‘What Is It?’ of the Week: Santa Claus and His Evil Servant
December 16th, 2007 by timbotronThe modern American Santa Claus is the result of a huge mess of practices and figures that have collided at high speed throughout the ages. Here is a brief synopsis of the origins of the modern American Santa Claus, and a history of his evil assistant (who is all but gone in American culture), in an approximate chronological order:
Santa Claus:
Saint Nicholas - The 4th Century Bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey), he was known for giving to the poor. In particular, he was known for providing the dowries for three impoverished sisters - sparing them of a life of begging and prostitution. Saint Nicholas became (among many other things) the patron saint of children. Many cultures honor him on December 6th, weeks before Christmas.
Odin - This Scaninavian/Germanic deity is of profoundly ancient origins and has varied greatly throughout history. During the 8th Century AD, he was envisioned by the Vikings as an old bearded man who rode a great white eight-legged horse [an ancient misinterpretation of artworks showing two horses side-by-side]. Among many European cultures today, Saint Nicholas still rides a white horse (not a sleigh pulled by reindeer). Every nine years, sacrifices were made to Odin: male slaves and male animals were hung from the branches of trees - a grim prototype of the modern Christmas Tree. Odin lead a great hunting party during the pre-Christian holiday Yule, in late December.
The Tomte - [also called Nisse] In Scandinavian folklore, this supernatural creature is described as a small elderly man with a long white beard who protects a plot of (farm)land and the property and children on it, especially at night. Often described as shape-shifting and having the power of invisibility. This belief still exists in many areas of modern day Scandinavia and the northern Baltic. Many features of the Tomte are incorporated into the modern Santa Claus.
Father Christmas - By the 1600’s, a character known as “Father Christmas” or “Old Christmas” became the embodiment of the Christmas Feast. In Ben Jonson’s “Christmas his Masque” (1616), this figure is described as a fine dressed gentleman of the times, with a long thin beard and carrying a truncheon (a staff/club). As time progressed, this figure acquired a “jolly” persona suiting the holiday: fat, drunk, and happy. At this time, Father Christmas was not associated with children nor gift-giving (the jurisdiction of Saint Nicholas, a distinctly different figure and a different holiday).
Santa Claus - Saint Nicholas came into American culture by way of the Dutch Sint Nicolaas / Sinterklaas in the 18th Century. By the 1800’s, the Dutch Saint Nicholas and the British Father Christmas began to merge into one figure, a gift-giving patron of children that embodies the Christmas Feast. In 1823, Clement Clarke Moore’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas” defined and formalized this new hybrid figure, described very much like the Scandinavian Tomte: a small, jolly, fat, bearded, pipe-smoking, reindeer-riding figure who arrives on Christmas Eve. In the 1890’s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast’s portrayals of Santa Claus further clarified his modern image: red fur coat [though still a range of other colors in many European cultures] with white trim, black leather belt with brooch, etc.
The Evil Assistant of Santa Claus
The Yule Goat - From Germanic origin of unknown antiquity, this goat figure would appear during Yule [later, Saint Nicholas Eve - December 5th] to frighten children, play tricks, demand gifts, and punish those who did not follow Yule or Christmas protocol. The modern-day Swedish performance of Juloffer ["Yule Sacrifice"] is a survival of this - a young man dressed as a goat is “slaughtered” by other costumed singers/performers. Also, large Yule Goat effigies are displayed and burned before Christmas Day in Sweden. Some 17th and 18th Century portrayals of Father Christmas depict him riding the Yule Goat rather than a horse or a sleigh.
The Krampus - Likely derived from the Yule Goat, the Krampus [from the Old High German krampen "claw"] is a demonic figure of the Alps (Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, and Slovenia) that still exists today and is known by several names. He is often portrayed having goat legs, long horns, a long goat beard, and a sack or basket used to carry away children. He is a companion of Saint Nicholas and appears in the streets at night during the first two weeks of December (focused around the Day of Saint Nicholas) - frightening children and adults, clattering bells and chains [perhaps the origins of Santa Claus's bells], and swatting youngsters with switches. He is often portrayed as a servant of Saint Nicholas and his task is to punish naughty children: leaving a lump of coal, swatting children with a birch switch or broom, or dragging them away in his sack.
Black Peter - Some time prior to the mid-1800’s, “Black Peter” [though known by many names] appears as a companion to Saint Nicholas, and may have been a regional variant of the above Krampus. Black Peter is often portrayed as a Moor - having black skin, a turban, and baggy pantaloons - and some versions claim that he is from Spain (where the Moors once occupied). Traditionally, he served the same purpose as the Krampus - a sinister figure under the control of Saint Nicholas, who dealt-out punishment to bad children and labored for Saint Nicholas. Given the notable racist tone of Black Peter, efforts have been made to modify this character: changing his color, considering him a freed slave who choses to be a servant of Saint Nicholas, or as a friendly companion of Saint Nicholas.
