Every year on December 24th, children all around the world have a hard time falling asleep. They stay up waiting for signs; the jingle of bells, the clinking of hooves, the cheerful belly laughter of an old man in a red suit. Different cultures all around the world have unique immortalized versions of the same Saint Nicholas, but the basic concept remains the same; someone who delivers gifts to good children during the holidays. In America and some other countries, we know Saint Nick as Santa Claus, a man with a white beard and a red suit who flies on a reindeer-pulled sleigh and hops down chimneys to deliver presents to the youth. But who do other cultures know?
1. Befana of Italy
In Italy, a woman named Befana, or the Christmas Witch, serves the position of granting presents to children. Instead of a red suit, she wears a black shawl, and instead of riding a sleigh, she flies on a broomstick. Like Santa, she enters through chimneys and gives nice children candy and other gifts while the bad children receive coal. Rather than flying out on the 24th, though, she leaves her gifts on Epiphany Eve, an Italian festival celebrated on January 5th.
2. The Yule Lads of Iceland
In Iceland, Santa is split into thirteen men known as the Yule Lads or Yulemen. They’re depicted as trolls who descend from the mountains of Gryla and Leppaludi to prank bad children and give presents to those who were good. In folklore, they were also accompanied by the Yule Cat, which would eat children that didn’t get new clothes for Christmas.
3. Krampus of Germany
On the flip side to our kindhearted Santa, the legend told to German children by their parents is of a goat demon who punishes bad children during the winter- a demon otherwise known as Krampus, or the horned god of witches. To imitate this demon, modern Europeans wear hairy costumes with demon masks. Luckily, German kids also have Santa Klaus, the nice companion of Krampus.
4. Amu Nowruz and Haji Firuz of Iran
Similar to Santa Klaus and Krampus, Iran has two split Santas, one depicted as nicer than the other. During the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, two different men set out to visit children. One of them is Amu Nowruz, also known as Papa Nowruz, who gives gifts to children. While Haji Firuz is certainly no Krampus, he also causes some trouble in Iranian folklore, making children give him gifts and loudly playing the tambourine.
5. The Nisse of Scandinavia
The shortest of the alternative Clauses, the nisse of old Scandinavia were small dwarves with the appearance of common garden gnomes. In Scandinavian folklore, they appeared during the winter solstice to bring presents to people.
Sadly, because of the mass commercialization of the holiday season, these fun Santa variants aren’t widely celebrated anymore. However, we can still look to history in admiration of the many different characters that shaped the way we view the jolly saint today. Our modern Christmas is based around many different cultural influences, and Santa has undergone many changes over the centuries, but the joyful spirit of excited children on the holidays remains the same.