#christkindl

HAPPY (late) KRAMPUS DAY FOR THOSE WHO CELEBRATE

Hàns Tràpp has not eaten any of us this year 👍💥✨

Santa Claus—otherwise known as Saint Nicholas or Kris Kringle—has a long history steeped in Christmas traditions. Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red who brings toys to good girls and boys on Christmas Eve, but his story stretches all the way back to the 3rd century, when Saint Nicholas walked the earth and became the patron saint of children.

Santa Claus wasn't always "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf." PHOTOGRAPH BY CLASSICSTOCK/CORBIS

The Legend of Saint Nicholas

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends.

One of the best-known St. Nicholas stories is the time three young girls are saved from a life of prostitution when young Bishop Nicholas secretly delivers three bags of gold to their indebted father, which can be used for their dowries. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. The strict saint took on some aspects of earlier European deities, like the Roman Saturn or the Norse Odin, who appeared as white-bearded men and had magical powers like flight. He also ensured that kids toed the line by saying their prayers and practicing good behavior. In continental Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany), he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes.

During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before the anniversary of his death, December 6, children were bestowed gifts in his honour. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in the Netherlands.

Coming to America

In the Netherlands, kids and families simply refused to give up St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas as the saint is called in Dutch, as a gift bringer. They brought Sinterklaas with them to New World colonies. St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York. As his prominence grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a “rascal” with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a “huge pair of Flemish trunk hose.” An appearance that was more derived from the English 'Father Christmas' and was quite different from the Dutch Sinterklaas.

Santa Equivalents Around The World

Eighteenth-century America’s Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. There are similar figures and Christmas traditions around the world.

The English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children’s stockings with holiday treats. Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry. As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25 December to coincide with Christmas Day.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus competes with that of Sinterklaas, based on Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch ("the Christmas man") and Père Noël ("Father Christmas") in French. For children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas still remains the predominant gift-giver in December mostly celebrated on Sinterklaas evening the day before 6 December.

In Germany, the Christmas season is marked by the presence of two significant figures: Weihnachtsmann and Das Christkind or Christkind'l. Weihnachtsmann, a term that literally translates to "Christmas Man," is the German counterpart to Santa Claus.  In contrast, Das Christkind, meaning "The Christ Child," represents a more traditional and religious aspect of German Christmas celebrations. Christkind was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children on Christmas Eve. The name "Kris Kringle", a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States is derived from Christkind.

In Nordic folklore, the figure known as Tomte or Jultomten holds a special place in Christmas traditions. Originating from Swedish and Scandinavian mythology, Tomte is a small, mythical creature often depicted as a friendly, bearded being resembling a garden gnome and wearing a red cap. During the Christmas season, Tomte takes on a role similar to that of Santa Claus, delivering presents to children in a sleigh drawn by goats on the night of December 24th.

In Icelandic folklore, the Yule Lads, or "Jólasveinar," are mischievous characters associated with the Christmas season. These thirteen brothers, sons of the mountain-dwelling trolls Grýla and Leppalúði, are known for their playful antics and sometimes slightly sinister behavior. Traditionally, the Yule Lads would visit homes in the thirteen nights leading up to Christmas, each leaving small gifts or playing pranks depending on the behavior of the children.

In Italy, the Christmas season is marked by the presence of two iconic figures: Babbo Natale and La Befana. Babbo Natale, the Italian counterpart to Santa Claus, shares many similarities with the global image of the jolly gift-bringer. The other Italian icon, La Befana, is a unique and beloved figure in Italian folklore. Unlike the festive and plump Babbo Natale, La Befana is portrayed as an old woman, often depicted as a haggard but kind witch. According to tradition, La Befana visits homes on the night of January 5th, leaving small gifts and sweets for children who have been good and a lump of coal for those who have been naughty.

In French-speaking regions, the iconic figure associated with Christmas gift-giving is Père Noël, also known as Papa Noël. Père Noël is akin to the global representation of Santa Claus, often depicted as a jolly and benevolent character who travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, embodying the spirit of generosity and joy during the festive season.

In Spain and many Spanish-speaking cultures, the Christmas season unfolds with the anticipation of visits from both Papa Noel and Los Reyes Magos, offering children a delightful blend of traditions. Papa Noel, the Spanish equivalent of Santa Claus, is eagerly awaited on the night of December 24th. Following this, the celebration continues with the arrival of three kings known as “Los Reyes Magos” on January 6th. This holiday is known as Three Kings' Day or Día de Reyes. On the night before Día de Reyes, children place their shoes or small containers filled with hay under their beds for the Kings' camels. In return, Los Reyes Magos leave gifts, sweets, and small toys, creating a magical and cherished experience for children who wake up to the joyous surprises.

In Russia, instead of Santa, there is Ded Moroz and his granddaughter Snegurochka, who deliver gifts to children on New Year’s Eve. Children would sing Russian songs around the yolka.” A yolka is a coniferous tree similar to a Christmas tree. Ded Moroz is described as a grandfather with a long white beard.

Mikuláš (also known as Saint Nicholas) is the father of Christmas in the Czech Republic, as well as in Hungary. Mikuláš looks like the Pope and Santa combined. However Mikuláš is not always the person delivering presents on Saint Nicholas Day, it is typically believed to be Jesus. Saint Nicholas Day in the Czech Republic is predominantly celebrated on Dec. 5-6, although depending on the region, it is also celebrated on Dec. 25. Children put a boot out on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day and hope to find it full of candy and toys from Jesus in the morning. Bad kids can expect only a wooden spoon in their shoe.

In Japan Hoteiosho, or Hotei, is the equivalent of Santa pictured as a fat man with eyes in the back of his head who can tell if kids are naughty or nice. He is also known as the “Laughing Buddha,” because he is often depicted with a jovial face and surrounded by grinning children. Hotei is one of the Seven Lucky Gods, stemming from ancient Chinese and Indian religion. Hotei may have been based on a real person, named Budai, a man who died in 916 A.D. and was later worshipped in Buddhist practice.

So far a selection of customs and traditions similar to Santa Claus. Of course there are more, and in many traditions parallels to other cultures can be found.

🎅🎄 Personnages du folklore de Noël dans différentes cultures. Partie 2

There is only one website that does not share this idea and does identify Père Noël as a typical French figure that was then overtaken by the American Santa Claus, and the most fascinating thing is that it points out (despite previous sources I shared claiming "Père Noël" was first recorded in literature in the mid-19th century, by people describing their youth around the turn of the 18th-19th century) that Père Noël seems to have existed since the Middle-Ages, with texts referring to "Père Noël" or to "Monseigneur Noël". But it does recognize that the Père Noël traditions really boomed in the 19th century and were associated with the bourgeoisie of the time...

The website in question however is mostly focused on the various local, regional incarnations of the gift-giver - because as with many things in France, this tradition is rather a set of various regional and localized specificities that were ultimately synthetized into one entity.

It reminds that in the Lorraine and Alsace region, the Germanic cultures and German influences make it so that Saint Nicholas and Christkindl are still the main gift-givers. In Lorraine it is Saint Nicolas who is most honored (he is after all the saint patron of Lorraine). Appearing in his bishop outfit that makes him look a lot like Santa Claus (thick white beard, large clothes of red and white), every 6th of December he brings gifts and treats to nice children - while naughty children are confronted by his dreaded companion, Père Fouettard dressed in blacks, who beats up with a stick bad children. Saint Nicolas is also still strongly celebrated in the North of France (aka, what is above the Parisian region, because despite what some foreigners believe, Paris is not part of the North).

While in Alsace it is the Christkindl that still goes strongly, with Hans Trapp as its own Père Fouettard. The website briefly reminds that Christkindl is an avatar/incarnation of the Child-Christ, or Baby Jesus, that ended up being fused with the 23rd of December Saint, Sainte Lucie (Saint Lucia), resulting in this unique Christmas figure appearing as a woman dressed in white with a crown made of fir branches topped by four candles. It also reminds how Christkindl stays a symbol of Protestant end-of-the-year celebrations, as they pushed the Christkindl figure to oppose and replaced the Catholic celebrations of Saint Nicolas. Finally, there is an Alsace-specific legend that claims Hans Trapp actually originated as an Alsacian lord that tyrannized his people - Hans von Trotha, the 15th century lord of Wissembourg.

[Given the Alsace region has a lot of website pages about its traditions I'll place here in brackets informations from other websites:

The Christkindl, also written Christkindel or Chriskindla, is a Christian figure that is supposed to be an embodiment of L'Enfant Jésus, Child Jésus (the name comes from Christ-Kindel ; Christus-Kindlein, Christus als Kind), but definitively was influenced by Saint Lucia, who is very big in Scandinavia. In fact, Saint Lucia and the Christkindl look a lot like each other - female entities dressed in white with a crown of candles... Though the Christkindl can appear both as an adult woman and as a little girl, and also tends to have white veils. People tend to also find in Christkindl remnants of the Germanic goddess Berchta. No need to tell you that the Christkindl is big in all parts of the world influenced by German culture - Germany, Austria, northern Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and even some parts of Brazil, the ones where there was strong German imigration.

The Christkindl appeared in the 16th century with the Protestant Reform. Up until this point the day of Saint Nicolas was a very big thing in Alsace - saint-patron of school students, he offered good children mandarines and "manala" (a brioche in shape of a child). But the Protestants did not agree with this (Protestants were known to strongly dislike saints in general), and so they replaced the saint with the Christic figure of Christkindl, while keeping Père Fouettard/Hans Trapp (whose job was to threaten with stern lectures naughty children... or take them in a bag to abandon them in the deep dark woods). The change occured over the 16th century, from 1530-1536 (last mentions of Saint Nicolas in Alsace) to 1570 (first mention of Christkindl, when the Klausemärik was replaced by Christkindelmärk). In fact, Christkindl still has some Saint Nicolas traits - she also goes around with a donkey, named Peckeresel, which carries two bags, one for the treats (mandarines and bredalas), one for the whips. People left hay or carrots for the donkey to eat by the front door. Pastor Johannes Flinner made a strong public attack against saint Nicolas in Strasbourg during the "cultural transition", by pointing out that distributing gifts to all should be the prerogative of the Christ and no one else.

During the 20th century the Christkindl lost popularity in Alsace (jee, I wonder why France would like to bury Germanic traditions in the century of World War II) - but it returned in the traditions from the 1990s onward.

Fascinatingly, despite being supposedly a Christ-figure of an angel, the Christkindl, or White Lady, is also frequently called in alsace, a "fée", a fairy, la fée de Noël, the Christmas fairy. It doesn't help that she sometimes carry around a wand with a star at the tip, that is strikingly reminding of the stereotypical fairy-wand. Another irony of fate - despite the Christkindl being brought over to replace Saint Nicolas, the two currently still coexist in Alsace thanks to people not wanting to abandon the good old bishop. A third fun fact: originally the Christkindl could be played as much by women as by men, due to being a truly androgynous entity. From the 16th century onward, the Saint Nicolas celebrations were replaced in Alsace by parades of teenagers of both sexes dressed in white, going from door to door to give gifts and sing Christmas songs. However you can't have teenage boys and girls go around late at night without getting some problems... And those "Saint Nicolas hook-ups" were a real problem in Alsace, you have records from the 17th and 18th centuries pointing out how authorities have to try to refrain all the Christkindl from... well you know.]

The next entity presented is the famous Pays Basque character of Olentzero, whose appearance is that of a coal-man. Well a bizarre coal man - he has a bag filled with coal in one hand, a sickle in the other, a large beard on his face and a béret on his head. According to the Basque-version of the Nativity lore, he lived at the top of the mountains but saw in the sky the announcement of the birth of Kixmi (Basque name for Jésus), and he descended from his mountains to announce the good news. While he is the gift-giver of Pays Basque, leaving gifts for children in the night between the 24th and 25th of December, entering in the house by the chimney ; he is also a bogeyman figure, as he was a scary-looking man who was said to take away in a bag naughty children. As with everything Basque, Olentzero is actually a pre-Christian figure, as the very name of the character is related to the "pagan" winter solstice celebrations of the old Basque religion.

[Again, time to bring some more information from other websites to make sure I give a more complete portrait:

Long story short, because the Basque folklore is very well documented and I can't spend too much time on this, the Olentzero (or Olentzaro, Orentzaro, Omentzaro, Orantzaro...) is at the same time the Basque name for Christmas and the Basque figure of the coal-man that brings gifts during Christmas. He is supposed to be a grotesque character - rude, fat, dirty, gluttonous, his face blackened by soot, with worn-out clothes... He is basically a caricature of mountain-men and forest-men. Sometimes he is even given monstrous traits such as "having as many eyes as there are days in the year, plus one" - which is reminding of a French being of the New Year folklore called L'Homme aux Nez who also has as many noses as there are days in the year...He typically holds branches of gorse in one hand and a sickle in the other.

He comes down from the mountains, enters houses by chimneys, goes into the kitchen once everybody goes to sleep to eat all leftover food, and he warms himself by the fire - either you had to leave a log burning just for him, either he used the flames of the fire to burn his gorse branches. In fact, "olentzero" was also the name of a special log that was left bruning in the fireplace from Christmas to the 1st or 6th of January. This theme of the "coal man" of winter or the burning of branches all answers to a deep motif of bringing back light and heat in the heart of the cold and the dark. Him holding a sickle has made people draw parallel between him and the figure of Saturn/Kronos.

In fact, there is an old tradition, long before the Olentzero was embodied by a disguised man or by a mannequin paraded through the villages, to embody the character simply by the sickle. The sickle hanged by the chimney, as a threat to all disobedient children, to all lying children, and to all children that refused to go to bed. Another symbol of the Olentzero, outside of the sickle and the coal-sack, is a wine-bag or wine-bottle that he carries around, because to add to the grotesque he is also a drunkard, and according to stories it is because he gets often drunk that his wife regularly beats him. (Because yes the Olentzero has a wife, a character named Mari Domingi and who is typically depicted wearing a medieval regional outfit). However it seems that all this grotesqueness is simply due to the Olentzero being a character from the old Basque mythology that got Christianized - think of how the Dagda of Celtic mythology also got more buffoonish/clownesque/grotesque as time passed. We do know that the roots and origins of the character lie in the valley of Bidassoa...)

Today gone is the creepy bogeyman and grotesque glutton ; the Olentzero has evolved into a kinder, nicer, cleaner incarnation that is closer to the Père Noël traditions. For example he now parades through streets during the day, riding a horse (pottok) or by foot, giving children candies and sweets (including fake-coal actually made of sugar) ; and the legend claims he goes down from the mountain to offer coal and wood-logs to the poor families that can't afford fuel for their fire]

And finally, we find back our good old Père Janvier! Here we have most of the same info as previous. Père Janvier was a Bourgogne character, most present in the Morvan and Nivernais regions up until the 1930s. He brings gifts in the night between the 31st of December and the 1st of January by going through the chimney - chimney which must be decorated with holy and mistletoe. Père Janvier (Father January) typically looks like a skinny old man with a long white beard, dressed in a brown monk-like robe, and he is usually bent due to wearing on his back a heavy wicker basket filled with toys. And he too has for companion the Père Fouettard.

Most interestingly, the website mentions "Père Janvier variations" across France, most notably the Savoie character of Père Chalande, and the Normandie character of Barbassioné.

More information from other website. Le Père Chalande (or Papa Chalande, Daddy Chalande) was indeed a figure of the Savoie region, but also of the Dauphiné, and he was also present in Geneva. Martyne Perrot, in her book "Faut-il croire au Père Noël? Idées reçues sur Noël" even lists the area of action of this figure as: Savoie, Suisse romande, Bresse, Forez, Ardèche, Gard, Lozère and Hérault. He is basically identical to Père Noël because "Chalande" is just an old word for "Noël" (Christmas) in the regional language known as arpitan.

There was a traditional song that went as such: Chalande est venu / Son chapeau pointu / Sa barbe de paille / Cassons les anailles (noisettes) / Mangeons du pain blanc / Jusqu’à Nouvel An. / Il monte dans sa chambre / Il trouve une orange / Il la pluche / Il la mange / On l’appelle le petit gourmand. / Il descend les escaliers / Il se casse le bout du nez / Il va chez le cordonnier / Se faire mettre une pièce au nez / Quand il est malade / Il mange de la salade / Quand il est guéri / Il mange des souris/ Toutes pourries !

I can't translate the full song, but it refers to various traditions. For example leaving an orange for Père Chalande ; Père Chalande wearing a "beard of straw and a pointy hat" (leftovers of Saint Nicolas, especially the pointy hat) ; Père Chalande giving "anailles" (walnuts) to children ; and the habit of placing inside the Christmas log (real log of the fire) chestnuts, so that the burning of the Christmas log doubled as the cooking of the wintery treats. Raymond Christinger wrote in 1965, in a set of research about Geneva folklore, an article studying the character of Chalande, if you know how to read French: here.

While doing Chalande research I stumbled upon a Swiss theory brought forward by a journalist named Bernard Léchot - I don't know how accurate this is when it comes to actual evolution of Christmas figures, but here it is. According to him, the Christmas archetype of the "Old Man" actually comes 18th century Germany. In this era of rationalism, the German Protestant landgraves decided to introduce some laicity to their country, and so cut-off all characters close to Christianity from their Christmas celebrations (from Saint Nicholas to Christkindl). As a result, pagan figures returned, including the Old Man in the shape of Weihnachtsmann. Which then spread to other European countries, each land creating its variation: Bonhomme Noël in France, Father Christmas in England, Père Chalande in Savoie.

As for the Barbassioné of Normandie, I found nothing about him. As in every says it is the Normandie name of Père Noël, but he doesn't have any specific thing to his character.

To conclude, I will link you to a page documenting a Père Noël/Christmas beings exposition that collected various visuals of the history of the Christmas gift-givers through time, right here.

And through it you will see the evolution from the "Scandinavian ancestors" (Thor and Odin) and Saint Nicolas (celebrated in Germanic countries and the Alsace region), to the American Santa Claus and the British "Old Father Christmas", passing by the Germanic Knecht Ruprecht, the also Germanic Weihnachtsmann, the Christinkindel (of Germany, Belgium and Alsace), the Jultomte of Sweden, and the Enfant Jésus/Child-Jesus of France and Italy...

37 days till Christmas ....

The Christkind (German for 'Christ-child, also called Christkindl), is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in Austria, Switzerland, southern and western Germany, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the eastern part of Belgium, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of northeastern France, Upper Silesia in Poland, parts of Latin America ...

Although the Christkindl is genderless as the bringer of gifts, in many southern German regions (and in Austria?) she is depicted as a young, fairy-like girl with curly, golden hair, a tinsel angel ...

Companions of Christmas #6: Christkindl! Martin Luther, an opponent of saint veneration, wanted to ban St. Nick from entering protestant Europe in the 16th century, but knew that many of the people still wanted him to come, and that partisans might help smuggle the jolly old man across the borders. Luther reckoned that if somebody else was giving gifts in December, people would turn their backs on St. Nick, so he prayed that God would send baby Jesus to deliver presents.

God thought, "Well, Jesus isn't a baby anymore, but I'll see what I can do." So He sent down one of His littlest angels (and heaven’s biggest St. Nick fan) to deliver presents when kids weren't looking. But since she only comes around when eyes aren't on her, Luther had no way of knowing that she wasn't baby Jesus, and he told everyone that she was. Thus, everyone started calling the angel "Christkindl" which means "Christ Child," and she delivered presents in areas where Santa (at least for a while) wasn't welcome.

Eventually, the two became work friends and they sometimes team up, especially for parades and Christkindl Markets, where holiday crafts and treats are sold.