Bells keep Jingling: There are still more Santas to come!

Did you know that Santa Claus, the embodiment of the spirit of Christmas, doesn’t always deliver presents on Christmas Eve, i. e. December 24th?

Oh no, in many countries Santa Claus goes down the chimneys on other dates! For one thing, considering the number of good children in the world, it appears logical that he cannot reach all of them in a single night.

And, of course, there is also a cultural explanation for this, which is what this article will focus on.

So, who are these other Santas?

As you probably already know, Santa Claus is called by different names in other languages. He even has different names in English-speaking countries; he’s often referred to as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle or Father Christmas.

In France, he’s called Pere Noel; in Chile he’s Viejo Pascuero (which means Old Man Christmas); his name in China is Dun Che Lao Ren, which means Christmas Old Man; in Germany, he is commonly known as Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man or Nikolaus); in Norway, he is a Christmas gnome or Julenissen; while in Russia, he is Grandfather Frost or Ded Moroz.

Even under all these names, Santa is usually a fat, bearded guy dressed in red who drives a sleigh and carries Christmas presents around the world. He usually comes on December 24th and leaves the presents under the Christmas tree, so the children can open them early on Christmas morning.

However, there are some other Santas, or their cultural equivalents, which apparently refuse to follow this tradition.

Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg – Sinterklaas

In these countries, good children receive their presents much earlier than December 24th. The guy in charge of delivering presents there is called Sinterklaas and his image bears some resemblance to that of the conventional Santa. His name, however, means Saint Nicholas and he comes, correspondingly, on Saint Nicholas’s Eve or early in the morning on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6th).

In the Netherlands, he arrives with his faithful helper Zwarte Piet, originally a slave to whom Sinterklaas brought freedom and who stayed to assist him.

Evil Krampus from German-speaking countries

As opposed to the kind Saint Nicholas, who brings presents to reward children who behaved well throughout the year, Krampus is an evil creature that comes during the first week of December to pick up the misbehaved ones. On December 5th, he roams the streets covered in chains, frightens bad children and sometimes even carries a sack to transport them to Hell. Quite scary, right?

Russia and the Balkans – Grandfather Frost

In many Slavic countries, the counterpart of Santa called Deda Mraz/Ded Moroz/Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Frost) waits until New Year’s Eve to give gifts to good children.

In addition to this, in some parts of Serbia there still exists the centuries-long tradition of Božić Bata (Christmas Clatterer), who arrives on January 6th, which is Christmas Eve according to the Gregorian calendar.

The tradition of Božić Bata has now been largely replaced by that of the conventional Santa Claus but in some regions, he’s still usually depicted as wearing a calotte and a heavy jacket. He makes much noise when he comes and he knocks loudly on the door, hence the name Clatterer.

How about the children in your country? When do they receive gifts and who delivers them?

Please describe your tradition in as much detail as possible