They can be loosely classified in variations of an "Old Man" (Old Man Winter, Father Christmas),Īnd a "child" or "girl" tradition. There are numerous traditions of Christmas gift-bringers in European folklore. The basis of this association is that Saint Nicholas was noted 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.
This association took place mainly in the territories of the Holy Roman Empire, including German-speaking Europe, the Low Countries, the Czech lands, Hungary and Slovenia. Jacob Grimm ( Deutsche Mythologie) traces the threatening or scary companions of Saint Nicholas (such as the Krampus of the Austro-Bavarian dialect region) to Christianized versions of household spirits ( kobolds, elves).Īfter Christianization, the benign mid-winter gift-bringer was associated with the 4th-century Christian Saint Nicholas of Myra. Santa Claus's reindeer has also been compared to Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin in Norse mythology. The origin of the Christian gift-bringer figures in European folklore are clearly pre-Christian, more specifically connected with the Yule (midwinter) festival in Germanic paganism, and are often associated with the figure of Odin ( Wodanaz), the leader of the Wild Hunt at the time of Yule. Īn 1886 depiction of Odin by Georg von Rosen. In England, for example, Father Christmas gradually took on the attributes of the American Santa Claus during the 19th century, the two characters eventually becoming indistinguishable. The American figure in turn had considerable influence on the various European traditions during the 19th and 20th centuries. įrom these European traditions, the North American figure of Santa Claus developed, beginning in the 1820s. Early modern England had Father Christmas, a character initially associated with feasting and good cheer, though he was not originally a gift bringer. In some parts of Central Europe, there is a separate tradition of a young child or fairy-like being bringing presents, known as Christkind. In German-speaking Europe and Latin Europe, it became associated with the Christian Saint Nicholas. In Scandinavia, it is an elf-like figure or tomten who comes at Yule (and who sometimes also takes the form of a goat). In Eastern Slavic countries, the figure is Father Frost. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian hagiography, even before the modern period. But if Ukraine does break with its cherished habit, marking Christmas on a different day would emphasise that its divorce from Russia is truly final.A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. That is what Saudi Arabia did in 2013 when it became the last Islamic country to ditch Thursday-Friday weekends. It makes sense for countries to align their rhythms of work and rest with their closest foreign trading partners. Since 2014 Ukraine has unravelled its economy from Russia’s to knit it together with the EU’s.
In secular terms the idea has a cold logic. But pushing too fast risks dividing Ukrainian society, splitting the church or pushing old-fashioned believers back towards Moscow. The Ukrainian state declared December 25th a public holiday in 2017, ostensibly for the sake of the country’s Catholics. But it can be done, as shown by Orthodox churches in Greece, Romania and Albania, which use the Latin Christmas date. Old Calendarists argue that switching would muck up the formula for calculating Easter, violating canonical texts.
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