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A typical depiction of Santa Claus.

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Santa" is a legendary holliday character. The popular American form Santa Claus originated as a mispronunciation of Dutch Sinterklaas, which in turn is a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas). Santa Claus has a suit that comes in many colors depending on the country. The most common depiction (red with white sleeves, collar, and belt) originated in Finland.

Santa Claus in popular culture

Santa parading with a Santa Christmas ornament

Santalogy

Several rituals have developed around the Santa Claus figure that are normally performed by children hoping to receive gifts from him. Children in America generally leave out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer. In Britain it is customary to leave out whisky for Santa and a carrot for his reindeer^{[citation needed]}.

Little Jesus

In Poland, Santa Claus gives gifts on the 6th of December. On the Christmas Eve it is the Angel that brings presents, though. In Hungary, Santa Claus (Télapó or Mikulás) brings small gifts (usually candy and chocolate) during the night of the 6th of December and Little Jesus (Jézuska) brings the tree as well as the presents on Christmas Eve. Santa is often dressed up in red.

Christian opposition to Santa Claus

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.*

Though Santa Claus has Christian origins, he has become a secular representation of Christmas. As such, a number of Christian churches dislike the secular focus on Santa Claus and the materialist focus that present-receiving gives to the holiday.

Such a condemnation of Santa Claus is not a 20th-century phenomenon, but originated among some Protestant groups of the 16th century and was prevalent among the Puritans of 17th-century England and America who banned the holiday as either pagan or Roman Catholic. Following the English Civil War, under Oliver Cromwell's government Christmas was banned. Following the Restoration of the monarchy and with Puritans out of power in England,[1] 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) [Nissenbaum, chap. 1].

Rev. Paul Nedergaard, a clergyman in Copenhagen, Denmark attracted controversy in 1958 when he declared Santa to be a "pagan goblin" after Santa's image was used on fundraising materials for a Danish welfare organization Clar, 337. One prominent religious group that refuses to celebrate Santa Claus, or Christmas itself, for similar reasons is the Jehovah's Witnesses. A number of denominations of Christians have varying concerns about Santa Claus. Some Christians even claim that Santa is a hidden representation of Satan. [2] They note that the name Santa Claus sounds a bit like the term "Satan's claws".

Most Christians believe that their own focus in the Christmas season should be placed on the birth of Jesus [3] and many would prefer this to be the focus of the festival in general ^{[citation needed]}, though attitudes to this vary according to country. In addition, some parents are uncomfortable about lying to their children about the existence of Santa. This is a concern which both Christians and non-Christians may have on the general basis that it is wrong to systematically lie to one's children. Christians are also often concerned that the lie suggests, when it is revealed, that Christianity is also a childish belief which one grows out of, thus providing a model for the critics of religion. Those with such concerns may tell their children that Santa Claus is just a sort of game, a "pretend" activity. Those whose objections are more to the materialist nature of the modern festival but still wish to participate in the festive gift-giving atmosphere of "Santa season" will shop for toys to donate to poor children on St. Nicholas's feast day, December 6. This is an opportunity to instill the Christian value of secret charity, which Nicholas was known for. Although feast days are usually not acknowledged in Protestant denominations, this tradition has found acceptance there as well.

The fictional Landover Baptist Church's website satirizes and parodies this viewpoint. The website specifies that Satan is disguising himself as Santa (the same letters used in an anagram) to deceive people into a materialistic celebration.

References

"Bad Disney". Washington Times. November 21, 2003.
"Santa's Elves in Alaskan Town Reply to Letters". AOL News. Dec. 9, 2006.
Barnard, Eunice Fuller. "Santa Claus Claimed as a Real New Yorker." New York Times. December, 19, 1926.
Baum, L. Frank. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. 1902; reprint, New York: Penguin, 1986. ISBN 0-451-52064-5
Belk, Russel W. "A Child's Christmas in America: Santa Claus as Deity, Consumption as Religion." Journal of American Culture, 10, no. 1 (Spring 1987), pp. 87-100.
"Christmas Customs; Are They Christian?". The Watchtower (New York). December 15, 2000.
Clar, Mimi. "Attack on Santa Claus." Western Folklore, 18, no. 4 (October 1959), p. 337.
Clark, Cindy Dell. Flights of Fancy, Leaps of Faith: Children's Myths in Contemporary America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. ISBN 0-226-10778-7
"The Claus That Refreshes" at Snopes.com.
"Letter from Santa Clause" at [santabymail.com].
"The Devil Is In Your Chimney!" at Landoverbaptist.org.
Dini, Paul. Jingle Belle various issues [4]
Flynn, Tom. The Trouble with Christmas. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1993. ISBN 0-87975-848-1
Horowitz, Joseph. Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. ISBN 0-393-05717-8
"Is There a Santa Claus?" New York Sun. September 21, 1897.
King, Josiah. The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas; Together with his Clearing by the Jury . . . London: Charles Brome, 1686. Full text available here
Lalumia, Christine. "The restrained restoration of Christmas". In the Ten Ages of Christmas from the BBC website.
Moore, Clement Clarke. "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel. December 23, 1823.
Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. ISBN 0-679-74038-4
Otnes, Cele, Kyungseung Kim, and Young Chan Kim. "Yes, Virginia, There is a Gender Difference: Analyzing Children's Requests to Santa Claus." Journal of Popular Culture, 28, no. 1 (Summer 1994), pp. 17-29.
Ott, Jonathan. Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Kennewick, Wash.: Natural Products Company, 1993. ISBN 0-9614234-9-8
Plath, David W. "The Japanese Popular Christmas: Coping with Modernity." American Journal of Folklore, 76, no. 302 (October-December 1963), pp. 309-317.
Potter, Alicia. "Celluloid Santas" at Factmonster.com.
Quinn, Seabury. Roads. 1948; facsimile reprint, Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: Red Jacket Press, 2005. ISBN 0-9748895-8-X
"St. Nicholas of Myra" in the Catholic Encyclopedia at NewAdvent.org.
Sedaris, David. The Santaland Diaries and Seasons Greetings: Two Plays. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1998. ISBN 0-8222-1631-0
Shenkman, Richard. Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History. New York: HarperCollins, 1988. ISBN 0-06-097261-0
Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0246-6
Twitchell, James B. Twenty Ads that Shook the World. New York: Crown Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-609-60563-1
"Why Track Him?" at NORADsanta.org.

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 [[Image:Santa usairforce.jpg|thumb|200px|A typical depiction of Santa Claus.]]
-'''Santa Claus''', also known as '''[[Saint Nicholas]]''', '''[[Father Christmas]]''', '''[[Kris Kringle]],''' or simply "Santa" is a totally real holiday character. The popular [[United States|American]] form ''Santa Claus'' originated as a mispronunciation of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''[[Sinterklaas]]'', which in turn is a contracted form of ''Sint Nicolaas'' (Saint Nicholas). Santa Claus has a suit that comes in many colors depending on the country. The most common depiction (red with white sleeves, collar, and belt) originated in [[Finland]].
+'''Santa Claus''', also known as '''[[Saint Nicholas]]''', '''[[Father Christmas]]''', '''[[Kris Kringle]],''' or simply "Santa" is a legendary holliday character. The popular [[United States|American]] form ''Santa Claus'' originated as a mispronunciation of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''[[Sinterklaas]]'', which in turn is a contracted form of ''Sint Nicolaas'' (Saint Nicholas). Santa Claus has a suit that comes in many colors depending on the country. The most common depiction (red with white sleeves, collar, and belt) originated in [[Finland]].
 ==Santa Claus in popular culture==

Santa Claus: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:13, 18 April 2007

Santa Claus in popular culture

Santalogy

Little Jesus

Christian opposition to Santa Claus

See also

Related Topics

Variations of Christmas around the world

Related figures

External links

References