Christmas Eve is coming… and the gifts. But why do we give each other gifts this holiday season? Where do those toys that children receive come from? It is not, as one might think, a commercialization of Christmas. Before this holiday was Christian and celebrated the birth of Jesus, that is, when it was a pagan rite, many cultures already exchanged gifts on these dates.
What they did was celebrate the winter solstice. They thanked their gods and also, in many cases, gave each other gifts. This is the case of the Roman Saturnalia, which took place between December 17 and 24. It honored Saturn, god of grain and agriculture, and Roman citizens often exchanged gifts as a wish for good fortune for the next harvest.
It was precisely a Roman emperor who transformed the first, the pagan festival of the solstice, into what we know today. Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337, had converted to Christianity. To benefit the expansion of his religion, he officially established the December 25 as the date to commemorate the birth of Jesus in the Roman Empire. He did not choose that day by chance: on that date the pagan festival of the Unconquered Sun was celebrated.
Mixing the divine and the pagan, the history and traditions of each place, it turns out that the character who delivers gifts on December 24 Today it has multiple names, characteristics and customs.
Who brings so many toys?
Jesus Christ himself distributes gifts in some countries. This is the case of large areas of central Europe, where The one who brings gifts to the children is the Baby Jesus. It occurs in Switzerland, Austria, central and southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, part of Hungary and even Portugal (Menino Jesus). Gifts in Greece are brought by Agios Vassiliswhich he does on New Year’s Eve.
But The one who has the most work is Santa Claus. Bring toys to the homes of France (Père Noel), Belgium, the United Kingdom (Father Christmas), Ireland (Daddy Christmas), Turkey (Noel Baba), Portugal (Pai Natal) and Italy (and Spain, of course, we see it below ). In Italian lands, Babbo Natale, as they call it, has a lot of competition, because there children can also receive toys from the witch Befana, from Saint Lucia and even from the Baby Jesus (yes, here too).
In the Nordic countries, the task of distributing gifts from house to house is for a kind of christmas gnome. They call it Julenissen in Norway; Jultomten, in Sweden; and Julemanden, in Denmark. In Finland, children expect everything from Joulupukki, a character that is mixed with Santa Claus himself.
Ded Moroz is the character on the lips of children in Eastern Europe. This is an old man related to Slavic mythology who carries winter, cold and snow in his wake. He Ded Moroz takes different names depending on the languagebut he visits the homes of Serbia, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia with his bag of gifts, where they also have Grandpa Ice.
Saint Nicholas, who comes by boat from Spain
On December 6, the Netherlands celebrates Saint Nicholas Day (Sinterklaas), a bishop who lived in Türkiye in the 6th century. That day the saint brings gifts to the children. It comes from Spain and every year since 1934 it arrives on the Dutch coast on a steamboat.
From Spain? Yes, things from the Spanish Empire that also took up residence in these lands. Saint Nicholas brought gifts from the Spanish courtwhich in turn was owner of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. There, in Bari, are the remains of the saint who gave his material possessions to the poor.
From Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus
The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in what is now New York. When they founded it, around 1624, they called it New Amsterdam. They brought their customs and among them the celebration of Sinterklaas. Over the years, Anglo-Saxon culture made him its own and transformed him until he became Santa Claus.
Washington Irving is somewhat to blame. In 1809, he wrote the story Stories from New York, where deformed the saint born in Türkiye, turning him into Santa Claus. Little by little, the image of a good-natured man dressed in green was created. A poem written by Clement C. Moore in 1823 changed “painted” the reindeer-drawn sleigh, carried by a jolly, plump, short man.
Little by little, the image of a good-natured guy dressed in green. A poem written by Clement C. Moore in 1823 changed the sleigh with a white horse for one pulled by reindeer, pulled by a cheerful, plump, short man.
The fact is that the gifts he brought stopped leaving Spain and did so from the North Pole. Thomas Nast then drew the image of the character red dress, hat and high boots. Then, in 1931, Coca Cola ended up making that image definitive.
Like a boomerang, Saint Nicholas returned to the Netherlands in the 20th century, but already passed through the sieve of American culture. So it happens that in Dutch lands Sinterklaas and Santa Claus compete for the favor of the children.
The diverse Spain
In Spain, we already know that the competition is done Santa Claus and the Three Wise Menwhich arrive already in January. In reality, the beneficiaries are always the children, who can receive gifts on both December 24 and January 6. A bargain, come on.
Of course, things (and competition) can get worse in the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia. They have their own traditions there. He Nadal’s uncle Catalan, the Olentzero Basque and the Applapper Galician also arrive at homes on Christmas Eve loaded with gifts.
Nadal’s Uncle
The Catalan is a unique representation: a piece of wood that ‘shits’ gifts. It is a trunk decorated with eyes, nose, mouth, two front legs, a barretina and a blanket. At the beginning of Advent, usually December 8, the children have to feed and care for it. On Christmas Eve, the little ones must hit him with a cane to make him ‘poop’ the gifts.
The Olentzero
Legend has it that he lived in the mountains and had 365 eyes and ears so he could see and hear children all year round. As the winter solstice approached, in the houses of the most naughty to take them and eat them. But olentzero It was also the log with which the fire was lit in the fireplaces of homes on Christmas Eve. So already in the 20th century, the character was incorporated into Christmas and its customs, acquiring the same role as Santa Claus.
The Appalator
Its appearance is similar to that of traditional Galician charcoal burners. He is an older man, very tall and bearded, who is usually represented smoking a pipe. According to legend, he lives in the mountains and comes down to the towns on December 24 and/or 31.
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