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Old 12-09-2011, 06:17 PM
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Default Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Aight, Kiddo is full on asking about Santa even though we don't even do Santa.

I want to discuss all the different traditions and folklore and origins, and thought it might be cool to start with current views.

We know about Sinterklaas from that other thread, so tell me about Father Christmas, Papa Noel, Babbo Noel or whatever...interchangeable with the American Santa or different?

ETA: This blog post is pertinent http://purpleblancmange.wordpress.co...her-christmas/
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Old 12-09-2011, 10:58 PM
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Don't forget Krampus. Also Gryla.
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Old 12-10-2011, 12:54 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Also Hanukkah Harry!
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Old 12-10-2011, 01:04 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Mrs. Claus sends one present that you can open on Christmas eve night. It's always jammies, but don't let on that you know. She likes to pretend it could possibly be something else (but it never is :shh:).
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Old 12-10-2011, 03:59 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer



"Well it is a German myth."

--Prof. BYRON OrPHEus!
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Old 12-10-2011, 04:32 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Apparently, the gift-bringers at my house were my parents, not the mythical guy in the red suit.
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Old 12-12-2011, 02:07 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Completely stolen without any regard to human decency from grayman:

Quote:
Originally Posted by grayman
I listened to this on NPR this weekend.

I like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLnl5ZWG4tg
--J.D.

Last edited by Doctor X; 12-12-2011 at 03:56 AM. Reason: [Edited to redact to the Textus Receptus.--Ed.]
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Old 12-12-2011, 08:48 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

We have Sinterklaas. He has a load of servants who wear colourful tights and are made up in blackface make-up. If you are good, he brings you presents on the 5th of december. If you have been bad, you get a "roede", a bundle of twigs tied together for the purpose of spanking you with. Or if you are REALLY bad one of the Black Pete's ,as the servants are called, will put you in the same sack the prezzies came in and take you away.

He arrives by steam-boat from spain, apparently, and he has a beautiful white horse.
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:12 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Babbo Natale (literally "Daddy Christmas") is Santa in Italian. He delivers presents on Christmas Eve, but so does Baby Jesus. Then there's a witch called La Befana who brings presents on the Epiphany. If you're bad, she brings you a lump of coal. You can buy "lumps of coal" that are made out of sugar to give to the naughty kiddies.
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:29 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

My parents always labelled half the presents from Santa and the the other half (usually the best stuff) from themselves, so that they still got some credit.
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:41 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Please to tell me about Babbo Natale v Santa Claus
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:48 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

There's no difference that I know of. You know how they call Santa "Father Christmas" in England? It's like that only in Italian.
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:57 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

I was reading somewhere that there are total differences between Father Christmas and Santa Claus. Those differences weren't really spelled out, but I assume them Brits think we Americans have ruined it.

Does Babbo Natale live at the North Pole, use reindeer to fly his sleigh, go down the chimney, fill stockings, etc.?
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Old 12-12-2011, 11:09 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

All of those things. The reindeer even have the same names, or as close as they could get to them in Italian (Cometa, Ballerina, Fulmine, Donnola, Freccia, Saltarello, Donato, Cupido).

I think there's more overlap than difference between the regional Santas because the character we know today was popularized by A Visit from St. Nicholas (aka 'Twas the Night Before Christmas). Clement Moore wrote that in 1823 and it's like the patient zero of contemporary Santa traditions.
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Old 12-13-2011, 12:07 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

There are also regional Sinterklazes, like what they have in Luxembourg. The Belgians (at least the Dutch speaking Flemish) share the Sinterklaas we have with us. But in Western Germany too they had a tradition of a Sint Nicholas who came around on the 5th/6th of December. Not sure if they still do. Regional cultures are under pressure from the dominant culture in every country though and the dominant cultures are under pressure from US culture.
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Old 12-13-2011, 12:11 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

The x-mas tree seems to be germanic in origin, and it used to be suspended from the ceiling upside down. You may notice that there is something slightly sinister about all the gift-bringers... perhaps because midwinter also takes the old and the very young away with them unless they are strong.
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Old 12-13-2011, 12:22 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Ooooh! Dark!
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Old 12-13-2011, 01:42 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Watser? View Post
There are also regional Sinterklazes, like what they have in Luxembourg.


--J.D.
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Old 12-13-2011, 02:25 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

My German (Trier) friend talked about Christkindle (whatever, baby Jesus) and some kind of demon (Black Pete-ish guy I guess) but not Father Christmas/Santa.
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Old 12-13-2011, 04:56 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

In Sweden they have the tomten*, who is kinda like Santa, but he's a kind of gnome or elf and so quite a bit smaller than Santa Claus and has various other differences. Apparently he replaced the older Yule Goat that brought the presents partly due to influence from Santa Claus. And the jultomten has gradually come to resemble Santa Claus more and more over the years.



We apparently had a Christmas book featuring the tomten when I was little, but I don't really have any memories about it, so we generally only experienced the American Santa. Although, come to think of it, we have a lot of Swedish Christmas decorations, some of which are tomtes. And I guess it makes more sense to me now why goats are part of Christmas decorations**, after reading about the Yule Goat.

*technically, tomten already means "the tomte" but if you say tomte, you might be referring to the type of gnome, rather than the jultomte, the Christmas gnome.

**They look like this, pretty much:

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  #21  
Old 12-13-2011, 06:17 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Given that in "A Visit From St. Nicholas" Santa is described as a "right jolly old elf" and his sleigh is pulled by "eight tiny reindeer" it think it is quite likely that Moore (or Livingston) envisioned something much more along the lines of the Swedish juletomte than anything resembling the modern depictions of Santa Claus.
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Old 12-13-2011, 08:09 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

I like my Christmas slightly demonic,
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Old 12-13-2011, 09:04 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

I vote that we declare Jerome the FF Christmas-Gnome. If you are bad, he brings no prezzies, just little piles of temperature and co2 graphs.
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  #24  
Old 12-13-2011, 09:21 AM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ari View Post
I like my Christmas slightly demonic,
Krampuslauf Graz 2010 - YouTube
:offended:

--J.D.
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Old 12-13-2011, 05:24 PM
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Default Re: Tell me about your Gift Bringer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivisectus View Post
I vote that we declare Jerome the FF Christmas-Gnome. If you are bad, he brings no prezzies, just little piles of temperature and co2 graphs.
And HIV done up in bright festive holiday colors!
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