Who Is Santa Claus

Who is Santa Claus: By Lady SpringWolf   As we pagans already know, many of today's Christmas celebrations are rooted in pagan practices. And Santa isn't an exception. The winter solstice is a time to celebrate the return of the sun following the shortest day in the year. It's no wonder the church adopted these holidays as the birth date of their Savior. But from ancient Celtic and Norse mythology we also enjoy such holiday traditions as holly and mistletoe (sacred to the druids), the yule log, and even Santa Claus in his aspects of Father Time, or Father Winter, or the Holly King or even Father Christmas.   Santa gets his name from Dutch legend in the form of Sinter Klaas. Historical documents suggest that Sinter was brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century. As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as "St. A Claus," but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter) each Eve of Saint Nicholas.   This Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from Irving's 1809 description.)   There are many Celtic scholars who point Santa's beginnings to the Celtic Holly King, who has been depicted with a Holly wreath as a crown. Or as the Druid Holly King who wore holly in his hat. In both cases, the Holly King traditionally wore green garments with red accents. What else would a "holly" king wear. His clothing seems to have changed color in the late 1800s. When he started wearing the modern red. We can thank Coca-Cola for that. The red-image of Santa was further ingrained into our culture with a human-sized version of Santa Claus, rather than the elf of Moore's poem. Again thanks to the depiction in a series of illustrations for Coca-Cola advertisements introduced in 1931. In modern versions of the Santa Claus legend, only his toy-shop workers are elves. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, was invented in 1939 by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company.   But we have to go back a bit farther than that to find the earliest origins of Santa, to pagan legend and myth. Starting with The Holly King, who lived during the waning season of the year and drove a team of eight deer attached to his sled or wagon. Some suggest this aspect of Santa probably comes from Norse mythology where reindeer were often utilized for transportation in winter. If you've ever tried cleaning out a horse hoof in winter, you'd understand this.   But there is also suggestion that the 8 reindeer plays pagan significance. Just follow along here, it comes together in the end. Even in those ancient times the number 9 was an important spiritual number. 9 witches often made up a coven. 9 feet was the diameter of a perfect circle. And maybe that's why "the whole 9 yards"; which refers to the 9 yards of material for a Great Kilt worn by many Celtic highlanders is so important. When we think of Santa we think of Santa and his 8 tiny reindeer. And most people focus on the 8 reindeer. Well now add Santa. 9 souls traveling through the winter sky to bring presents for the rebirth of the year. It's a stretch, but there are those who believe this is where the 8 reindeer got their start.   How did Santa wind up in the North Pole. We can look to Norse mythology for that and the legend of the twin brothers the Holly King and Oak King. The Holly King lived way up North, where he could survive in the cold during the reign of his brother in the spring and summer. The Oak King who needed the warmth to survive, lived in the warm forests in the south and falls into sleep while his brother of the cold reigns over the world during the fall and winter months.   Ancient pagan deities such as Befana (a gift-giving Roman goddess); the Holly King (a Celtic Winter god); and Thor and Tomte (Norse gods who, respectively, rode across the sky in a chariot drawn by goats and gave presents to children at the end of the year) have all fed into the Santa legend.   And then there's Ded Moroz, or Grandfather Frost, a legendary Russian figure with a long beard and red robes who travels from house to house on a sleigh leaving presents for children.   In many of these early pagan legends, presents are given to children or young families to represent abundance and fertility. After all this is the time of the rebirth of the Sun. Presents were exchanged to honor that rebirth and to give wishes or hopes to the person receiving the gift for abundance and fertility in the coming year. Now don't assume that 'fertility' means giving birth to a child. Remember these people had to live off the earth and the crops they grew. They didn't have grocery stores on the corner to trot down to and buy food for their families. So in most cases the fertility was for the coming growing season.   Santa didn't become a Christian figure until the 3rd century with Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra. He lived on what is now the coast of Turkey. Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD which became a festive day to honor this Bishop and his life. It's still a day recognized in many European countries as St. Nicholas Day. His parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. Many stories are told of his generosity, and caring. Especially his protection and care of children. Because of his life work, he became synonymous with Santa Claus. Though many of the stories retold today cannot be verified and are likely just oral stories that were created to entertain children and to further incorporate pagan legends with Christian figures.   It's impossible to point to the one real 'first' Santa, because Santa is a culmination of mythological legends and stories. But from many of the earliest pagan stories and legends we can find pieces of the Santa legend in our Holly King of Celtic and Norse mythologies.

Source: 1 Created: 12/15/2006         Updated: 03.05.2008