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Santa
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending on whether they are "naughty or nice". In the legend, he accomplishes this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop, often said to be at the North Pole, and flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air. The modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas and the Dutch figure of ''Sinterklaas''. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, red hat with white fur, and black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for chil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrelated English folklore, English folkloric tradition. The recognisably modern figure of the English Father Christmas developed in the late Victorian era, Victorian period, but Christmas had been personified for centuries before then. English personifications of Christmas were first recorded in the 15th century, with Father Christmas himself first appearing in the mid 17th century in the aftermath of the English Civil War. The Puritans, Puritan-controlled English government had legislated to abolish Christmas, considering it papist, and had outlawed its traditional customs. Cavalier, Royalist political pamphleteers, linking the old traditions with their cause, adopted Old Father Christmas as the symbol of 'the good old days' of feasting and go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa's Workshop
Santa's Workshop is the legendary workshop where Santa Claus and his elves are said to live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact "location" of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local culture. There are at least eight claimed locations for his workshop. For example, children in Canada send letters to Santa's Workshop at his North Pole location in Canada with the unique postal code of "H0H 0H0". Children in the United States believe the workshop is a sprawling commune located at the North Pole. Some children in the United Kingdom and Finland tend to believe that Father Christmas' Workshop is located in Finland in Lapland. In addition to housing the factory where toys are either manufactured or distributed by the elves, the complex also houses the residence of Santa, his wife, companions, and all of the reindeer. As the workshop is not yet seen in real life, there is no definite geographical location as to where the workshop is located. San ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Elf
In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. They are most often depicted as humanoids, but sometimes as furry mammals with tails. Santa's elves are often said to make the toys in Santa's workshop and take care of his reindeer, among other tasks. They were first introduced in literature by Louisa May Alcott in 1856. Santa is much older, emerging in U.S. folklore in the early 17th century from St. Nicholas with attributes of various European Christmas traditions, especially from English Father Christmas and Dutch Sinterklaas. The association of Christmas presents with elves has precedents in the first half of the 19th century with the Scandinavian nisse or tomte, and St Nicholas himself is called an elf in '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'' (1823). Origin The origins of the elf are sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus's Reindeer
In traditional festive legend and popular culture, Santa Claus's reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The number of reindeer characters, and the names given to them (if any) vary in different versions, but those frequently cited in the United States are the eight listed in Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'', the work that is largely responsible for the reindeer becoming popularly known. In the poem the reindeers' names are given as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. The popularity of Robert L. May's 1939 storybook ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', and Gene Autry's 1949 Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", resulted in Rudolph often being included as the ninth character. Many other variations in reindeer names and number have appeared in fiction, music, film and TV. Origins and history Single reindeer The first refere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' ("The Good Holy Man"). Many descendants and cognates of "Sinterklaas" or "Saint Nicholas" in other languages are also used in the Low Countries, nearby regions, and former Dutch colonies. The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December. The feast is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on St. Nicholas' Eve (5 December) in the Netherlands and on the morning of 6 December, Saint Nicholas Day, Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany, northern France (French Flanders, Lorraine, Alsace and Artois), and Hungary. The tradition is also celebrated in some territories of the former Dutch Empire, including Aruba. Sinterklaas is one of the sources of the popular Christmas icon of Santa Claus. Figures Sinterklaas ''S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a critic of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and the Tammany Hall Democratic party political machine. He created a modern version of Santa Claus (based on the traditional German figures of Sankt Nikolaus and Weihnachtsmann) and the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party (GOP). Contrary to popular belief, Nast did not create Uncle Sam (the male personification of the United States Federal Government), Columbia (the female personification of American values), or the Democratic donkey, although he did popularize those symbols through his artwork. Nast was associated with the magazine ''Harper's Weekly'' from 1859 to 1860 and from 1862 until 1886. Nast's influence was so widespread that Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Thomas Nast was our best teacher." Early life and ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Gift-bringer
A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. 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. In Eastern Slavic countries, the figure is Father Frost. 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 German-speaking Europe and Latin Europe, it became associated with the Christian Saint Nicholas. In some parts of Central Europe, there is a separate tradition of a young child or fairy-like being bringing presents, known as Christkind. Early modern England had Father Christmas, a character initially associated with feasting and good cheer, though he was not originally a gift bringer. From these European traditions, the North American figure of Santa Claus developed, beginning in the 1820s. The American figure in turn had consid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Magnetic North Pole. The North Pole is by definition the northernmost point on the Earth, lying antipode (geography), antipodally to the South Pole. It defines geodetic latitude 90° North, as well as the direction of true north. At the North Pole all directions point south; all lines of longitude converge there, so its longitude can be defined as any degree value. No time zone has been assigned to the North Pole, so any time can be used as the local time. Along tight latitude circles, counterclockwise is east and clockwise is west. The North Pole is at the center of the Northern Hemisphere. The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about away, though some perhaps semi-per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples. It is a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 315,284 inhabitants, over , while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Hohenstaufen Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demre
Demre is a town and district in the Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, named after the river Demre. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra. The district was known as ''Kale'' until it was renamed in 2005. Until the 1920s the majority of people who lived in Demre ( Myra) were Christian Greeks. At that time this majority migrated to Greece as part of the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The abandoned Greek villages in the region are a striking reminder of this exodus. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen at Demre and the regions of Kalkan, Kaş and Kayaköy, a Greek ghost town. A small population of Turkish farmers moved into the region when the Greeks migrated. The region is popular with tourists today, particularly Christian pilgrims who visit the tomb of Saint Nicholas. Geography Demre is on the coast of the Teke peninsula, west of the bay of Antalya, with the Taurus Mountains behind. The mountains are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Nicholas (European Folklore)
Saint Nicholas is a legendary figure in European folklore based on Greek early Christian and bishop Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of children. On Saint Nicholas Day, children wait for Saint Nicholas to come and put a present under their pillow or in a boot on their windowsill, provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. In the Netherlands (see ''Sinterklaas''), Dutch children put out a shoe filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse. It is believed that Saint Nicholas arrives to celebrate his day, December 6 (December 19 according to the Julian calendar), and leaves before Christmas. This tradition is well known and celebrated in Austria, Croatia ( hr, Sveti Nikola), the Czech Republic ( cz, Svatý Mikuláš), Hungary ( hu, Mikulás), Poland ( pl, Święty Mikołaj), Romania ( ro, Moș Nicolae), Slovakia ( sk, Svätý Mikuláš), Slovenia ( sl, Sveti Miklavž), Uk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folklore Of The Low Countries
Folklore of the Low Countries, often just referred to as Dutch folklore, includes the epics, legends, fairy tales and oral traditions of the people of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Traditionally this folklore is written or spoken in Dutch or in one of the regional languages of these countries. Folk traditions The folklore of the Low Countries encompasses the folk traditions of the Benelux countries: Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. This includes the folklore of Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium, and Frisia. Fairy tales Many folk tales are derived from pre-Christian Gaulish and Germanic culture; as such, many are similar to French and German versions. In 1918 William Elliot Griffis published ''Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks'': This was followed in 1919 by ''Belgian Fairy Tales''. Also in 1918, Belgian writer Jean de Bosschère published ''Folk Tales of Flanders'' (published in English as ''Beasts and Men''). The Belgian tale "Karl Katz" is si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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