Assuming all of the households he visits leave out two cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, he consumes around 374 billion calories, 33,000 tons of sugar, and 151,000 tons of fat in one night! 17. Children all around the world today know about Santa Claus, the man who delivers gifts to every house on Christmas Eve. Children often call him “Santa no ojisan”, which means “Uncle Santa”. It wasn’t until Victorian times that he started being associated with giving gifts to children. He was accompanied by his 10 children, whose names included Wassail, Carol, Misrule, and Minced-Pie. Instead, Père Noël brings toys after the evening Mass on Christmas Eve. Jesus was born, died and raised from the dead so that we may live. When Father Christmas first began showing up in illustrations, he wore many different colored robes, including green, purple, blue, and brown, among others. There are several stories of how Père Fouettard (or Father Whipper as he is known) came to exist, but they all centre on a dark, sadistic killer who murders three boys. 9. For small children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaasavond (St Nicholas evening) is much more important than Christmas. The legend of the creature dates back hundreds of years, but the church stamped out the majority of its influence in the 1800s. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” has been a popular mantra of the environmentally conscious movement since the 1970s. Launch slideshow. The popularity of Sundblom’s images spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by the Coca-Cola Company, or that Santa wears red and white because they’re the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand. Irving’s story may also be the first time Santa was depicted as sliding down a chimney to deliver presents. Similarly, they also have unique names for Santa Claus as well. Father Christmas first became known outside the UK as “the Ghost of Christmas Present” in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. This can be done by purchasing less stuff. Some 2 billion Christmas cards are sent each year in the U.S. alone, and the vast majority of these end up in the dump. China- Dun Che Lao Ren (“Christmas Old Man”) The book, which depicts Scrooge reluctant to give Bob Cratchit coal for the fire, is also thought to have inspired the “lump of coal for naughty kids” tradition. Numerous parallels have been drawn between Santa Claus and Odin, a major god of the Germanic peoples prior to their Christianization. Russia- Ded Moroz (“Grandfather Frost”) 3. The company didn’t actually introduce the Sprite beverage until the 1960s. Christmas is about the birth of our Savior. 26. Santa Claus has many names across the world. Apparently the French really have a thing for Christmas donkeys! All hosted affiliate links follow our editorial policies. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir’s food with gifts or candy! Legend in the Alpine countries holds that Krampus comes to punish the naughty children. Finland- Joulupukki Today, the Dutch holiday season traditionally begins in mid-November, when Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat at a designated port, then parades through the streets on his horse. Well, the good children get presents from Père Noël. For one, Santa Claus greets the world every year wearing his trademark red and white. With Christmas fast approaching, we want to help by providing ways to reduce waste created by this increasingly commercialized holiday. 44. Santa Clause has helped people get fascinated and enchanted by the nurturing, age-old myths and fables of their culture. The portrait pictures Santa leaving treats in children’s stockings hanging by a fireplace. The three countries that send the most letters are France (1.7 million), Canada (1.35 million), and the United States (just over a million). Sinterklaas wears a red bishop s dress including a red mitre, rides a white horse over the rooftops of houses and is assisted by many helpers with soot black faces and colorful Moorish dresses, dating back two centuries. 40. To honor the occasion, he commissioned artist Alexander Anderson to create the first known American image of the saint. Atlanta Christmas Events: 50 Things to do for Christmas in Georgia. Many of our current ideas of what Santa Claus looks like came after the publication of the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823. But unlike other children, I never really grew out of my interest in St. Nick. Not only does this (presumably fake) fur cloak make the French Santa more fashionable, it’s also more practical when flying across the night sky at light speed! According to Dutch tradition, Santa Claus leaves Spain to arrive in the Netherlands in a boat loaded with presents. Where did he come from? The History Of Santa Claus Around The World Every child in the western world can tell you who he is, but the history of the Santa Claus is one of variation from culture to culture. And families around the world will be opening presents and gathering around a … The figure later known as Father Christmas first appeared in Christmas his Masque, a 1616 play written by Ben Jonson. United Kingdom- Father Christmas. Germany- Weihnachtsmann (“Christmas Man”) Like most kids who grew up in the US, I became fascinated with Santa Claus from a very early age. He was instead pictured as a big-bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe and a green winter coat. In Belgium, presents are given to children only, but to almost all of them, on Sinterklaas Day. This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Santa Claus Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more Santa Claus who on Christmas eve is said to piles toys on his sleigh and flies around the world with … 16. With a name that derives from the German word for “claw,” Krampus serves as the resident heavy of Santa’s gang, dishing out beatings and other medieval-style punishments to naughty kids. We share transformative Responsible Travel, Sustainable Living & Going Green Tips that make a positive impact. St. Nicholas was a wealthy man who wanted to share his fortune with people who were poor or … Here at Green Global Travel, we like to put an emphasis on the green aspect by finding lots of little ways to make life more sustainable. 38. Hope Santa has a good personal trainer in the off-season…, READ MORE: Countries That Don’t Celebrate Christmas, Filed Under: CULTURAL EXPLORATION, Ecotourism & Green Living Blog, Global Culture, UNESCO SITES/HISTORY Tagged With: Christmas. He traditionally appears during festivals on Krampusnacht (December 5), the night before the feast of St. Nicholas. In Denmark the gift bringer, Julemanden, also carries a sack and is drawn by reindeer. In particular, the origin of Santa in the Catholic Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Greek bishop who was known for his charitable gift-giving and countless miracles. Santa Claus’ sleigh had only eight reindeer until Rudolph and his red nose were created in 1939 by copywriter Robert L. May while working for the Montgomery Ward department store. The program starts on December 1, but the actual Santa-tracking simulation starts at midnight annually on December … 50. The story of Santa Claus living at the North Pole didn't come about until December 29, 1866, when a cartoon by illustrator Thomas Nast was published in Harper's Weekly, according to The World.Before that, Santa just lived wherever. Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize a modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising. Get inspired to travel everyday by signing up to our daily newsletter. The jolly, ruddy, sack-carrying Santa with a red suit and flowing white whiskers had become the standard image of Santa Claus in America. Eventually, the use of Christmas stockings began to replace boots. Of course one of the most important aspects of this mission is reducing waste. Now, Babouschka visits Russian children on January 5, leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. The legend was based on a bishop named St. Nicholas, who was born in Turkey almost 2,000 years ago. Protestants also turned the Devil into St. Nick’s helper in an attempt to demonize the Catholic saint, hoping their faithful flock would associate Santa with hellfire and damnation. United Kingdom . Parents tell stories of the man with the white beard, red coat, and polished boots who travels the world with his reindeer bearing gifts for all those who were well-behaved. In the Netherlands and Belgium, presents are delivered by Sinterklaas, who is often called De Goede Sint (“The Good Saint”) and De Goedheiligman (“The Good Holy Man”). The German Santa Claus was nearly eliminated for centuries by Martin Luther, the 16th German professor of theology who played a major role in the Protestant Reformation. Odin was referred to by many names in Skaldic poetry, including Langbarðr (“long beard”) and Jólnir (“Yule figure”). Santa Claus is called Papa Noel and some children receive presents both days on December 24th (from Papa Noel) and on January 6th (from the Three Kings). St. Nicholas fills the boot with gifts, and at the same time checks up on the children to see if they were good. Always the inquisitive kid, I had so many questions: Who was Santa Claus? In the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, on the border with Switzerland, Père Noël is not nearly as popular as la Tante Arie (Aunt Arie). The tradition of kids getting their picture taken with Santa dates back to at least 1918. Santa Claus crops up with a partner more than once. It was Dutch immigrants who originally brought the legend of Saint Nicholas (who was known to them as Sinterklaas) with them to New Amsterdam, which we now know as New York City. There are actually dozens of different names used for the German Santa Claus. He keeps his checklist in a big, red book he carries with him. The first one was Massachusetts entrepreneur James Edgar, who took on the role back in 1890. Santa Claus Worksheets. He once helped three impoverished daughters of a local Christian with dowries (dropping a sack of gold through their window each night) so that they wouldn’t have to become prostitutes. The older I got, and the more I learned about Santa, the more I came to treasure the Christmas spirit he represented and the importance of keeping it in our hearts all year round. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that it first became popular to depict Santa Claus wearing a red suit. The image of the jolly old elf we know and love today was created by artist Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola advertisements, which debuted in The Saturday Evening Post in 1931. This new version of the folkloric creature was obviously inspired by the Santa Claus traditions that were gradually spreading to Scandinavia. Here, the saint was transfomed as a plump and jolly old man bringing gifts. During the Germanic holiday of Yule, he led a great hunting party through the sky, riding an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir that could leap great distances (sound like Santa Claus’s reindeer?). 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