Who is who? Santa Claus, San Nicolás de Mira, Santa Claus and the Spirit of Christmas.

Santa Claus, San Nicolás de Mira, Santa Claus and the Spirit of Christmas.

To all the readers, welcome back to my virtual portal, I have been busy between books, classes, and workshops, being as a teacher as a student, now I am taking time out of social networks to focus on finishing various projects, and you will only find me around here, and occasionally on Tumblr and Twitter promoting the topics published in this blog.

This day we are going to shed some light on the life of this mythical character with thousands of names that is Saint Nicholas, and his difference with, the Christmas Spirit, of whom I personally am very devout, and to clarify that they are not the same individual.

Beyond the version recreated by Coca Cola, of the robust and bearded man with a cartoon red and white winter suit, we find the essence of two entirely different characters that I would like to summarize below.

Old Wotan and the first ‘Christmas’.

Centuries before Christianization, the Germanic peoples celebrated a feast in the middle of winter called Yule ’, from which essentially all the traditions that would eventually lead to Christmas originate. During these festivities, the god Woden or Wotan (another form of the god Odin) was present with his long white beard, well accompanied by his hunting troops (Wild Hunt) formed mostly by spirits of old horse hunters.

From here the first images of the old ‘Santa Claus’ leave, like a robust old man with blue eyes and long white beard covered with a thick tunic of skin dyed blue, or sometimes purple or green. Being thus represented in a more elegant and less caricatural way, and with a more "Nordic" aspect.

From a horse to the eight reindeer

Wotan was an old god, a warrior, a wizard, and a poet, it was expected that his court was a mystical and unique creature worthy of him, so he rode ‘Sleipnir’ a fierce eight-legged horse. After the Christianization of the Germanic peoples, trying to keep Wotan's story alive among the children, this steed would be turned into a white horse called ‘Amerigo’, and now Wotan would have an assistant and page known as ‘Zwarte Piet’.

Zwarte Piet, better known as “Black Peter” or “Pedro el negro” for Spanish-speaking countries, was a demon with coal instead of skin and fire instead of blood, inhabited the forests of Germany and Belgium, devoured the children and terrorized the people, said demon was defeated in combat by Wotan and turned into his servant, Wotan covered him with human skin and from then on he is represented as a vivacious and smiling character of color.

Subsequently, and inspired by the original concept of the eight-legged horse that leads the god during the winter, and in a Christmas postcard published in 1821 where the character is seen in a carriage that is pulled by a reindeer, the legend transforms and converts to the bearded god in a robust and smiling old man aboard a sleigh that is pulled by eight reindeer, to represent the eight legs of the original steed.

For even more commercial purposes, to the eight reindeers that pull the sleigh of "Santa", they are added a ninth reindeer (Rudolph of the red nose) from the 1823 poem "A Visit From St Nicholas", and his assistant Peter It disappears almost completely, except in certain European countries such as Spain, Holland, Poland, and Germany, where little by little its figure is emerging again.

Saint Nicholas de Bari

With the arrival of Christianity throughout Europe, the figure of Woden tried to prevail, and its cult being so difficult to disappear, the Church decided to synchronize it with the figure of the Christian bishop of Greek origin named Nicholas of Bari, who lived in the fourth century in Anatolia, (current Turkey). Nicholas was one of the most venerated people by Christians of the Middle Ages, largely because of his reputation as a miracle worker as for his eagerness to eradicate pagan cults, his relics are in the Basilica of St. Nicholas of Bari, Italy.

Nicolás de Bari was born between the years 270 and 280 in Myra, a city of the District of Lycia, in present-day Turkey, came from a rich family with shops along the Adriatic Sea, once both parents died due to the plague, Nicolás, moved by the situation, distributed all the assets of his family among the neediest and went to live with his uncle (the bishop of Mira), at age 19 Nicolás is ordained a priest, and when his uncle dies, he Nicolás offers to take office as bishop of Mira.

Special mention has its relationship with the children, whom he treated with great respect and appreciation, on one occasion he managed through prayers, to heal two children who had previously been stabbed by a stranger outside the church, from there Many stories began telling their miracles and goodnesses.

He had a good reputation as a gift delivery man, I keep a small part of the family treasures much of his life, mostly gold coins that he left inside the houses of the poor in which he sneaked into the night.

After his death, he was made Patron Saint of Greece, Turkey, Russia and Lorraine (France). In the East, it is known as San Nicolás de Mira or Myra, but in the West as San Nicolás de Bari.

Father Christmas

This is a character of English origin, and it is a divine personification of Christmas that emerged at the end of the Victorian period.

From the fifteenth century, "Father Christmas" appears as an English legend, but it is not until the mid-seventeenth century (following the English Civil War) that his figure goes from oral folklore to be illustrated and described in various commercial publications.

“The English government controlled by the Puritans had legislated to abolish Christmas, considering it a papist, and had banned their traditional customs. The realistic political pamphlets, which link the old traditions with their cause, adopted the Old Santa Claus as a symbol of "the good old days" of festivities and joy. After the Restoration in 1660, Santa's profile declined. His character was maintained at the end of the 18th century and in the 19th century by Christmas folkloric works.”

Hutton, Ronald (1994). The Rise and Fall of Merry England.

Until Victorian times, Father Christmas was only worried about celebrations and adult parties. He had no particular connection with the children, nor with the delivery of gifts, night visits, socks or fireplaces. As later Victorian Christmas became family festivals focused on children, Father Christmas became a bearer of gifts.

The popular American myth of Santa Claus arrived in England in the 1850s and Father Christmas began to assume the attributes of Santa Claus. In the 1880s, new customs had been established, and the night visitor was sometimes known as Santa Claus and other times as Santa Claus. He was often illustrated with a long red hooded dress adorned with white skins.

Any residual distinction between Father Christmas and Father Christmas faded greatly in the early years of the twentieth century, and modern dictionaries consider the terms Father Christmas and Father Christmas to be synonyms.

Santa Claus or Santa Claus.

Around the year 1624, when Dutch immigrants founded the city of New Amsterdam (now New York) they carried with them their customs and myths, including that of Sinterklaas, a character inspired by the figures of St. Nicholas of Bari and Father Christmas, and in addition to this a patron saint (whose holiday is celebrated in Holland between December 5 and 6).

In 1809, the writer Washington Irving made public the satire, "History of New York," in which he deformed the Dutch saint, Sinterklaas, in the crude English-speaking pronunciation of Santa Claus.

In 1823 the poet Clement Clarke Moore published a poem that gave rise to the current myth of Santa Claus, based on the previous character of Irving Washington, in that poem mention is made of a version of Santa Claus, although fat, agile as an elf; who gives toys to children on Christmas Eve and is transported in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer (Rudolph -Rodolfo- not yet included).

In 1863, the German cartoonist Thomas Nast developed a series of Christmas strips at Harper's Weekly, where he granted St. Nicholas the figure of a fat, bearded and cheerful man with a peculiar dress inspired by the bishops of the middle ages.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the American Santa Claus arrived in England and from there to France, where he merged with Bonhomme Noël, another very similar character who used to wear white and gold.

At the end of the 19th century, the American brand “Lomen Company” creates the legend that San Nicolás lives in the North Pole, thus justifying the existence of the eight flying reindeer and the winter attire.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1902, in the children's book The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, by L. Frank Baum, the story of how Claus earned immortality, as well as his title of saint, originates.

In the twentieth century, the painter Habdon Sundblom certainly remodeled the figure of Santa Claus/Santa Claus for the Coca-Cola company, making a version of it more human, more smiling and more credible commissioned to reshape the figure of Santa Claus / Santa Claus to make it more human and credible, keeping the already popular red and white colors, and the magical sleigh with nine reindeer.

Finally, the myths and legends of the pagan god Woden (being replaced by the Christian Saint Nicholas of Bari) and Father Christmas (Father Christmas) eventually mixed as one, his image became a symbol of the season, and mass advertising around he converted him, from a powerful god of winter and war on a fierce steed, a catholic saint who works miracles, and a nocturnal and festive spirit, into a sweet, robust and bearded old man, dressed in red that distributes gifts throughout the world in one night aboard a sleigh with nine magical reindeer.

Elhoim Leafar

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Some Magickal Stuff you will LoVe!
(my favorite list of items for this Season)

To complement any ritual that you want to perform around your Christmas/Holiday Tree, I recommend a couple of products from my personal selection that you will surely LOVE as much as I do, these products are mostly handmade, created and consecrated by true magicians expert in creating different items and with exclusive distribution through their stores.

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• The Signature Scent Candle (Sol & Luna Fragances). Made with 100% Organic Coconut wax and essential oils, is a caravan of aroma, Earthy, Woodsy, Spicy, and Romantic, the full aromatherapy experience for your own home, office, Sacred Space or Travel. (exclusively available in AusetGypsy.com online and physical Store).

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