical letter in the country that is addressed to Santa Claus is sent to a specific location where responses for the children s letters are written and sent back to the children 72 Parades department stores and shopping malls See also Santa s workshop Santa Claus grottos and department stores Eaton s Santa Claus Parade 1918 Toronto Canada Having arrived at the Eaton s department store Santa is readying his ladder to climb up onto the building Representation of Santa Claus in Italy Actors portraying Santa Claus appear in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls or at parties The practice of this has been credited dubious discuss to James Edgar as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton Massachusetts department store 73 The actor dressed up as Santa is usually helped by other actors often mall employees dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa 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 listening to their wishlist while having them sit on his knee a practice now under review by some organisations in Britain 74 and Switzerland 75 Sometimes a photograph of the child and actor portraying Santa are taken Having a Santa actor set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918 76 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 In the United States the most notable of these is the Santa at the flagship Macy s store in New York City he arrives at the store by sleigh in the Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the last float and his court takes over a large portion of one floor in the store The Macy s Santa Claus in New York City is often said to be the real Santa This was popularized by the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street with Santa Claus being called Kris Kringle Essayist David Sedaris is known for the satirical SantaLand Diaries he kept while working as an elf in the Macy s display which were turned into a famous radio segment and later published In Canada malls operated by Oxford Properties established a process by which autistic children could visit Santa Claus at the mall without having to contend with crowds 77 The malls open early to allow entry only to families with autistic children who have a private visit with the actor portraying Santa Claus In 2012 the Southcentre Mall in Calgary was the first mall to offer this service 78 In the United Kingdom discount store Poundland changes the voice of its self service checkouts to that of Santa Claus throughout the Christmas retail period 79 There are schools offering instruction on how to act as Santa Claus For example children s television producer Jonathan Meath studied at the International School of Santa Claus and earned the degree Master of Santa Claus in 2006 It blossomed into a second career for him and after appearing in parades and malls 80 he appeared on the cover of the American monthly Boston Magazine as Santa 81 There are associations with members who portray Santa for example Mr Meath was a board member of the international organization called Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas 82 Due to the COVID 19 pandemic many Santa grottos were not operating for the 2020 Christmas season Due to this some companies offered video calls for a fee using apps such as Zoom where children could speak to an actor who was dressed as Santa Claus 83 In 2021 Walt Disney World and Disneyland featured for the first time Black cast members portraying Santa 84 Letter writing Letters to Santa redirects here For the Muppet television film see A Muppets Christmas Letters to Santa For the Polish film see Letters to Santa film Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas tradition for children for many years These letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior Some social scientists have found that boys and girls write different types of letters Girls generally write longer but more polite lists and express the nature of Christmas more in their letters than in letters written by boys Girls also more often request gifts for other people 85 Many postal services allow children to send letters to Santa Claus These letters may be answered by postal workers or outside volunteers 86 Writing letters to Santa Claus has the educational benefits of promoting literacy computer literacy and e mail literacy A letter to Santa is often a child s first experience of correspondence Written and sent with the help of a parent or teacher children learn about the structure of a letter salutations and the use of an address and postcode 87 According to the Universal Postal Union UPU s 2007 study and survey of national postal operations the United States Postal Service USPS has the oldest Santa letter answering effort by a national postal system The USPS Santa letter answering effort started in 1912 out of the historic James Farley Post Office 88 in New York and since 1940 has been called Operation Santa to ensure that letters to Santa are adopted by charitable organizations major corporations local businesses and individuals in order to fulfill the wishes of children 86 Those seeking a North Pole holiday postmark through the USPS are told to send their letter from Santa or a holiday greeting card by 10 December to North Pole Holiday Postmark Postmaster 4141 Postmark Dr Anchorage AK 99530 9998 89 In 2006 according to the UPU s 2007 study and survey of national postal operations France s Postal Service received the most letters for Santa Claus or Pere Noel with 1 220 000 letters received from 126 countries 90 France s Postal Service in 2007 specially recruited someone to answer the enormous volume of mail that was coming from Russia for Santa Claus 86 Other Santa letter processing information according to the UPU s 2007 study and survey of national postal operations include 86 Countries whose national postal operators answer letters to Santa and other end of year holiday figures and the number of letters received in 2006 Germany 500 000 Australia 117 000 Austria 6 000 Bulgaria 500 Canada 1 060 000 Spain 232 000 United States no figure as statistics are not kept centrally Finland 750 000 France 1 220 000 Ireland 100 000 New Zealand 110 000 Portugal 255 000 Poland 3 000 Slovakia 85 000 Sweden 150 000 Switzerland 17 863 Ukraine 5 019 United Kingdom 750 000 In 2006 Finland s national postal operation received letters from 150 countries representing 90 of the letters received France s Postal Service from 126 countries Germany from 80 countries and Slovakia from 20 countries In 2007 Canada Post replied to letters in 26 languages and Deutsche Post in 16 languages Some national postal operators make it possible to send in e mail messages which are answered by physical mail All the same Santa still receives far more letters than e mail through the national postal operators proving that children still write letters National postal operators offering the ability to use an on line web form with or without a return e mail address to Santa and obtain a reply include Canada Post 91 on line web request form in English and French France s Postal Service on line web request form in French 92 93 and New Zealand Post 94 on line web request form in English 95 In France by 6 December 2010 a team of 60 postal elves had sent out reply cards in response to 80 000 e mail on line request forms and more than 500 000 physical letters 87 Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus and since 1982 over 13 000 Canadian postal workers have volunteered to write responses His address is Santa Claus North Pole Canada H0H 0H0 no postage is required 96 see also Ho ho ho This postal code in which zeroes are used for the letter O is consistent with the alternating letter number format of all Canadian postal codes Sometimes children s charities answer letters in poor communities or from children s hospitals and give them presents they would not otherwise receive From 2002 to 2014 the program replied to approximately one million letters or more a year and in total answered more than 24 7 million letters 97 as of 2015 it responds to more than 1 5 million letters per year in over 30 languages including Braille answering them all in the language they are written 98 In Britain it is traditional for some to burn the Christmas letters on the fire magically transporting them by wind to the North Pole 99 According to the Royal Mail website Santa s address for letters from British children is Santa Father Christmas Santa s Grotto Reindeerland XM4 5HQ 100 In Mexico and other Latin American countries besides using the mail sometimes children wrap their letters to a small helium balloon releasing them into the air so Santa magically receives them 99 In 2010 the Brazilian National Post Service Correios formed partnerships with public schools and social institutions to encourage children to write letters and make use of postcodes and stamps In 2009 the Brazilian National Post Service Correios answered almost two million children s letters and spread some seasonal cheer by donating 414 000 Christmas gifts to some of Brazil s neediest citizens 87 Through the years the Finnish Santa Claus Joulupukki or Yule Goat has received over eight million letters He receives over 600 000 letters every year from over 198 countries with Togo being the most recent country added to the list 87 Children from Great Britain Poland and Japan are the busiest writers The Finnish Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi near the Santa Claus Main Post Office in Rovaniemi precisely at the Arctic circle His mailing address is Santa Claus Main Post Office Santa Claus Village FIN 96930 Arctic Circle The post office welcomes 300 000 visitors a year with 70 000 visitors in December alone 87 Children can also receive a letter from Santa through a variety of private agencies and organizations and on occasion public and private cooperative ventures An example of a public and private cooperative venture is the opportunity for expatriate and local children and parents to receive postmarked mail and greeting cards from Santa during December in the Finnish Embassy in Beijing People s Republic of China 101 Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi Finland and the People s Republic of China Postal System s Beijing International Post Office 102 103 104 Parents can order a personalized Santa letter to be sent to their child often with a North Pole postmark The Santa Letter market generally relies on the Internet as a medium for ordering such letters rather than retail stores undue weight discuss Tracking The Christmas issue of NOAA s Weather Bureau Topics with Santa Claus streaking across a weather radar screen 1958 A number of websites created by various organizations claim to track Santa Claus each year Some such as NORAD Tracks Santa the Google Santa Tracker the emailSanta com Tracker 105 and the Santa Update Project have endured Others such as the Airservices Australia Tracks Santa Project 106 107 108 the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport s Tracks Santa Project 109 110 111 the NASA Tracks Santa Project 112 and the Bing Maps Platform Tracks Santa Project 113 114 no longer actively track Santa 1955 Sears ad with the misprinted telephone number that led to the creation of the NORAD Tracks Santa program The origins of the NORAD Tracks Santa programme began in the United States in 1955 when a Sears Roebuck store in Colorado Springs Colorado gave children a number to call a Santa hotline The number was mistyped resulting in children calling the Continental Air Defense Command CONAD on Christmas Eve instead The Director of Operations Colonel Harry Shoup received the first call for Santa and responded by claiming to children that there were signs on the radar that Santa was indeed heading south from the North Pole A tradition began which continued under the name NORAD Tracks Santa when in 1958 Canada and the United States jointly created the North American Air Defense Command NORAD 115 116 This tracking can now be done via the Internet and NORAD s website In the past many local television stations in the United States and Canada likewise claimed they tracked Santa Claus in their own metropolitan areas through the stations meteorologists In December 2000 the Weather Channel built upon these local efforts to provide a national Christmas Eve Santa tracking effort called SantaWatch in cooperation with NASA the International Space Station and Silicon Valley based new multimedia firm Dreamtime Holdings 117 Currently most local television stations in the United States and Canada rely upon outside established Santa tracking efforts such as NORAD Tracks Santa 118 Many other websites became available year round devoted to Santa Claus and purport to keep tabs on his activities in his workshop Many of these websites also include email addresses or web forms which claim to allow children to send email to Santa Claus One particular website called emailSanta com was created when a 1997 Canada Post strike prevented Alan Kerr s young niece and nephews from sending their letters to Santa in a few weeks over 1 000 emails to Santa were received and the site had received 1 000 emails a day one year later 119 120 Some websites such as Santa s page on Microsoft s former Windows Live Spaces or emailSanta com have used or still use bots or other automated programs to compose and send personalized and realistic replies 121 122 Microsoft s website has given occasional profane results 123 124 In addition to providing holiday themed entertainment Santa tracking websites raise interest in space technology and exploration 125 serve to educate children in geography 126 and encourage them to take an interest in science 127 CriticismSee also Christmas controversy Opposition from some Christian denominations Santa Claus has partial Christian roots in Saint Nicholas particularly in the high church denominations that practice the veneration of him in addition to other saints In light of this the character has sometimes been the focus of controversy over the holiday and its meanings A number of denominations of Christians have varying concerns about Santa Claus which range from acceptance to denouncement 128 129 Some Christians particularly Calvinists such as the Puritans disliked the idea of Santa Claus as well as Christmas in general believing that the lavish celebrations were not in accordance with their faith 130 Other nonconformist Christians condemn the materialist focus of contemporary gift giving and see Santa Claus as the symbol of that culture 131 Condemnation of Christmas was prevalent among the 17th century English Puritans and Dutch Calvinists who banned the holiday as either pagan or Roman Catholic The American colonies established by these groups reflected this view Tolerance for Christmas increased after the Restoration but the Puritan opposition to the holiday persisted in New England for almost two centuries 132 In the Dutch New Netherland colony season celebrations focused on New Year s Day Excerpt from Josiah King s The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas 1686 published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England Folger Shakespeare Library Washington D C Following the Restoration of the monarchy and with Puritans out of power in England 133 the ban on Christmas was satirized in works such as Josiah King s The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas Together with his Clearing by the Jury 1686 134 Reverend Paul Nedergaard a clergyman in Copenhagen Denmark attracted controversy in 1958 when he declared Santa to be a heathen goblin en hedensk trold in Danish after Santa s image was used on the annual Christmas stamp julemaerke for a Danish children s welfare organization 135 Mary Baker Eddy the founder of the Christian Science movement wrote the children should not be taught that Santa Claus has aught to do with this Christmas pastime A deceit or falsehood is never wise Too much cannot be done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating and inclining thought of childhood To mould aright the first impressions of innocence aids in perpetuating purity and in unfolding the immortal model man in His image and likeness 136 Opposition under state atheism Under the Marxist Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917 Christmas celebrations along with other religious holidays were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign 137 138 The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree as well as other Christian holidays including Easter the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement 139 140 In December 2018 the city management office of Langfang in Hebei province released a statement stating that people caught selling Christmas trees wreaths stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished 141 Symbol of commercialism In his 2005 book Nicholas The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus writer Jeremy Seal describes how the commercialization of the Santa Claus figure began in the 19th century In the 1820s he began to acquire the recognizable trappings reindeer sleigh bells said Seal in an interview 142 They are simply the actual bearings in the world from which he emerged At that time sleighs were how you got about Manhattan Writing in Mothering writer Carol Jean Swanson makes similar points noting that the original figure of St Nicholas gave only to those who were needy and that today Santa Claus seems to be more about conspicuous consumption Our jolly old Saint Nicholas reflects our culture to a T for he is fanciful exuberant bountiful over weight and highly commercial He also mirrors some of our highest ideals childhood purity and innocence selfless giving unfaltering love justice and mercy What child has ever received a coal for Christmas The problem is that in the process he has become burdened with some of society s greatest challenges materialism corporate greed and domination by the media Here Santa carries more in his baggage than toys alone 143 In the Czech Republic a group of advertising professionals started a website against Santa Claus a relatively recent phenomenon in that country 144 Czech Christmases are intimate and magical All that Santa stuff seems to me like cheap show business said David Konig of the Creative Copywriters Club pointing out that it is primarily an American and British tradition I m not against Santa himself I m against Santa in my country only In the Czech tradition presents are delivered by Jezisek which translates as Baby Jesus In the United Kingdom Father Christmas was historically depicted wearing a green cloak citation needed As Father Christmas has been increasingly merged into the image of Santa Claus that has been changed to the more commonly known red suit 145 Santa had been portrayed in a red suit in the 19th century by Thomas Nast among others 146 A law in the U S state of Ohio prohibits the usage of Santa Claus or his image to sell alcoholic beverages The law came to attention when the beer brand Bud Light attempted to use its mascot Spuds MacKenzie in a Santa Claus outfit during a December 1987 ad campaign Bud Light was forced to stop using the imagery 147 Controversy about deceiving children See also Paternalistic deception Psychologists generally differentiate between telling fictional stories that feature Santa Claus and actively deceiving a child into believing that Santa Claus is real Imaginative play in which children know that Santa Claus is only a character in a story but pretend that he is real just like they pretend that superheroes or other fictional characters are real is valuable Actively deceiving a child into believing in Santa Claus s real world existence sometimes even to the extent of fabricating false evidence to convince them despite their growing natural doubts does not result in imaginative play and can promote credulity in the face of strong evidence against Santa Claus s existence 148 149 Children will eventually know that their parents deceived them 150 Various psychologists and researchers have wrestled with the ways that young children are convinced of the existence of Santa Claus and have wondered whether children s abilities to critically weigh real world evidence may be undermined by their belief in this or other imaginary figures For example University of Texas psychology professor Jacqueline Woolley helped conduct a study that found to the contrary that children seemed competent in their use of logic evidence and comparative reasoning even though they might conclude that Santa Claus or other fanciful creatures were real The adults they count on to provide reliable information about the world introduce them to Santa Then his existence is affirmed by friends books TV and movies It is also validated by hard evidence the half eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning In other words children do a great job of scientifically evaluating Santa And adults do a great job of duping them 151 Jacqueline Woolley Woolley posited that it is perhaps kinship with the adult world that causes children not to be angry that they were lied to for so long 151 Austin Cline argued the problem is not with length but with a complicated series of very large lies 152 Typical objections to presenting Santa Claus as a literally real person rather than a story include that lying is normally bad 149 that parents intentionally lying to their children promotes distrust 149 that it promotes selfishness greed and materialism 153 that it associates good behavior with being materially rewarded with presents from Santa Claus 153 and that tricking children into believing falsehoods interferes with the development of critical thinking 152 148 With no greater good than having some fun some have charged that the deception is more about the parents their short term happiness in seeing children excited about Santa Claus and their nostalgic willingness to prolong the age of magical thinking than it is about the children 149 Philosopher David Kyle Johnson wrote It s a lie it degrades your parental trustworthiness it encourages credulity it does not encourage imagination and it s equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior 154 Others see little harm in the belief in Santa Claus Psychologist Tamar Murachver said that because it is a cultural not parental lie it does not usually undermine parental trust 155 The New Zealand Skeptics also see no harm in parents telling their children that Santa is real Spokesperson Vicki Hyde said It would be a hard hearted parent indeed who frowned upon the innocent joys of our children s cultural heritage We save our bah humbugs for the things that exploit the vulnerable 155 Most children do not remain angry or embarrassed about the deception for very long John Condry of Cornell University interviewed more than 500 children for a study of the issue and found that not a single child was angry at their parents for telling them Santa Claus was real According to Dr Condry The most common response to finding out the truth was that they felt older and more mature They now knew something that the younger kids did not 156 In other studies a small fraction of children felt betrayed by their parents but disappointment was a more common response 149 Some children have reacted strongly including rejecting the family s religious beliefs on the grounds that if the parents lied about the unprovable existence of Santa Claus then they might lie about the existence of God as well 149 See also Christianity portal Holidays portal Mythology portalRelated figures Amu Nowruz Ayaz Ata Grandfather Frost in Turkic folklore Badalisc Befana a friendly witch who delivers gifts to children on 5 January Belsnickel a German gift giver and punisher of naughty children a k a Kriskringle Companions of Saint Nicholas Ded Moroz Father Frost Russian Ded Moroz plays a role similar to Santa Claus Joulupukki original Santa Claus from Finland Krampus in German speaking Alpine folklore a horned figure who during the Christmas season punishes children who have misbehaved Mikulas Hungary Poland Romania Slovenia Czech Republic Slovakia a figure who brings treats before Christmas Moș Gerilă name of a character from Romanian communist propaganda Olentzero Basque character possibly derived from Roman traditions Saint Nicholas of Myra Saint Basil who is believed to bring Christmas gifts for children in Greek Orthodox tradition Sinterklaas Dutch mythical figure The Three Kings in Spain tradition gifts for children are brought by the biblical three wise men on 6 January Tomte Scandinavian mythical character Yule Goat Scandinavian Christmas symbol Yule Lads a group of Icelandic figures who may leave gifts or rotting potatoes in the days before ChristmasOther Jack Frost and Old Man Winter Mythical characters associated with winter Christmas controversy Christmas elf Easter Bunny Flying Santa a northeastern US tradition of pilots delivering presents to families in remote lighthouses Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas Pancho Claus a Tex Mex version of Santa Claus Sandman Santa Claus in film Santa Claus Indiana a small Midwestern United States town named after the figure and home to Holiday World amusement park Santa Claus s reindeer SantaCon Tooth fairy Yes Virginia there is a Santa ClausReferencesCitations Santa Claus History Legend amp Facts Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 10 August 2020 Krulwich Robert How Does Santa Do It ABC News Retrieved 25 December 2015 Krulwich Robert How Does Santa Do It ABC News Retrieved 25 December 2015 via Good Morning America Calarco Jessica McCrory 24 December 2020 The Real Problem With the Naughty List The Atlantic Retrieved 17 December 2021 B K Swartz Jr THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN CHRISTMAS MYTH AND CUSTOMS Archived 30 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 December 2007 Jeff Westover The Legendary Role of Reindeer in Christmas Archived 3 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 December 2007 a b Coke denies claims it bottled familiar Santa image More Living The Rocky Mountain News 12 December 2007 Archived from the original on 12 December 2007 Retrieved 1 January 2023 a b Santa s arrival lights up the Green Archived from the original on 5 December 2012 Retrieved 2 December 2009 a b Restad Penne L 5 December 1996 Christmas in America A History ISBN 9780195355093 a b c d Santa Claus The real man behind the myth NBC News 22 December 2009 Retrieved 27 December 2009 Saint Nicholas People Stnicholascenter org Retrieved 21 December 2010 Saint Nicholas Places Stnicholascenter org Retrieved 21 December 2010 Martin Luthers Christkind 15 February 2008 Archived from the original on 15 February 2008 Retrieved 1 January 2023 Wie Abraham Lincoln den Weihnachtsmann erfand SPIEGEL ONLINE 31 December 2012 Archived from the original on 31 December 2012 Retrieved 1 January 2023 Ein Verkaufsfahrer diente als Vorbild angeblich manager magazin Archived from the original on 30 December 2012 a b c d William J Federer 2002 There Really Is a Santa Claus The History of St Nicholas amp Christmas Holiday Traditions p 39 Amerisearch Inc 2002 a b Jacqueline Simpson Steve Roud 2000 English Folklore Oxford University Press 2000 A children s party given in England on 26 December 1842 featured venerable effigies of Father Christmas and the Old Year Father Christmas with scarlet coat and cocked hat stuck all over with presents for the guests R L Brett ed Barclay Fox s Journal Bell and Hyman London 1979 Davis Derek H 18 November 2010 The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States Oxford University Press pp 334 ISBN 9780190208783 Retrieved 20 December 2017 Nibud Pers persberichten in Dutch NIBUD 2003 Archived from the original on 14 December 2009 Netherlands budget institute table showing money spent by households categorised into those that give gifts only on Sint 36 only on Christmas day 21 on both days 26 Sinterklaas Arrival Amsterdam the Netherlands St Nicholas Center 2008 Retrieved 9 September 2014 swissinfo ch Morven McLean Schmutzli the Swiss Santa s sinister sidekick SWI swissinfo ch Retrieved 25 December 2017 Orchard Andy 1997 Dictionary of Norse Mythology and Legend page 187 Cassell Simek Rudolf 2007 translated by Angela Hall Dictionary of Northern Mythology pages 379 380 D S Brewer amp Orchard 1997 1987 For the wild hunt Simek 2010 372 373 For Jolnir see Simek 2010 180 and Orchard 1997 189 For Langbardr see Simek 2010 186 McKnight George Harley 1917 St Nicholas his legend and his role in the Christmas celebration and other popular customs New York Public Library New York and London G P Putman s sons Baker Margaret 2007 1962 Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore A Guide to Seasonal Rites Throughout the World page 62 Osprey Publishing Siren Ilkka Does Santa Claus come from Finland www bbc com Retrieved 11 December 2018 Last Monday the anniversary of St Nicholas otherwise called Santa Claus was celebrated at Protestant Hall at Mr Waldron s where a great number of sons of the ancient saint the Sons of Saint Nicholas celebrated the day with great joy and festivity Rivington s Gazette New York City 23 December 1773 a b Fox Justin 13 December 2019 Christmas Was Invented in New York The strange but probably true tale of how Washington Irving and a few contemporaries created the modern holiday in the early 1800s Bloomberg Retrieved 24 December 2019 mentioning Don Foster Author Unknown On the Trail of Anonymous New York Henry Holt 2000 221 75 for the attribution of Old Santeclaus to Clement Clarke Moore Tspace library utoronto ca Archived from the original on 18 July 2011 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Kirkpatrick David D 26 October 2000 Whose Jolly Old Elf Is That Anyway Literary Sleuth Casts Doubt on the Authorship of an Iconic Christmas Poem The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 8 January 2017 archive ph archive ph Archived from the original on 13 September 2012 Retrieved 1 January 2023 Advertisement for Harrison s Bookstore Baltimore American Republican And Daily Clipper No p 3 1 January 1846 The article is signed Uneda an anagrammatic pen name used by William Duane 1808 1882 of Philadelphia son of William John Duane Notes and Queries volume 8 217 24 December 1853 p 615 Thomas Nast Santa Claus and His Works 1866 The phrase Santa Claussville N P is on the curved border to the right of center above the large word Claus Jeremy Seal Nicholas The Epic Journey From Saint to Santa Claus Bloomsbury 2005 p 199 200 ISBN 978 1 58234 419 5 Seaverns Fanny P 1875 The Nursery John L Shorey Dunlap David W 25 December 2015 1933 P S Virginia There s a New York Times Too The New York Times Retrieved 25 August 2022 Bever Lindsey 22 December 2018 Is there a Santa Claus How a child s letter inspired the classic Yes Virginia response The Washington Post Retrieved 25 August 2022 Nosowitz Dan 19 December 2019 How Santa Survived the Soviet Era Atlas Obscura Retrieved 1 January 2023 Image Gallery Santa 1931 Press Center Coca Cola Company Archived from the original on 15 November 2012 Retrieved 28 October 2011 Mikkelson David 18 December 2001 Did Coca Cola Invent the Modern Image of Santa Claus Snopes Retrieved 1 January 2023 Did White Rock or The Coca Cola Company create the modern Santa Claus Advertisement whiterocking org The White Rock Collectors Association 2001 Archived from the original on 21 January 2007 Retrieved 19 January 2007 Coca Cola s Santa Claus Not The Real Thing BevNET com 18 December 2006 Retrieved 1 January 2023 thumb Santa Claus on the 1902 cover of Puck magazine thumb Santa Claus on the 1904 cover of Puck magazine thumb Santa Claus on the 1905 cover of Puck magazine Susman Tina 30 October 2011 Claus and effect The ultimate Santa school Los Angeles Times How did Santa Claus become popular in American culture Kiwi Report by Jaime Levis 2 January 2019 Nissenbaum chap 2 Belk 87 100 The North Pole s Turbo Supply Chain 7 June 2008 Archived from the original on 7 June 2008 Retrieved 1 January 2023 Santa the Movies The Timeline kringlequest tripod com Santa Claus 1912 BFI Retrieved 1 January 2023 Aldrich Ian November 2011 The Big Question Why Should We Believe in Santa We ask Kris Kringle a k a Jonathan Meath Why Should We Believe in Santa Yankee Magazine Retrieved 12 December 2012 Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who s male does not carry a gun and is all about peace High Five Top Five Bizarre Santa Claus Cameos in Comics by Robert Bazz December 13 2010 High Five Comics Archived from the original on 21 December 2010 Retrieved 25 February 2011 Kyrgyzstan Central Asian Country Welcomes Santa Claus To His New Home RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty Retrieved 1 January 2023 Largest gathering of Santa Claus Guinness World Records Guiness sic World Record Santa Claus Costumes WebPhotoBlog imagini fotografii pictures poze images Webphoto ro 30 November 2009 Retrieved 29 September 2010 10 times Santa appeared in video games Screenwanderer com 25 December 2019 Retrieved 21 December 2021 Walsh Joseph J Were They Wise Men Or Kings The Book of Christmas Questions Westminster John Knox Press 2001 ISBN 0 664 22312 5 history Kerry Kubilius lt img src https www tripsavvy com thmb BaimFNYmTBpiR VR0vzRJCXANlw 72x0 filters no upscale strip icc RussianKerry2 56a39e8d5f9b58b7d0d2ca8c jpg alt Kerry Kubilius Eastern Europe for Visitors width 72 height 0 class img noscript mntl author tooltip image gt Kerry Kubilius Kerry Kubilius is a freelance writer who specializes in Eastern European culture Events Current language on 01 20 20 travel TripSavvy s editorial guidelines Updated Celebrate Christmas in Hungary TripSavvy Retrieved 1 January 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a first1 has generic name help A Parents Guide To Christmas Try Not To Cry HuffPost 20 December 2013 Retrieved 15 July 2020 Lehr Sarah Meet the parents who don t keep Santa s secret Lansing State Journal Retrieved 15 July 2020 Shabazz Sa iyda 17 April 2020 The Heavy Price of Holiday Magic The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 15 July 2020 Contreras Russell Santa s Ethnicity Varies in Diverse U S NBC 5 Dallas Fort Worth Retrieved 11 December 2022 What color is Santa Claus in Appalachia AP NEWS 23 December 2017 Retrieved 11 December 2022 Canada Post Newsroom Letters to the Editor 24 April 2008 Archived from the original on 24 April 2008 Santa Claus declared a Canadian citizen Canada News Toronto Sun 30 December 2010 Archived from the original on 30 December 2010 Retrieved 1 January 2023 2010 2011 North Pole Visitor Guide PDF North Pole Community Chamber of Commerce 31 March 2010 Retrieved 29 September 2010 dead link Belovezhskaya pusha Fotoenciklopediya Belarusi in Russian Quelle est la veritable adresse du Pere Noel MOMES net in French 25 July 2014 Retrieved 26 December 2021 Choffat Axelle Lettre au Pere Noel 2021 date adresse Les infos cles www linternaute com in French Retrieved 26 December 2021 Allegrini Elaine 15 November 2008 James Edgar s Santa Claus the spirit of Christmas The Enterprise Brockton Massachusetts Archived from the original on 27 December 2013 Retrieved 29 November 2009 New Santa clauses introduced BBC News 9 December 2002 Retrieved 23 May 2010 Connolly Kate Swiss Santas are banned from sitting children on their laps The Daily Telegraph Berlin Archived from the original on 20 July 2006 Retrieved 23 May 2010 A Visit from St Nick Squareamerica com Archived from the original on 24 December 2010 Retrieved 21 December 2010 DeMara Bruce 25 November 2013 Autistic kids get quiet time with Santa at malls Toronto Star Retrieved 21 December 2013 Canadian malls offer quieter calmer visits with Santa for kids with autism CTVNews 24 November 2013 Retrieved 21 December 2013 Elsom Jack 1 November 2018 WATCH Elvis Dracula and Santa entertain customers at Poundland store in Derry Derry Now Archived from the original on 30 August 2019 Retrieved 30 August 2019 Edward B Colby 3 December 2009 Town in the spirit Dedham Square to be filled with song shopping Dedham Transcript Archived from the original on 21 July 2011 Retrieved 13 November 2010 DEDHAM The fifth annual Dedham Square Holiday Stroll this At 6 p m Jonathan Meath better known as Santa JG who performs with the Boston Pops will entertain children and families at Cafe Video Paradiso with a sing along with Santa We booked him months ago because we knew that he s in demand this time of year Haelsen says Mary Ann Georgantopoulos 23 December 2007 Miracle on Mass Ave City Santa takes suit seriously The Boston Globe Retrieved 13 November 2010 Santa Claus is coming to town More accurately he s from town Cambridge that is Jonathan Meath is the perfect fit for a Santa Santa Glen secretary October 2010 Minutes of meeting San Diego Chapter of F O R B S Archived from the original on 22 October 2010 Retrieved 13 November 2010 Hello fellow Santas Once again we had an informative and fun gathering Ten Santas were in attendance and we were happy to welcome Karilyn Curran the chair person of our up and coming Santa Luncheon for 2011 Fashion Show Jonathan Meath Santa to visit virtually as Christmas grottos cancelled BBC News 5 November 2020 Retrieved 17 November 2020 Chang Rachel There Are Now Black Santas at Walt Disney World and Disneyland for the First Time in History Travel Leisure Meredith Retrieved 1 December 2021 PDF 27 September 2011 https web archive org web 20110927152024 http www emeraldinsight com promo xmas understanding what pdf Archived from the original PDF on 27 September 2011 Retrieved 1 January 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help a b c d Santa Claus receives more than six million letters annually and growing 20 Dec 2007 Asian Tribune Archived from the original on 8 May 2011 Retrieved 12 December 2010 a b c d e No small job for postal elves 15 Dec 2010 Universal Postal Union UPU Archived from the original on 22 December 2010 Retrieved 17 December 2010 Operation Santa Claus at James Farley Post Office 2012 Operation Santa Claus Santa s Blog 15 November 2011 Archived from the original on 28 November 2011 Retrieved 10 December 2011 Santa Mail Letters to Santa Retrieved 25 November 2014 France answers the most Santa letters 21 Dec 2007 xmas co uk 21 December 2007 Archived from the original on 17 March 2012 Retrieved 12 December 2010 Canada Post Holiday Santa s Corner Canadapost ca Retrieved 21 December 2010 LA POSTE Pere Noel in French Laposte fr Archived from the original on 20 July 2011 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Father Christmas s French office open 18 Nov 2010 The Connexion Retrieved 12 December 2010 Send a letter to Santa New Zealand Post Nzpost co nz Archived from the original on 21 January 2012 Retrieved 21 December 2010 NZ Post to tighten net for Santa by Alexis Grant 30 Nov 2004 The New Zealand Herald 30 November 2004 Retrieved 12 December 2010 Employment Opportunities Traditions Canada Post Archived from the original on 8 April 2008 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Time to write to Santa Canada Post 19 November 2015 Archived from the original on 9 April 2016 Retrieved 2 August 2016 Write to Santa and he ll write you back Canada Post 5 November 2015 Retrieved 2 August 2016 a b Letters to Santa Claus 2000 In The World Encyclopedia of Christmas Gerry Bowler Editor Toronto McClelland amp Stewart Limited pp 131 132 Christmas letters to Santa Royal Mail Retrieved 27 December 2013 About this site Embassy of Finland Beijing Consulates General of Finland Shanghai and Guangzhou Current Affairs Finland cn 16 May 2007 Archived from the original on 11 July 2007 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Beijing Post Office Beijing Your Way Archived from the original on 7 July 2011 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Beijing International Post Office Vip fesco com cn Archived from the original on 7 January 2008 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Say hello to Santa Claus November 24 2010 by Zhao Hongyi Beijing Today Archived from the original on 1 December 2011 Retrieved 12 December 2010 Ribeiro Ricky EmailSanta com How Santa Claus Went Digital BizTech Magazine Santa 2010 website by Airservices Australia Mirror airservicesaustralia com Archived from the original on 20 December 2010 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Safe Travels Santa We will Be Watching 19 Dec 2005 NASA s Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex Archived from the original on 16 February 2011 Retrieved 4 December 2010 New technology to map Santa s flight 24 Dec 2009 The Observer Retrieved 5 December 2010 DFW airport unveils Santa Tracker website 18 Dec 2006 PegNews wire Archived from the original on 26 August 2011 Retrieved 4 December 2010 DFW Airport s Santa Tracker Is Operational by BJ Austin 24 Dec 2009 PBS KERA Archived from the original on 5 August 2011 Retrieved 4 December 2010 From NORAD Santa Tracker To Twitter Santa Tracking For Christmas Eve 2009 by Danny Sullivan 23 Dec 2009 Search Engine Land 24 December 2009 Retrieved 5 December 2010 Here Comes Santa Claus Watch it on the Web 24 Dec 2005 WRAL com Raleigh Durham Fayetteville North Carolina s TV Station website Archived from the original on 8 August 2011 Retrieved 4 December 2010 Welcome to The North Pole A Virtual Earth 3D Experience Today msnbc msn com Archived from the original on 11 August 2011 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Tracking Santa with Bing Maps by Chris Pendleton 24 Dec 2009 Microsoft Archived from the original on 1 January 2010 Retrieved 5 December 2010 Gurnon Emily 23 December 2014 How A Sears Typo Led To NORAD s Santa Tracker Forbes Retrieved 24 December 2014 Norad Santa Tracker Christmas tradition began with a wrong number CBC News CBC 24 December 2014 Archived from the original on 25 December 2014 Retrieved 24 December 2014 SantaWatch Hunt for Santa to Include Clues from the International Space Station by Dreamtime 18 Dec 2000 Dreamtime 18 December 2000 Retrieved 11 December 2010 Keep track of Santa thanks to NORAD by WKTV News 24 Dec 2009 Dreamtime Archived from the original on 27 September 2011 Retrieved 11 December 2010 Rueb Emily S 21 December 2019 Trying to Reach the North Pole Check Your Wi Fi The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 14 June 2020 Calgary Santa receives wishes and cries for help in emails from around the world Calgary Herald Retrieved 14 June 2020 Ribeiro Ricky 19 December 2012 EmailSanta com How Santa Claus Went Digital BizTech Magazine Retrieved 19 July 2020 It now offers kids and parents personalized messages from Santa which run from an ASP script that Kerr built himself Vnuk Helen 7 December 2017 Email Santa and get a reply the website making my kids believe MamaMia com au Retrieved 19 July 2020 The one thing that s convinced my daughter more than anything else that Santa is real is a website emailSanta com Microsoft pulls plug on potty mouth Santa by John Fontana 4 Dec 2007 Network World Archived from the original on 13 October 2012 Retrieved 9 December 2010 For a Jolly Good Time Chat With Santa on Windows Live Messenger 13 Dec 2006 Microsoft Archived from the original on 24 October 2007 Retrieved 9 December 2010 NORAD Tracks Santa Citation Space Certification Program as a Corporate Patron Level Partner in the Certified Imagination Product Category December 2007 Space Foundation Archived from the original on 25 September 2010 Retrieved 31 December 2009 Hi tech helps track Santa Claus December 24 2008 BBC News 24 December 2008 Retrieved 31 December 2009 You d Better Not Pout Booz Allen Supports NORAD to Track Santa s Approach This Year December 1 2010 by Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Archived from the original on 10 December 2010 Retrieved 1 December 2010 Santa Claus The great imposter Terry Watkins Dial the Truth Ministries To Santa or Not to Santa from the Christian Parenting Corner 5 June 2008 Archived from the original on 5 June 2008 Retrieved 1 January 2023 Kippenberg Hans G Kuiper Yme B Sanders Andy F 1 January 1990 Concepts of Person in Religion and Thought Walter de Gruyter p 363 ISBN 978 3110874372 Bowler Gerry 27 July 2011 Santa Claus A Biography Random House ISBN 978 1551996080 When Christmas Was Banned The early colonies and Christmas Archived from the original on 8 January 2010 History Ten Ages of Christmas BBC 13 March 2005 Archived from the original on 13 March 2005 Retrieved 21 December 2010 Nissenbaum chap 1 Clar Mimi October 1959 Attack on Santa Claus Western Folklore 18 4 337 doi 10 2307 1497769 JSTOR 1497769 Eddy Mary Baker 1925 Miscellany p 261 in Prose Works other than Science and Health Trustees under the will of Mary Baker G Eddy Boston USA Connelly Mark 2000 Christmas at the Movies Images of Christmas in American British and European Cinema I B Tauris p 186 ISBN 9781860643972 A chapter on representations of Christmas in Soviet cinema could in fact be the shortest in this collection suffice it to say that there were at least officially no Christmas celebrations in the atheist socialist state after its foundation in 1917 Echo of Islam MIG 1993 In the former Soviet Union fir trees were usually put up to mark New Year s day following a tradition established by the officially atheist state Luzer Daniel 26 November 2013 What a Real War on Christmas Looks Like Pacific Standard Retrieved 12 November 2014 There were several anti religious campaigns the most dramatic of which occurred in the 1920s According to a piece published by the School of Russian and Asia Studies In 1925 Christmas was effectively banned under the officially atheist Soviets and was not to return to Russian lands until 1992 The New Year celebration usurped the traditions of a Christmas Tree Yolka Santa known in Russian as Ded Mopoz or Grandfather Frost and presents In the Russian tradition Grandfather Frost s granddaughter the Snow Maiden Snegurochka always accompanies him to help distribute the gifts Elves are not associated with the holiday The state prohibited people from selling Christmas trees There were even festivals organized by the League of Militant Atheists specifically to denigrate religious holidays Their carnivals were inspired by similar events staged by activists after the French Revolution From 1923 to 1924 and then again from 1929 to 1930 the Komsomol Christmases and Easters were basically holiday celebrations of atheism Ramet Sabrina Petra 10 November 2005 Religious Policy in the Soviet Union Cambridge University Press p 138 ISBN 9780521022309 The League sallied forth to save the day from this putative religious revival Antireligioznik obliged with so many articles that it devoted an entire section of its annual index for 1928 to anti religious training in the schools More such material followed in 1929 and a flood of it the next year It recommended what Lenin and others earlier had explicitly condemned carnivals farces and games to intimidate and purge the youth of religious belief It suggested that pupils campaign against customs associated with Christmas including Christmas trees and Easter Some schools the League approvingly reported staged an anti religious day on the 31st of each month Not teachers but the League s local set the programme for this special occasion Santa Claus won t be coming to this town as Chinese officials ban Christmas South China Morning Post 18 December 2018 Christmas is not a recognised holiday in mainland China where the ruling party is officially atheist and for many years authorities have taken a tough stance on anyone who celebrates it in public The statement by Langfang officials said that anyone caught selling Christmas trees wreaths stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished While the ban on the sale of Christmas goods might appear to be directed at retailers it also comes amid a crackdown on Christians practising their religion across the country On Saturday morning more than 60 police officers and officials stormed a children s Bible class in Guangzhou capital of southern China s Guangdong province The incident came after authorities shut down the 1 500 member Zion Church in Beijing in September and Chengdu s 500 member Early Rain Covenant Church last week In the case of the latter about 100 worshippers were snatched from their homes or from the streets in coordinated raids Interview Jeremy Seal St Nicholas Center Retrieved 1 January 2023 In defense of Santa Claus Archived from the original on 26 December 2007 Retrieved 7 September 2016 Carol Jean Swanson Mothering Fall 1992 Better Watch Out Better Not Cry Archived from the original on 20 January 2007 Retrieved 13 December 2007 Hilda Hoy The Prague Post 13 December 2006 BBC Santa goes green www bbc co uk Retrieved 1 January 2023 Nast Thomas Merry Old Santa Claus Encyclopaedia Britannica Britannica com Archived from the original on 6 April 2011 Retrieved 11 June 2013 Spuds Can t Promote Beer Dressed as Santa Associated Press News 2 December 1987 Retrieved 23 November 2012 a b Johnson David Kyle Say Goodbye to the Santa Claus Lie Psychology Today Retrieved 12 December 2018 a b c d e f Lowe Scott C ed 2010 Christmas Philosophy for Everyone Better than a Lump of Coal Malden Mass Wiley Blackwell pp 143 147 ISBN 9781444330908 OCLC 539086689 Heizer Sophie We asked five experts should I lie to my children about Santa The Conversation a b Woolley Jacqueline 23 December 2006 Opinion Do You Believe in Surnits The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 1 January 2023 a b The Pagan Origins of Santa Claus Learn Religions Retrieved 1 January 2023 a b Vines Gail 2011 The Santa Delusion New Scientist 210 2809 29 Bibcode 2011NewSc 210Q 29M doi 10 1016 S0262 4079 11 60920 2 Retrieved 12 December 2018 Lying To Kids About Santa Can Erode Their Trust Psychologists Say Vocativ 25 November 2016 a b How to deal with the is Santa real The Dominion Post Retrieved 7 November 2011 Kutner Lawrence 21 November 1991 PARENT amp CHILD The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 1 January 2023 General and cited references Belk Russell 1989 Materialism with the modern U S Christmas In Interpretive Consumer Research ed by Elizabeth C Hirschman Provo UT Association for Consumer Research 75 104 Bowler Gerry Editor 2004 The World Encyclopedia of Christmas Toronto McClelland amp Stewart Limited ISBN 978 0 7710 1535 9 0 7710 1535 6 Bowler Gerry 2007 Santa Claus A Biography Toronto McClelland amp Stewart Limited ISBN 978 0 7710 1668 4 0 7710 1668 9 Crump William D Editor 2006 The Christmas Encyclopedia 2nd edition Jefferson North Carolina McFarland amp Company Inc Publishers ISBN 978 0 7864 2293 7 Nissenbaum Stephen 1997 The Battle for Christmas New York Alfred A Knopf ISBN 978 0 679 74038 4 0 679 74038 4 Further readingJoffe Walt Chana 19 December 2012 Without Magic Santa Would Need 12 Million Employees All Things Considered NPR Retrieved 20 December 2012 External linksSanta Claus at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote An article on the History of Santa Claus from the St Nicholas Center The History of Santa Claus and Father Christmas North Pole Flooded With Letters MSNBC Research guides for Thomas Nast and Santa Claus at The Morristown amp Morris Township Public Library NJ The Knickerbockers Rescue Santa Claus Claas Schlaschenschlinger from James Kirke Paulding s The Book of Saint Nicholas 1836 NORAD Tracks Santa Google Santa Tracker emailSanta com Tracker Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Santa Claus amp oldid 1136574210, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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