| ON THIS PAGE PART I.
Introduction
The Great Deceiver
Seeking Whom He May Devour PART II. Tracing The Origins
St. Nicholas The Fourth Century Bishop
The Cult of St. Nicholas
Present Day Popularity
Physical Appearance
Date
The Gift Giver A Curious Amalgam
Thor and Odin
The Tomte/Nisse The Long Leap
From Amsterdam to New Amsterdam?
The Development of Santa Claus in America Santa’s Companion.. The Mysterious Sidekick
The Model For Nast’s Santa..
The Miracle Plays
Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa’s Names
An Anagram?
Old Nick
Kriss Kringle? Santa’s Little Helpers Part III. Santa Vs. The Bible
A Beard As White As Snow
A Suit of Red
A Carpenter
A House In The North
A Holly Wreath
A White Horse!
Ho, ho, ho
Santa And His Sleigh
Santa is Virtually Omniscient (All-knowing).
Santa Rewards According to Works.
Santa is Virtually Omnipotent (All-powerful).
Santa is Virtually Omnipresent (Present Everywhere).
Santa Can Give You Anything. . Just Ask.
The Fear of …Santa?
Bring The Little Children Unto Me
Santa’s ‘Throne’
Satan’s Ultimate Goal is Worship.
Believe In Santa Part IV.Conclusion
But It Is Just Fantasy Introduction: One beautiful hymn contains the following line ”Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;” Sadly the ‘earth is doing anything but. The meaning of Christmas has been lost in an endless round of festivities... shopping sprees, parties, decorations, trees, food, gifts and merrymaking. The King whose birth we celebrate at Christmas has slowly been ousted from centre stage as He doesn’t fit into today's politically correct views. For example... In 2006 Britain’s Royal Mail unveiled their 40th set of Christmas stamps… with six faith-free designs including snowmen, reindeer and Santa Claus. Christmas has become has become one gigantic commercial venture, with Santa Claus as the god-figure rather than Christ. For the most part, the world will tolerate stars, angels, Christmas trees, or a baby sleeping in a manger. But there’s still "no room at the inn" for the King who invites us to walk His lowly path. Worse.. Jesus’ place has been usurped by a pleasant fat fellow’ boasting a red hat and team of reindeer. [usurp: to take a position of power or importance illegally or by force.] Sound Ridiculous? It is! In fact it’s worse than ridiculous. Santa Claus has become the most beloved of Christmas symbols and traditions.
So how do we understand the Santa Claus phenomenon? What do we REALLY know about Santa? Is Santa just a harmless, friendly fellow? Or is there something or someone else hiding behind the façade? Is he Satan in disguise, or wholly Christian modeled after a 4th century bishop Sadly there is a lot more to the story than most people know. Santa originated as an amalgam of St. Nicholas and various other pagan beliefs, which is bad enough. But, over the years he morphed [a little added here and a little changed there] into the modern day, well known and well recognized figure, that bears far too many similarities to the one who appears as an “angel of light”, who once said he would exalt his throne above the stars of God and would be “like the most High” and is actively "seeking" those "whom he may devour"... The one the Bible calls ‘The Great Deceiver’. [TOP OF PAGE]
The Great Deceiver And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [Revelation 12:9]. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.[ Isaiah 14:12-14] "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: [1 Peter 5:8]. [Also See Evidence For The Devil] [TOP OF PAGE]
Seeking Whom He May Devour:
Children are the most vulnerable members of our society and it is no wonder that The Lord Jesus Christ warned several times against harming the "little ones". At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. [Matthew 18:1-6] And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. [Mark 9:42.]
Our Children and Youth are Under Attack From All Sides. “Everyone wants to get a piece of them. For instance, the New-Age Movement has an army just waiting to get hold of our children and youth. The gay-rights movement in this country wants nothing more than to make a generation of children think homosexuality is an acceptable alternative life-style. Advertisers on Saturday-morning cartoons want to influence our kids. Heavy-metal rock bands are trying to influence them. Those in favor of abortion rights want to get our kids thinking from their point-of-view. Drug dealers, beer companies, cigarette manufacturers, pornography publishers – the list goes on and on – they too are battling for the souls of our children and youth. [Sermon on Daniel 1:1-7 November 20, 2005 Rev. Adrian Dieleman.
[Harry Potter and more recently The Golden Compass are other direct frontal assault on the children, again with the willing compliance of many church leaders, parents and others that are spiritually blind] Almost everywhere we turn we see modern-day Nebuchadnezzars trying to turn the minds of our children from serving our God. Everywhere and from every direction, our children and youth come under attack, even as Daniel and his friends came under attack”. [Rev. Adrian Dieleman. Sermon on Daniel 1:1-7. November 20, 2005.
Dr. Terry Watkins bring up an interesting point in Santa Claus The Great Imposter, regarding a story in Mark... “Many parents have been "lullabied to sleep" with the deception that our children are innocently immune to the attack of Satan. There is a false security that believes our children will naturally "grow out of it" or "they’re just sowing their wild oats" or maybe "they’re just being kids". But the Bible paints a much different picture. In Mark chapter 9, God details a frightening occurrence. A man brings his "spirit possessed" son to the Lord Jesus Christ”. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. [Mark 9:17-29] It is interesting the apostles could not cast out this kind (vs 29). Jesus said, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." What kind of possession was it? What was different about this possession? I believe the answer is found in the only question the Lord Jesus asked. Jesus Christ asked the man "How long is it ago since this came unto him?" And the man answered, "Of a child". These hard to cast out kind are those that enter in a child. Is it because the possession reaches so deep and so strong that they’re almost impossible to remove?
Dr. Watkins goes on to say.. “In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible explains the lifelong fruits of training a young child in the way he should go. That early training is so strong and so deep – as that child grows and matures – they will not depart from it. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. [Proverbs 22:6]
But. . . The flip side is: if that same child is trained by the ways of Satan and the world, chances are that child will not depart from it. George Harrison, a devout follower of the Hindu god, Krishna, understood this life-long influence, Harrison told Rolling Stone Magazine: "The main thing is to get the kids. . . nail you when you’re young and brainwash you, then they’ve got you for the rest of your life." George Harrison, Beatles, (Loose Talk, Rolling Stone Magazine, p. 70)” [TOP OF PAGE]
A Point to consider … “If you once believed in a man who knew what you were doing, who had amazing abilities, and who gave you nice things, and he turned out to be a fake, why should you believe in another man who knows what you are doing, has amazing abilities, gives you nice things--Jesus Christ? If you get burned once, why get burned the second time? Wouldn’t it be better to be honest with our children right from the start, and teach them the difference between truth and make-believe?” [http://rumela.com/events/christmas_santa.htm]
So what is the truth behind the ‘story’ that millions of children are fed every year at Christmas… A story that they spend many years believing. Is it a harmless myth or has it been carefully orchestrated and manipulated over the years with the ultimate aim of taking center stage at Christmas… and helping ensure that the Christ is once again sidelined. The journey should begin with a look at the fourth century bishop who is often credited as being the inspiration for Santa. [TOP OF PAGE]
St. Nicholas [Nikolaus] The Fourth Century Bishop Despite his popularity, the original Nicholas is a shadowy figure. Patron saint of sailors, pawnbrokers and  many other groups, there is little doubt that a Bishop of that name did exist in Myra (modern-day Antalya province, Turkey) in the 4th century. A church was built for him in the 6th century, which continues to be a tourist attraction in Myra, although the bishops remains were spirited away by 1087 by merchants from Bari in Italy, and are now held in the Basilica di San Nicola of that city... Pope Urban II is said to have been present at the consecration in 1089. While we don't really know whether the original Nikolaus was particularly jolly or not, the enduring legends about his life suggest a great reputation for generosity. Many, many miracles [one more extravagant than the next] and good deeds have been attributed to St. Nick, including saving sailors from storms, restoring life to murdered boys, providing dowries for poor unmarried girls and destroying several pagan temples. [TOP OF PAGE] The Cult of St. Nicholas
The cult of St. Nicholas spread far and wide. Holland built no fewer than 23 churches dedicated to him, many of which are still standing. Amsterdam even adopted St. Nicholas as its patron saint as did a few other towns. “Sailors, claiming St. Nicholas as patron, carried stories of his favor and protection far and wide. St. Nicholas chapels were built in many seaports. As his popularity spread during the Middle Ages, he became the patron saint of Apulia (Italy), Sicily, Greece, and Lorraine (France), and many cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Following his baptism in Constantinople, Vladimir I of Russia brought St. Nicholas' stories and devotion to St. Nicholas to his homeland where Nicholas became the most beloved saint. Nicholas was so widely revered that more than 2,000 churches were named for him, including three hundred in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands and more than four hundred in England”. [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38. Emphasis Added] He is venerated in the East as a miracle worker and in the West as patron of a great variety of persons -children, mariners, bankers, pawn-brokers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, perfumers, even thieves and murderers! He is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need. [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38. Emphasis Added] ". . . the cult of St. Nicholas was, before the Reformation, the most intensive of any nonbiblical saint in Christendom. . . there were 2,137 ecclesiastical dedications [churches] to Nicholas in France, Germany, and the Low Countries alone before the year 1500." (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p.357. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) "By the height of the Middle Ages, St. Nicholas was probably invoked in prayer more than any other figure except the Virgin Mary and Christ Himself" (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 131. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) [TOP OF PAGE]
And his popularity continues even today… For example [from Wikipedia] In Trieste in northeastern Italy St. Nicholas (San Nicolò) is celebrated with gifts given to children on the morning of the 6th of December and with a fair called Fiera di San Nicolò during the first weeks of December. In Germany many children put a boot, called Nikolaus-Stiefel, outside the front door on the night of December 5 to December 6. St. Nicholas fills the boot with gifts, and at the same time checks up on the children to see if they were good. If they were not, they will have charcoal in their boots instead. St. Nicholas (San Nicola) is the patron of the city of Bari, where he is buried. Its deeply felt celebration is called the Festa di San Nicola], held on the 7-8-9 of May. In particular on 8 May the relics of the saint are carried on a boat on the sea in front of the city with many boats following (Festa a mare). On December 6 there is a ritual called the Rito delle nubili. Interestingly St. Nicholas is the patron saint of a small town called Beit Jala near Bethlehem, since he is said to have spent four years there during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Every year on the 19th of December according to the Gregorian calendar [the 6th of December according to the Julian calendar] a great mass is held in the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, and is usually followed by parades, exhibitions etc.
It is difficult to reconcile the popularity of this man with the almost complete lack of verifiable detail about his life. However leaning towards reality.. he is said to have opposed Arianism at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. [Apparently his name does appear on some ancient lists] “the original minutes of this council were destroyed, people have tried to reconstruct the list of bishops who agreed to the orthodox formula to describe the Trinity, a brief text that became famous as the Nicene Creed. This list is known from eleven medieval copies. Only three of them mention Nicholas, but one of these is considered to be among the best copies”. [http://www.livius.org/ne-nn/nicholas/nicholas_of_myra1.html] [TOP OF PAGE]
Physical Appearance: In Catholic iconography [pictured above], Saint Nicholas is depicted as a bishop, wearing the insignia of this profession: a red bishop's cloak, red miter and a bishop's staff. Popularly depicted as a slim ascetic looking man dressed in religious apparel, the Bishop of Myra bears very little physical resemblance to the modern day Santa Claus, who has a long white beard, and is usually short and fat. If Nicholas, the ascetic bishop of fourth-century Asia Manor, could see Santa Claus, he would not know who he was. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, pp. 138,141, As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) So the legends of Saint Nicholas afford but a slight clue to the origin of Santa Klaus,–alike, indeed, in name but so unlike in all other respects. (Walsh, William S. The Story of Santa Klaus. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1970, p. 54, As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) [TOP OF PAGE]
Date: There is absolutely nothing to connect the original St. Nicholas to the celebration of Christmas on December 25th. On the contrary, the celebration of St. Nicholas is separate from the Christmas holidays. Most Europeans [and some Americans] still celebrate St. Nicholas day on December 6th, the date in AD 343 he was believed to have died. Many people in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and St. Louis and other cities in the US with strong Germanic traditions have observed this day for generations. Often St. Nicholas Day, not Christmas, is the main holiday for gift giving, However the gifts he left beside the hearth were usually small: fruit, nuts, candy, small figurines etc. [See Present Day Popularity above] [TOP OF PAGE] The Gift Giver: “The Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6 has been observed with great enthusiasm throughout Medieval Europe over the centuries. This enthusiasm was due to the many legends that had grown up around Nicholas: that he had distributed gifts to the poor at night through their windows, had fasted while a baby, had helped dowerless maidens, saved a city from famine, had aided a ship in distress, etc. [George H. McKnight, St. Nicholas: His Legend and His Role in the Christmas Celebration and Other Popular Customs (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1917), McKnight has a collection of these legends in St. Nicholas, 37-88..]
In sixteenth-century Holland, children placed wooden shoes by the hearth the night of St. Nicholas's arrival. The shoes were filled with straw, a meal for the saint's gift-laden donkey. In return, Nicholas would insert a small treat into each clog. [The shoe was replaced with the stocking, hung by the chimney In America. Because of the gift-giving legends associated with Nicholas, it was held (especially in Belgium and Holland) that on the Eve the Feast of Nicholas, the bishop himself would come from heaven and visit children in their homes, giving gifts to those who had been good. Nicholas, decked out in full ecclesiastical garb (bishop's vestments, with miter and crozier), would arrive on a flying gray horse (or white donkey, depending on the custom). In some variations of the legend, he was accompanied by Black Peter, an elf whose job was to punish children who had been bad”. [Dr. Richard P. Bucher. The Origin of Santa Claus and the Christian Response to Him]
St. Nicholas traditions vary slightly from country to country. In Belgium On St. Nicholas' Eve, December 5th, or the weekend before, children put their shoes or small baskets at the hearth or beside the door with carrots, turnips, and a sugar lump for the saint's horse and a glass of wine for the saint. There may also be a picture they've drawn (or a list) showing what they would like. They believe St. Nicholas rides on horseback over the rooftops, dropping his gifts down the chimneys. In the morning shoes have been filled with chocolates, spiced cookies shaped like the saint and Piet, oranges, marzipan, and toys. In the spirit of St. Nicholas, treats are meant to be shared, not hoarded. Bad children, of which there are none, would find twigs. …” [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=76]
And in Germany In Roman Catholic areas of southern Germany, such as Bavaria, Sankt Nikolaus still comes as a with flowing beard and a bishop's and staff. Houses are thoroughly cleaned and children clean and polish their shoes or boots in preparation for the visit. On the evening before , children put letters to the good saint along with carrots or other food for his white horse or donkey on a plate or in their shoes. These are left outside, under the bed, beside a radiator, or on a windowsill in hopes of finding goodies from St. Nicholas the next morning. During the night Sankt Nikolaus goes from house to house carrying a book in which all the children's deeds are written. If they have been good, he fills their plate, shoe or boot with delicious fruits, nuts and candies. If not, they may find potatoes, coal, or twigs. [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=76]
While in Bulgaria the feast does not seem to be particularly centered around children and gift giving Bulgarians celebrate St. Nicholas as the protector of sailors and fishermen. Stories are told of St. Nikolay, the commander of the sea, calming wind and storms and saving ships in danger… A fish dish, ribnik, carp wrapped in dough or baked with rice, is served as carp is regarded as Nicholas' servant. Ribnik is baked in the oven along with two special loaves of bread. The food is blessed at church or at home before being served. [TOP OF PAGE]
A Curious Amalgam While undoubtedly Santa Claus was based in part on St Nicholas and the gift giving legends associated with him, the modern day Santa Claus bears remarkable similarities to other sources. In Germany, St. Nicholas is also known as Klaasbuur, Sunnercla, Burklaas, Bullerklaas, and Rauklas, and in eastern Germany, he is also known as Shaggy Goat, Ash Man and Rider and is more reflective of earlier pagan influences (Norse) that were blended in with the figure of St. Nicholas, when Christianity came to Germany. [http://holidays.kaboose.com/christmas/traditions/st-nicholas/xmas-around-stnicholas.html]
The Truth is that St. Nicholas is a blend of many different cultures, customs, legends and mythological creatures. Consider the similarities to these early legends. Thor and Odin 9th Century
In 9th century England the Saxons honoured King Winter or King Frost. He would be represented by somebody dressed in a fur hat or crown and would visit their firesides. The Saxons believed that by welcoming Winter as a personage or deity the season would be less harsh to them. 9th & 10th Century
With the arrival of the Vikings in England during the 9th and 10th centuries Odin, their chief god, influenced the Winter gift practices. Odin had twelve characters and the one for December was known as Yalka or Jule and his month was called Jultid from which Yuletide derives. The Vikings believed that Odin visited Earth during Jultid on Sleipnir, his eight-legged horse. He would be disguised in a long blue hooded cloak and carrying a staff and a satchel of bread. His companion was either a Raven or Crow. He was said to join groups around their fire and listen to their conversations to see if they were content. He would sometimes leave the bread as a gift at poor homesteads. [http://www.time4me.com/card/legend/SantaClaus.html]
Most Santa researchers agree that some traits of Santa [including the reindeer?] was borrowed from Norse [Scandinavian] mythology. Prior to the Germanic peoples' Christianization, Germanic folklore contained stories about the god Odin (Wodan), who would each year, at Yule, have a great hunting party accompanied by his fellow gods and the fallen warriors residing in his realm. Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy [Siefker, chap. 9, esp. 171-173]. This practice survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas. [http://www.answers.com/topic/santa-claus] Most of the stories originate with in the European culture, primarily that of the Nordic traditions of Northern Europe. The Norse god Odin rode on a white eight legged horse and delivered either presents or punishments. The eight legged horse may be the origins of the eight reindeer that we know of today along with the naughty or nice list is constantly checked. [ttp://folktalesmyths.suite101.com/article.cfm/jolly_old_saint_nicholas]
[Santa Originally had eight reindeer. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer and son of Donner, was the result of a verse written by Robert L. May for Montgomery Ward in 1939 and published as a book to be given to children in the store at Christmas.] “It is held by some scholars that the legends of Nicholas as gift-giver drew in part from pagan, pre-Christian sources. For example, the Teutonic god of the air, Odin, would ride through the air on a gray horse (named Sleipnir) each Autumn - so did Nicholas; Odin had a long white beard - so did Nicholas; a sheaf of grain was left in the field for Odin's horse - children left a wisp of straw in their shoes for Nicholas. [McKnight, 24-25, 138-139] Others claim that attributes of the Germanic god Thor, the god of thunder, were transferred to Nicholas. Thor was supposedly elderly and heavy with a long white beard; he road through the air in a chariot drawn by two white goats (called Cracker and Gnasher); he dressed in red; his palace was in the "northland;" he was friendly and cheerful; he would come down the chimney into his element, the fire. [Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1958), 113-114] No definitive correlation has ever been found between the "visit of St. Nicholas" and pagan gods such as Odin and Thor. However the similarity is striking and some relationship seems likely”. [Dr. Richard P. Bucher. The Origin of Santa Claus and the Christian Response to Him. Emphasis Added]
Encyclopedia Britannica describes the role of Nordic mythology in the life of Santa: Sinterklaas was adopted by the country's English-speaking majority under the name Santa Claus, and his legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. ("Santa Claus" Encyclopaedia Britannica 99. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) Some Santa researchers associate Santa with the Norse "god" of Odin or Woden. Crichton describes Odin as riding through the sky on an eight-legged, white horse name Sleipnir. (Santa originally had eight reindeers, Rudolph was nine). Odin lived in Valhalla (the North) and had a long white beard. Odin would fly through the sky during the winter solstice (December 21-25) rewarding the good children and punishing the naughty. (Crichton, Robin. Who is Santa Claus? The Truth Behind a Living Legend. Bath: The Bath Press, 1987, pp. 55-56. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) Mythologist Helene Adeline Guerber presents a very convincing case tracing Santa to the Norse god Thor in Myths of Northern Lands: [Thor being a son of Odin with Thursday (Thor’s Day) being named after him. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.)]. Thor was the god of the peasants and the common people. He was represented as an elderly man, jovial and friendly, of heavy build, with a long white beard. His element was the fire, his color red. The rumble and roar of thunder were said to be caused by the rolling of his chariot, for he alone among the gods never rode on horseback but drove in a chariot drawn by two white goats (called Cracker and Gnasher). He was fighting the giants of ice and snow, and thus became the Yule-god. He was said to live in the "Northland" where he had his palace among icebergs. By our pagan forefathers he was considered as the cheerful and friendly god, never harming the humans but rather helping and protecting them. The fireplace in every home was especially sacred to him, and he was said to come down through the chimney into his element, the fire. (Guerber, H.A. Myths of Northern Lands. New York: American Book Company, 1895, p. 61).
In the Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, author Francis Weiser traces the origin of Santa to Thor: "Behind the name Santa Claus actually stands the figure of the pagan Germanic god Thor." (Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1952, p. 113)
After listing some the common attributes of Thor and Santa, Weiser concludes: Here, [Thor] then, is the true origin of our "Santa Claus." . . . With the Christian saint whose name he still bears, however, this Santa Claus has really nothing to do. (Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1952, p. 114)
In the words of Dr. Terry Watkins in Santa Claus The Great Imposter … “The unusual and common characteristics of Santa and Thor are too close to ignore. - An elderly man, jovial and friendly and of heavy build.
- With a long white beard.
- His element was the fire and his color red.
- Drove a chariot drawn by two white goats, named called Cracker and Gnasher.
- He was the Yule-god. (Yule is Christmas time).
- He lived in the Northland (North Pole).
- He was considered the cheerful and friendly god.
- He was benevolent to humans.
- The fireplace was especially sacred to him.
- He came down through the chimney into his element, the fire”. [TOP OF PAGE]
The Tomte/Nisse The tomte/nisse is a mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore originating from Norse paganism and in ancient times was believed to be the "soul" of the first inhabitor of the farm. The tomte/nisse was usually described as a short man (under four feet tall) wearing a red cap with a tassel. Nisse were believed to take care of a farmer’s home and children and protect them from misfortune, in particular at night, when the house folk were asleep. Despite his smallness, the tomte/nisse possessed an immense strength. Even though he was protective and caring he was easy to offend, and his retributions ranged from a stout box on the ears to the killing of livestock or ruining of the farm’s fortune. A particular gift was a bowl of porridge on Christmas night. If he wasn’t given his payment, he would leave the farm or house, or engage in mischief such as tying the cows’ tails together in the barn, turning objects upside-down, and breaking things. The tomte was not always a popular figure: Like most creatures of folklore he would be seen as heathen and become connected to the Devil and having a tomte on the farm meant you put the fate of your soul at risk. In the English editions of the fairy tales of H. C. Andersen the word nisse has been inaccurately translated as "goblin". A more accurate translation is "brownie"... the Scottish counterpart of the Scandinavian tomte. Since there is a Tomtar & Troll shop in Stockholm Sweden, I assume Tomtar is closely related to a Troll. In the 1840s the farm's "nisse" became the bearer of Christmas presents in Denmark, and was then called "julenisse". In 1881, the Swedish magazine Ny Illustrerad Tidning published Viktor Rydberg's poem Tomten, where the tomte is alone awake in the cold Christmas night, pondering the mysteries of life and death. This poem featured the first painting by Jenny Nyström of this traditional Swedish mythical character which she turned into the white-bearded, red-capped friendly figure associated with Christmas ever since. Shortly afterwards, and obviously influenced by the emerging Father Christmas traditions as well as the new Danish tradition, a variant of the tomte/nisse, called the "jultomte" in Sweden and "julenisse" in Norway, started bringing the Christmas presents in Sweden and Norway, instead of the traditional julbock Yule Goat. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte]
Jenny Nyström is mainly known as the person who created the Swedes’ image of the “jultomte” on numerous Christmas cards and magazine covers [illustration on the right], thus linking the Swedish version of Santa Claus to the gnomes of Scandinavian folklore. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Nystr%C3%B6m] The Jultomten brings gifts in a sleigh driven by the goats of Thor.. Swedish children wait eagerly for Jultomten, a gnome whose sleigh is drawn by the Julbocker, the goats of the thunder god Thor. With his red suit and cap, and a bulging sack on his back, he looks much like the American Santa Claus. (Barth, Edna. Holly, Reindeer, and Colored Lights, The Story of the Christmas Symbols. New York: Clarion Books, 1971, p. 49. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) In some areas of Sweden, Jultmoten the Gift-Bringer is a gnome whose sleigh is drawn by the Julbocker, goats which are the property of Thor, God of Thunder. Julmoten dresses in red and carries a bulging sack upon his back. [http://www.novareinna.com/festive/gift.html. Emphasis Added].
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The Long Leap It has been oft claimed that Santa Claus was introduced to America by the Dutch, who settled in what was known as New Amsterdam.. now New York. Apparently this story is without much, if any merit. The St, Nicholas center tells us that…. Although it is nearly universally reported that the Dutch did bring St. Nicholas to New Amsterdam [Now New York], scholars find limited evidence of such traditions in Dutch New Netherland. Colonial Germans in Pennsylvania held the feast of St. Nicholas, and several accounts do have St. Nicholas visiting New York Dutch on New Years' Eve. [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35. Emphasis Added] This was not a saintly bishop, rather an elfin Dutch burgher with a clay pipe. These delightful flights of imagination are the origin of the New Amsterdam St. Nicholas legends: that the first Dutch emigrant ship had a figurehead of St. Nicholas; that St. Nicholas Day was observed in the colony; that the first church was dedicated to him; and that St. Nicholas comes down chimneys to bring gifts. Irving's work was regarded as the "first notable work of imagination in the New World." [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35]
Other Sources The claim that Dutch settlers, in 1626 introduced Sinter Claes to New Amsterdam (to be New York) is an invention of Washington Irving (History of New York, started in 1809). Charles W. Jones states (1954, Knickerbocker Santa Claus, New York Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 357-383, see pp. 367-71) that no documentary evidence has ever been found of a Dutch Santa Claus cult in New Amsterdam or in the [pre-1773, BKS, see below] British colonial period in New York. The settlers of New Amsterdam were Protestants, not Catholics, with little St. Nicholas tradition. [The Origin Of American Christmas Myth And Customs. B. K. Swartz, Jr. http://www.bsu.edu/web/01bkswartz/xmaspub.html. Emphasis Added ] Nearly everyone repeats this story [the Dutch-Santa]. . . But when we look at the evidence—that is, the newspapers, magazines, diaries, books, broadsides, music, sculpture, and merchandise of past times, the picture is not substantiated. (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) There is no evidence that it [Santa Claus] existed in New Amsterdam, or for a century after occupation. . . (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) I have not found evidence of St. Nicholas in any form—in juveniles or periodicals or diaries—in the period of Dutch rule, or straight through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the year 1773. (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) Years of research confirmed that initial doubt: Santa Claus is an Americanization, all right, but not of a Catholic Saint. . . Despite a century of repetition, this story is simply untrue. . . (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, pp. 5,7. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins. ) The dilemma was solved by transferring the visit of the mysterious man whom the Dutch called Santa Claus from December 5 to Christmas, and by introducing a radical change in the figure itself. It was not merely a "disguise," but the ancient saint was completely replaced by an entirely different character. . .With the Christian saint whose name he still bears, however this Santa Claus has really nothing to do. (Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1952, p. 114. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.)
The truth is that the modern day Santa Claus bears little resemblance to the Catholic Saint and has almost entirely replaced him. [TOP OF PAGE]
The Development of Santa Claus in America The following is a short summation of the development of Santa Claus in America.. In 1804, the New York Historical Society was founded with Nicholas as its patron saint, its members reviving the Dutch tradition of St. Nicholas as a gift-bringer. In 1809, Washington Irving published his satirical A History of New York, by one "Diedrich Knickerbocker," a work that poked fun at New York's Dutch past (St. Nicholas included). When Irving became a member of the Society the following year, the annual St. Nicholas Day dinner festivities included a woodcut of the traditional Nicholas figure (tall, with long robes) accompanied by a Dutch rhyme about "Sancte Claus" (in Dutch, "Sinterklaas"). Irving revised his History of New York in 1812, adding details about Nicholas' "riding over the tops of the trees, in that selfsame waggon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children." [http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp] Two quotes from Washington Irving’s A History of New York And the sage Oloffe dreamed a dream,–and lo, the good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to the children. . . And when St. Nicholas had smoked his pipe, he twisted it in his hatband, and laying his finger beside his nose, gave the astonished Van Kortlandt a very significant look; then, mounting his wagon, he returned over the treetops and disappeared. [Irving, Washington. A History Of New York From The Beginning Of The World To The End Of The Dutch Dynasty: Paperback edition (2004) from Kessinger Publishing. p. 88-89] At this early period was instituted that pious ceremony, still religiously observed in all our ancient families of the right breed, of hanging up a stocking in the chimney on St. Nicholas Eve; which stocking is always found in the morning miraculously filled; for the good St. Nicholas has ever been a great giver of gifts, particularly to children. [Irving, Washington. A History Of New York From The Beginning Of The World To The End Of The Dutch Dynasty: Paperback edition (2004) from Kessinger Publishing. p. 98]]
“In 1821, a New York printer named William Gilley issued a poem about a "Santeclaus" who dressed all in fur and drove a sleigh pulled by one reindeer. Gilley's "Sante," however, was very short. On Christmas Eve of 1822, another New Yorker, Clement Clarke Moore, wrote down and read to his children a series of verses; his poem was published a year later as "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" (more commonly known today by its opening line, "'Twas the night before Christmas . . ."). Moore gave St. Nick eight reindeer (and named them all), and he devised the now-familiar entrance by chimney. Moore's Nicholas was still a small figure, however -- the poem describes a "miniature sleigh" with a "little old driver." In 1863, a caricaturist for Harper's Weekly named Thomas Nast began developing his own image of Santa. Nast gave his figure a "flowing set of whiskers" and dressed him "all in fur, from his head to his foot." Nast's 1866 montage entitled "Santa Claus and His Works" established Santa as a maker of toys; an 1869 book of the same name collected new Nast drawings with a poem by George P. Webster that identified the North Pole as Santa's home. Although Nast never settled on one size for his Santa figures (they ranged from elf-like to man-sized), his 1881 "Merry Old Santa Claus" drawing is quite close to the modern-day image”. “ [http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp] Harper’s Weekly online provides a little more insight. While setting the national standard, Nast’s own depiction of Santa Claus changed over the years. He began his almost-annual contribution of Christmas illustrations when he joined the staff of Harper’s Weekly in 1862 during the Civil War. [Nast contributed 33 Christmas drawings to Harper’s Weekly from 1863 through 1886, and Santa is seen or referenced in all but one] His first Santa (in the postdated January 3, 1863 issue) is a small elf distributing Christmas presents to Union soldiers in camp. [Robert C. Kennedy. Santa Claus and His Works. http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=December&Date=25] From 1866-1871, Nast continued to elaborate upon the image of Santa Claus portrayed in “Santa and His Works.” As in the featured cartoon, he also emphasized during this period Santa’s disciplinary role in judging whether the behavior of children during the past year warranted Christmas rewards or punishment. In an 1870 cartoon, Santa surprises two naughty children by jumping out as a jack-in-the-box clutching a switch for spanking. In 1871, Santa sits at his desk reading letter from parents chronicling their children’s good and bad acts, with the “letters from naughty children’s parents” far outnumbering the “letters from good children’s parents.” [Robert C. Kennedy. Santa Claus and His Works. http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=December&Date=25]. [TOP OF PAGE]
Santa’s Companion This section is almost entirely excerpted from Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) There is a little-known piece in the life of Santa that time and tradition has silently erased. Few people are aware that for most of his life, St. Nicholas (Sinter Klaas, Christkind, et. al.) had an unusual helper or companion. This mysterious sidekick had many names or aliases. He was known as Knecht Rupprecht;  Pelznickle; Ru-Klas; Swarthy; Dark One; Dark Helper; Black Peter; Hans Trapp; Krampus; Grampus; Zwarte Piets; Furry Nicholas; Rough Nicholas; Schimmelreiter; Klapperbock; Julebuk; et. al. Though his name changed, he was always there. Some other well known titles given to St. Nick’s bizarre companion is a demon, evil one, the devil and Satan. One of his dark duties was to punish children and "gleefully drag them to hell." The following references are provided to demonstrate the "devil" who accompanies St. Nicholas is a well documented fact. In every forerunner of Santa this dark and diabolic character appears. It is the Christkind who brings the presents, accompanied by one of its many devilish companions, Knecht Ruprecht, Pelznickle, Ru-Klas. . . (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 70) In many areas of Germany, Hans Trapp is the demon who accompanies Christkind on its gift-giving round. . . (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 75) Another Christmas demon from lower Austria, Krampus or Grampus, accompanies St. Nicholas on December 6. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 94) Like Santa, Sinterklaas and the Dark Helper were also supposed to have the peculiar habit of entering homes through the chimney. . . (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 102) In Sarajevo in Bosnia, Saint Nickolas appears with gifts for the children in spite of the war and shelling. He is assisted by a small black devil who scares the children. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 102) Ruprecht here plays the part of bogeyman, a black, hairy, horned, cannibalistic, stick-carrying nightmare. His role and character are of unmitigated evil, the ultimate horror that could befall children who had been remiss in learning their prayers and doing their lessons. He was hell on earth. (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 155) In Holland, Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) wore a red robe while riding a white horse and carried a bag of gifts to fill the children's stockings. A sinister assistant called Black Pete proceeded Sinterklaas in the Holland tradition to seek out the naughty boys and girls who would not receive gifts. ("History of Santa Claus," <www.christmas-decorations-gifts-store.com/history_of_santa.htm?>) The Christian figure of Saint Nicholas replaced or incorporated various pagan gift-giving figures such as the Roman Befana and the Germanic Berchta and Knecht Ruprecht. . . He was depicted wearing a bishop's robes and was said to be accompanied at times by Black Peter, an elf whose job was to whip the naughty children.("Santa Claus" Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)
Christmas historian Miles Clement relates that no "satisfactory account has yet been given" to the origins of these demons and devils that appear with St. Nicholas. It can hardly be said that any satisfactory account has yet been given of the origins of this personage, or of his relation to St. Nicholas, Pelzmarte, and monstrous creatures like the Klapperbock. (Miles, Clement A. Christmas in Ritual and Tradition Christian and Pagan. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912, p. 232)
Maybe a satisfactory account has been given. Let us keep reading. Previously, we established the peculiar fact that today’s Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are not the same. They never have been. Santa Claus is dressed in a long shaggy beard, furs, short, burly and obese. The legends of St. Nicholas portrayed a thin, tall, neatly dressed man in religious apparel. You could not possibly find two different characters. If Nicholas, the ascetic bishop of fourth-century Asia Manor, could see Santa Claus, he would not know who he was. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, pp. 138,141) So the legends of Saint Nicholas afford but a slight clue to the origin of Santa Klaus,–alike, indeed, in name but so unlike in all other respects. (Walsh, William S. The Story of Santa Klaus. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1970, p. 54) [TOP OF PAGE]
The Model For Nast’s Santa.. The startling fact is, Santa Claus is not the Bishop St. Nicholas – but his Dark Helper! In certain German children’s games, the Saint Nicholas figure itself is the Dark Helper, a devil who wants to punish children, but is stopped from doing so by Christ. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 105) Black Pete, the ‘grandfather’ of our modern Santa Claus. Known in Holland as Zwarte Piet, this eighteenth-century German version, is—like his ancient shamanic ancestor—still horned, fur-clad, scary, and less than kind to children. Although portrayed as the slave helper of Saint Nicholas, the two are, in many villages, blended into one character. This figure often has the name Nikolass or Klaus, but has the swarthy appearance of the Dark Helper. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 98)
Artist Thomas Nast is rightfully credited for conceiving the image of our modern day Santa, but Nast’s model for Santa was not the Bishop St. Nicholas but his dark companion, the evil Pelznickle. [IPS Note: Nast was an immigrant from Bavaria and was familiar with Pelznickle] The Christmas demon Knecht Rupprecht first appeared in a play in 1668 and was condemned by the Roman Catholic as being a devil in 1680. . . To the Pennsylvania Dutch, he is known as Belsnickel. Other names for the same character are Pelznickle, "Furry Nicholas," and Ru-Klas, "Rough Nicholas." From these names, it is easy to see that he is looked upon as not merely a companion to St. Nicholas, but almost another version of him. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, pp. 93,94)
In Thomas Nast: His Period and His Pictures, biographer Albert Bigelow Paine, documents that Nast’s Santa was Pelznickle. But on Christmas Eve, to Protestant and Catholic alike, came the German Santa Claus, Pelze-Nicol, leading a child dressed as the Christkind, and distributing toys and cakes, or switches, according as the parents made report. It was this Pelze-Nicol – a fat, fur-clad, bearded old fellow, at whose hands he doubtless received many benefits – that the boy in later years was to present to us as his conception of the true Santa Claus – a pictorial type which shall lone endure. (Paine, Albert Bigelow. Thomas Nast: His Period and His Pictures. New York: Chelsea House, 1980, p. 6)
Santa historian and author, Tony van Renterghem also documents Nast’s Santa Claus was not Saint Nicholas, but the evil Black Pete–the devil. Thomas Nast was assigned to draw this Santa Claus, but having no idea what he looked like, drew him as the fur-clad, small, troll-like figure he had known in Bavaria when he was a child. This figure was quite unlike the tall Dutch Sinterklaas, who was traditionally depicted as a Catholic bishop. Who he drew was Saint Nicholas’ dark helper, Swarthy, or Black Pete (a slang name for the devil in medieval Dutch). . . (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, pp. 95-96)
Santa researcher, Phyllis Siefker, echoes Renterghem’s conclusion: It seems obvious, therefore, that Santa Claus can be neither the alter ego of Saint Nicholas nor the brainchild of Washington Irving. . . If we peek behind the imposing Saint Nicholas, we see, glowering in the shadows, the saint’s reprobate companion, Black Pete. He, like Santa, has a coat of hair, a disheveled beard, a bag, and ashes on his face. . . In fact, it is this creature, rather than Irving’s creation or an Asian saint, who fathered Santa Claus. (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 15)
By the way, St. Nicholas did not come down the chimney. It was his fur-clad, dark companion that came down the chimney. One of the reasons his sidekick was called the "Dark One" or "Black Peter" was because he was normally covered in soot and ashes from his chimney travels. The "dark companion" also carried the bag, distributed the goodies and punished the bad boys and girls. Children [in Holland] are told that Black Peter enters the house through the chimney, which also explained his black face and hands, and would leave a bundle of sticks or a small bag with salt in the shoe instead of candy when the child had been bad. ("Saint Nicholas," Wikipedia Encyclopedia. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas>)
 It is significant that Black Peter, Pelze-Nicol, Knecht Rupprecht and all of St. Nicholas companions are openly identified as the devil.
To the medieval Dutch, Black Peter was another name for the devil. Somewhere along the way, he was subdued by St. Nicholas and forced to be his servant. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 44) In Denmark, Sweden, and Norway creatures resembling both the Schimmelreiter and the Klapperbock are or were to be met with at Christmas. . . People seem to have had a bad conscience about these things, for there are stories connecting them with the Devil. A girl, for instance, who danced at midnight with a straw Julebuk, found that her partner was no puppet but the Evil One himself. (Miles, Clement A. Christmas in Ritual and Tradition Christian and Pagan. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912, p. 202) Thus, in parts of Europe, the Church turned Herne into Saint Nicholas’ captive, chained Dark Helper, none other than Satan, the Dark One, symbolic of all evil. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 97)
One of the bizarre jobs of St. Nick’s devilish helper was to "gleefully drag sinners" to hell!  On the eve of December 6, the myth told that this bearded, white-haired old ‘saint,’ clad in a wide mantel, rode through the skies on a white horse, together with his slave, the swarthy Dark Helper. This reluctant helper had to disperse gifts to good people, but much preferred to threaten them with his broom-like scourge, and, at a sign of his master, would gleefully drag sinners away to a place of eternal suffering. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 111)
The shocking truth is Santa Claus originated from a character identified as the devil or Satan. [TOP OF PAGE]
The Miracle Plays
This section is almost entirely excerpted from Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.) Something else that fashioned our modern day Santa was the popular medieval Christmas plays of the tenth through the sixteenth century. These miracle, moral, mystery and passion dramas acted out scenes from the scriptures and the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. Combining humor and religion, they flourished during the fifteenth century. It is significant that St. Nicholas was a dominant theme among these plays. Much of the myth and outlandish miracles of St. Nicholas originated from these dramas. And much of the bizarre characteristics of Santa were planted in these Christmas plays. In the classic, Teutonic Mythology, author Jacob Grimm provides us with some revealing detail into St. Nicholas’ transformation into Santa. Notice in the following excerpt from Teutonic Mythology where Nicholas converts himself into the Knecht Ruprecht [the devil], a "man of Clobes" or a "man of Claus." Grimm states, the characters of Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht "get mixed, and Clobes [Claus] himself is the "man." The Christmas plays sometimes present the Saviour with His usual attendant Peter or else with Niclas [St. Nicholas]. At other times however Mary with Gabriel, or with her aged Joseph, who, disguised as a peasant, acts the part of Knecht Ruprecht. Nicholas again has converted himself into a "man Clobes" or Rupert; as a rule there is still a Niclas, a saintly bishop and benevolent being distinct from the "man" who scares children; the characters get mixed, and Clobes himself acts the "man." (qtd. in Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69)
From Grimm’s account, in the early 1100’s, the transformation of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus from the devil Knecht Ruprecht was in full throttle. [TOP OF PAGE] Ho! Ho! Ho! There is not enough space in this book to adequately document the influence and inspiration of the medieval plays into the making of Santa, but let us examine Santa’s trademark "Ho! Ho! Ho!". Most people have no idea where this came from, and more important whom it came from. . . In The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch, author Frank Ireson, describes the popular Miracle Play. Notice the description of the devil as "shaggy, hairy," etc. (as Santa), and notice the devil’s trademark "exclamation on entering was ho, ho, ho!": Besides allegorical personages, there were two standing characters very prominent in Moral Plays—the Devil and Vice. The Devil was, no doubt, introduced from the Miracle Plays, where he had figured so amusingly; he was made as hideous as possible by his mask and dress, the latter being generally of a shaggy and hairy character, and he was duly provided with a tail: his ordinary exclamation on entering was, "Ho, ho, ho! what a felowe [sic] am I."(Ireson, Frank. "The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch." 1920 )
[Also http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/culture-44.shtml]
Siefker also collaborates the devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho." In these plays, the devil’s common entry line, known as the "devil’s bluster," was "Ho! Ho! Hoh!"(Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69)
The devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho" was carried over from the early medieval Miracle Plays to the popular old English play "Bomelio," as the following lines from the play verify: What, and a' come? I conjure thee, foul spirit, down to hell! Ho, ho, ho! the devil, the devil! A-comes, a-comes, a-comes upon me,. . . (Dodsley, Robert. A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VI. The Project Gutenberg Ebook. <www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/7oep610.txt>) [Also http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Select-Collection-of-Old-English-Plays-Volx54484.html]
[IPS Note: In the above instance it is probable that the Ho, ho, ho is being used much as it is in the Bible in Zechariah 2:6,7. The Hebrew word translated Ho is [hôy ] and means oh! ah, alas, O, woe. IN other words the person is saying ‘Alas! The devil comes]. Author Tony Renterghem, concludes his extensive research into the origin of Santa with the following statement: I can only conclude that the original ancestor of our modern Santa Claus is none other than the mythological Dark Helper-a faint memory of Herne/Pan, the ancient shamanic nature spirit of the Olde Religion. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 93) Note: Herne or Pan is the horned god. It is common knowledge that Pan and Herne are popular names for Satan. The Satanic Bible lists Pan as one of the Infernal Names of Satan. (LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon Books, Inc., 1969 p. 144)
After researching scores of books and material on the origin of Santa Claus, by far, the best book on this subject is Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, authored by the late University of Kansas associate, Phyllis Siefker. This is no child’s book, but a scholarly exploration into the origin of Santa Claus. It is published by the prestigious McFarland Publishers, a leading publisher of reference and academic books. This book carries no Christian bias, but is simply a secular, non Christian scholastic study. With that in mind, the following analysis by Siefkler is even more alarming: The fact is that Santa and Satan are alter egos, brothers; they have the same origin. . . On the surface, the two figures are polar opposites, but underneath they share the same parent, and both retain many of the old symbols associated with their "father" . . . From these two paths, he arrived at both the warmth of our fireplace and in the flames of hell. (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 6) [TOP OF PAGE]
Santa.. The Name An Anagram?
Much has been said about ‘Santa’ being an anagram for ‘Satan’. While I am not sure how much importance to attach to this, the fact that Sanat Kumara is obviously an anagram for Satan gives me pause for thought. According to some of the teachings derived from modern Theosophy, i.e. the teachings of Alice A. Bailey, C. W. Leadbeater, Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Geraldine Innocente, Sanat Kumara is the Lord or Regent of Earth and of humanity. It is believed by some that he is the founder of the Great White Brotherhood, and that he lives in a city on the etheric plane called Shamballa located above the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Jolly Old St. Nick
Nick or Old Nick is a well-known appellation of the Devil. The name appears to have been derived from the Dutch Nikken, the devil, which again comes from the Anglo-Saxon nac-an, to slay--for as Wachter says the devil was "a murderer from the beginning." Old Nick: A well-known British name of the Devil. It seems probable that this name is derived from the Dutch Nikken, the devil... (Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, p.650. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins) Nick, the devil. (Walter W. Sleay, Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, p. 304. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins) Devil: Besides the name Satan, he is also called Beelzebub, Lucifer . . . and in popular or rustic speech by many familiar terms as Old Nick . . . (Oxford English Dictionary Vol III D-E. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins)
Kriss Kringle? One of the most perturbing aspects of this whole story is the seemingly innocent, friendly, jingle-jangle  name of Kriss Kringle which is German for "little Christ Child". Kriss Kringle A US name for Santa Claus derived from the German Christkindl (little Christ child). (Brewer's Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Phrase and Fable, p. 334)
Whatever the truth behind the legend, it is one further step in the whole sorry saga of ‘Santa’. According to legend, Martin Luther was distressed over the growing popularity of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas (who is the patron saint of sailors, children and unmarried maidens) has long been associated with giving gifts at Christmas time to children and is still popular in many parts of Europe, especially The Netherlands. However, Martin Luther thought the belief in Saint Nicholas took away from the true meaning of Christmas, which was to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Therefore, he is credited with introducing the Christkindl to Germany and parts of Switzerland. The Christkindl, usually portrayed by a young girl with a golden crown and wings, is the main attraction at Christmas parties, as she passes out presents to the other children. During the 18th Century, German and Swiss immigrants, settling in Pennsylvania, brought the tradition of the Christkindl with them. Over time, as English settlers began to populate the area, the word Christkindl was simplified to Kriss Kringle, and became another name for Santa Clause. [Lori Mealey. Martin Luther and Christmas. http://german-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/martin_luther_and_christmas] [TOP OF PAGE]
Santa’s Little Helpers? Santa has some cute little helpers called elves. Webster’s Dictionary has an interesting definition for the  friendly elf: ELF 1. A wandering spirit; a fairy; a hobgoblin; an imaginary being which our rude ancestors supposed to inhabit unfrequented places, and in various ways to affect mankind. . . 2. An evil spirit; a devil. (Webster's Dictionary “elf”)
The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft is a 417 page paperback by Rosemary Ellen Guiley who is known as a thorough researcher. The following descriptions of elves are as quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins. A host of supernatural beings and spirits who exist between earth and heaven. . . Fairies [Elves] are fall angels. When God cast Lucifer from heaven, the angels who were loyal to Lucifer plunged down toward hell with him. (Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 115) Some fairies [elves] were said to suck human blood like vampires. (Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 116) elves, "love to visit new born babies of mortals. . ." (Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 116) "Many contemporary Witches believe in fairies [elves] and some see them clairvoyantly." (Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 117) [TOP OF PAGE]
Part II. Santa Vs. The Bible
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. [Isaiah 14:14]
A Beard As White As Snow The Bible:
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs [BEARD] were white like wool, as white as snow;. . . Revelation 1:13-15. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: . . . Daniel 7:9. Santa Claus: The poem The Night Before Christmas describes Old St. Nick as: "He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes – how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;" [TOP OF PAGE]
A Suit of Red The Bible:
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? Isaiah 63:1-2 Santa Claus: Who wears boots and a suit of red
Santa wears boots and a suit of red Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white Must be Santa Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Clause [TOP OF PAGE]
A Carpenter The Bible:
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judah, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. Mark 6:3 Santa Claus:
Santa is a carpenter. [TOP OF PAGE]
A House In The North The Bible:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. [Isaiah 14:12-14. Emphasis Added] Santa Claus:
Santa lives in the North Pole. The origin of Santa’s home at the North Pole is uncertain, but in “Santa and His Works” Nast may have been the first illustrator to so identify the locale. (An 1857 illustration in Harper’s Weekly shows Santa preparing to leave a snowy but unnamed homeland.) [Robert C. Kennedy. Santa Claus and His Works. http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=December&Date=25]
Interestingly Since Thor’s element was fire, he was made into the god for the Yule tide. Thor was a friendly god and during the Yule tide season, he delivered presents through the chimney because the hearth, being used for fire, was especially sacred to him. In a chariot driven by two goats, Cracker and Gnasher, Thor roared across the heavens causing thunder. Thor was described as heavy built, with a long white beard and was dressed in red in keeping with his association with fire. In a place called “Northland”, Thor lived in a palace surrounded by icebergs. Thus Thor was a winter god who gave people encouragement during the bleak winter months. [http://ottawa.humanists.net/Origins_files/Christmas.htm. Emphasis Added]
Santa not only lives in the North Pole, he gives people encouragement during the winter months. The Challenge of Thor [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow] I AM the God Thor,
I am the War God,
I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever! Here amid icebergs
Rule I the nations; … [TOP OF PAGE]
A Holly Wreath From The ancient Chinese to the Druids [who thought holly berries were thought to represent the sacred blood of their Goddess] and Romans, holly has been the subject of myths, legends, and traditional observances for centuries. Many today believe that the actual "crown of thorns" worn by the Lord Jesus Christ, was the familiar "holly" wreath. In fact the Hawthorn is still known in Germany as Christdorn "Christ's crown of thorns." Ancient history says that the Druids used holly in their religious rites long before the custom came to the European continent. The Druids of ancient Britain and Gaul held the English holly tree sacred. The "holy" connotation continued in later days in Europe, where the plant was widely believed to repel evil spirits. People planted trees and used their branches as protection against witchcraft, mad dogs, and other evils. Sometime in the past, the pagans of Europe took sprays of holly into their homes so that the tiny, imaginary peoples of the woodland would be safe from the cold of winter in the evergreen boughs. Later, holly was used as holiday decor that gave the good fairies and elves a place to hide as they did their good deeds. [Holly In Holiday Tradition. With the coming of Christianity, the use of holly was condemned as a pagan ritual and forbidden by the Christian council. But Christian Romans continued to decorate with holly during festive seasons. European Christian symbolism included the belief that the spiny leaves and red berries were a reminder of the crown of thorns and the blood of Christ. The Pennsylvania Dutch held that the plant's white flowers represented Jesus' purity. The Germans called this plant Christdorn, Christ's crown of thorns. They thought holly had white berries until they were stained by Christ's blood. [Holly In Holiday Tradition. , Virginia Klara Nathan. Virginia Cooperative Extension. http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets2/landsnurs/dec93pr1.html
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