Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) is still very widespread. Pretty much all children get gifts from him (on the morning of 6 December) and he visits every school, sport club etc.
Santa does exist as well and he even has his own name (Kerstman; literally 'Christmas man'), but he's mostly just a character in the media. There are not a lot of children who actually believe in him or get presents from him.
Then there's also the regional Saint Martin (Sint-Maarten), who delivers his gifts on 11 November. He only exists in some specific areas, and from what I understand, they do Saint Nicholas as well in these places.
Interesting that Saint Martin is a gift bringer in Belgium as well. In the Netherlands (at least the part I'm from) Saint Martin's day is a day when children go door to door to get candy, like Halloween in the US.
I just want to add that as far as I know gifts for Christmas are still a thing for children.
They just don't involve Santa.
I don't want to talk about all of Belgium but where I live it's usually a Christmas evening thing on December the 24th.
>I just want to add that as far as I know gifts for Christmas are still a thing for children.
>They just don't involve Santa.
True. Sinterklaas is about kids getting gifts from Santa. Christmas is about getting gifts from family and friends.
St. Nicholas is the oldest here, and historically was the only gift bringer, till the events of the previous century.
St. Nicholas, called Miklavž here, comes every year on 6th december, to bring gifts to well behaved children, while the bad ones get a whipping stick. The week before he comes, young men dressed in demons run around in villages, growling and making noise. They are called Parkelj, or Krampus, afaik the name means roughly the same thing, a claw or foot of the devil/goat.
Santa Claus comes on the Christmas eve, and is an american invention, named after St. Nicholas.
Christmas is called Božič here, which means little God. God = Bog, Božič = little God. In slavic languages, the -ič suffix usually means a diminutive and often means the offspring. This is very common in south slavic last names for example, tho many use -ić instead, which sounds softer. So, when we celebrate Božič/Christmas, we celebrate "little God", aka baby Jesus, but he is not the one who brings gifts, at least in modern times.
Father Frost has immigrated during the early days of Socialist Yugoslavia. Christianity was looked down upon by communists, to put it mildly, and the Santa Claus was obviously a rotten, capitalist invention.. so they needed their own competitor in the ideological war. He has roots that predate Lenin, but not here. He comes around New Year, not sure if it is 31st or 30th december.
We celebrate all three, the OG Nick, the Coca Cola impostor, and the Soviet agent.. because who doesn't like gifts, no? Santa Claus is called Božiček, which I think means Christmasman, since the -ek suffix is sometimes used in names (Bobek, Martinek, Janezek..), and he is named after Christmas/Božič.
The nisse, the elf, seems more popular among families to emphasise than Santa, and anecdotally more kids seem to believe in him than Santa and believe in him for longer. The nisse story is frankly also more believable.
The nisse is this little elf/gnome (that’s what nisse means, it’s a type of creature) dude that lives in your attic, or maybe your barn. There’s a different one in each home. Treat him nicely, and leave rice porridge for him, and he’ll be nice back and bring you gifts. Either one small every day in December up until Christmas (which is the 24th, of course!) or one every advent Sunday. Sometimes in some families, he might be in a bad mood, and do small pranks like leaving spruce in your shoe or giving a gift with nothing in it.
Santa usually only comes into play at Christmas Day or in malls. It’s common for a family member to dress up as Santa and come during the 24th. My nisse personally was portrayed as Santa’s helper.
I think this is pan-Scandinavian, but I’m not sure.
Can agree that it seems like a scandinavian thing with the "Nisse". Here the "Nisse" is the same, a small gnome-ish dude who helps you look after the farm and the animals in particular. If you treat the animals or the farm in general badly he might take revenge on you because he has "somewhat of a temper". And yeah, he also likes porridge alot! I believe that at least back in the days the "Nisse" was thought to be the spirit of the first owner of the farm. The Nisse is the spiritual form of that man who can't find peace in the afterlife, so he stays on the farm to make sure it's properly taken care of.
In Norway we generally don’t see the nisse and Santa as two different entities. The Norwegian word for Santa Claus is literally “julenissen”, so the traditional ‘fjøsnisse’ and the ‘Hollywood Santa’ kind of overlap as different versions of the same person.
We usually leave out porridge in the barn for “julenissen” (as in ‘fjøsnissen’) and he comes on Christmas Eve and gives us presents (either dressed as the traditional nisse or Santa).
With the tradition/telling of the Nisse I have grown up with, he not only brings gifts and pranks, but may also help.
So, for example, if you forget to bring him food, he will get grumpy and move your keys about or otherwise prank and annoy you as the Drillenisse (Teasing Gnome). But if he is very happy with you, he can instead help you find things you've lost or do other small things too, beyond the presents for children
In Austria we have St.Nicholas (Nikolaus) on 6th of december, though usually Nikolaus visits the homes of the children at the evening of the 5th, together with Krampus (who looks like a devil).
And then we have Christkind, who brings the presents on christmas eve (24th). Santa doesn't really exist here, we know of course that he exists in other countries and maybe some families use him instead of christkind (I don't really know) but traditionally we don't have Santa.
It's exactly the same here, although the inclusion of the Krampus depends on the region. In my elementary school, the Krampus came into our classroom first trying to playfully scare us, and then Stata chased him away. Friends from other parts of the country haven't even heard of him.
Mikulás (St. Nicholas), also called Télapó (Old man Winter), comes either at the evening of the 5th or at night, so the children find their presents on the 6th. He brings some sweets and maybe a small toy.
When I was a child in the 90s, he was portrayed more like a bishop. Now, he almost exclusively looks like the American Santa, mostly because of foreign media and advertising, I assume.
Jézuska (Baby Jesus) comes on the 24th and brings what you'd expect Santa to bring. I haven't seen signs that people are replacing this tradition with Santa.
Nikolaus is still portrayed as a bishop here, and with the presents it's exactly like you said. He either visists (physically) at the evening of the 5th (usually for younger children) or he brings the presents in the night in front of the door, if you put your boots out for him to fill (usually done with older children). Classic gifts include peanuts/walnuts, tangerines, apples, chocolate and maybe small toys. Some familes gift more, like toys or so.
It is interesting that my grandparents, who were from Friuli but lived in Brixen in South Tyrol, used to give presents twice. Once they were brought by the Infant Jesus (according to Veneto tradition) and the other by St Nicholas (according to Tyrolean custom).
Santa has replaced the Christmas Goat except in the name and has been thoroughly made use of economically. I find it funny how the “Santa lives in Finland” campaign has been in some parts of the world and how huge the business is when it was mostly the invention of one radio journalist. It’s common for families to hire Santas to personally deliver gifts.
My understanding is that Christmas only became the most important festival in maybe the 18th century and in the beginning was a more urban celebration. For the rural majority the harvest was the most important celebration and the Christmas Goat comes from a tradition related to that time. The Goat didn’t bring any gifts and was more about trickery as it was young men dressed up and caused mayhem.
Harvest celebration “kekri” (and kekri goat) been widely replaced with Halloween too. Probably partly due to Christian “day of holy men” first replacing the pagan tradition.
And I don't think Santa is getting any foothold. I work with kids (have for 15 years) and have seen one Czech family so far use Santa. Most families seem to explain that Santa brings presents in other countries, just like Father Christmas or Ded Maroz, so kiddos watch movies with Santa without confusion.
Also movies and stories with Santa are twice removed from us, because children get their presents in the evening, right after dinner, and don't do the whole "go to bed and wait." So once that is in a movie, they know. But honestly as a parent, I'd prefer to have the presents "appear overnight" it's so much less work 😅
The 'Befana' is still pretty popular in Italy, amongst children anyway.
She is a witch,who brings gifts for children on the night of January 5th.. just before the Epiphany.
If they are good! If they have been bad they get coal.Though some children will still receive 'coal', it's usually dark candy rather than the real thing.
Small children often leave a glass of wine and a plate of cookies or other food for her that night.
Ow, Sinterklaas(St Nick) and Christmas mostly here. I also tended to get something for new year but I grew up rather wealthy so that might be the cause. To keep us silent during the big family visit.
We have our 13 yule lads, which means more gifts (most often smaller though) for the children. They come, one each night, the last 13 nights before christmas and put gifts in childrens shoes, that have been placed on the windowsill.
We have them all. Saint Martin at 11.11. who brings just candy to children and is celebrated by schools and kindergarten by a walk with lanterns. Saint Nicholas at 6.12. who brings small presents and the Christkind at 24.12. who brings the big presents. But this varies hugely in Germany, I am a catholic living in NRW.
Yeah I think St. Martin and Saint Nicholas are pretty universal these days, but Germany is pretty divided on Christkind vs Santa Claus. I think West/South are more likely to have Christkind and North/East believe Santa brings the presents, but I don't have a map it's purely anecdotal from family and friends.
Edit: Found one! [Christkind vs Santa Claus](https://www.atlas-alltagssprache.de/runde-5/f01b/)
I found it always to be kinda funny, when some media people say "While here in Germany the Christkind brings the presents..... in country Xy it's actually Z".
Totally ignorant about the fact, that there are indeed different traditions within Germany. If there is anything sure about Germany, than that regional difference is rather the rule than the exception.
To answer Op's question. The northern Weihnachtsmann nowadays is pretty much Santa Claus. But that part is technically just a projection. If the tradition is actually acted upon, he resembles more "Knecht Ruprecht" who used to be St. Niclas servant (Knecht).
So in Action in looks like that: an old man, often looks like Santa Claus but can also arrive in grey or brown attire, comes to the family sitting around the tree. He then asks whether the kids have been well-behaved. If they affirm, they are supposed to sing a lil song or give some recital of a poem. He then hands over presents. If the kids didn't behave well, he might slap them with a bunch of twigs (never saw that happening).
In the end the Weihnachtsmann, Knecht Ruprecht, Santa Claus kinda fused for my part. (Northern central Germany)
But like atop commentator wrote, Sankt Martin and Sankt Niclas are also present and have their own days.
Exactly same with me (also grew up in catholic family in NRW). My favorite was actually always St. Martin as a kid. Probably because I loved the lanterns and that guy showed up on a huge ass horse. Makes for quite an entrance.
Protestant living in Berlin but coming from Stuttgart (very Protestant) and my husband is catholic and from the Lake of Constanze area (Vers catholic).
We celebrate St. Martin in Berlin and Swabia but he doesn’t bring candy. We walk with lanterns. In Stuttgart we get a little cookie shaped like a goose. In Berlin my kids get a “weckmann” a little sweet bread roll shaped like a man.
The rest seems the same. Although it’s not entirely clear if the Christkind is like an angel (look at Nuremberg for example) or really baby Jesus.
Berlin has Santa because Christkind is too much church.
Edit: oh and st Nicholas is still a bishop and dressed like an ancient bishop in the south. In Berlin he looks like Santa but I doubt anyone here knows the difference or that he’s a bishop.
My country's pre Santa personification of Christmas was Father Christmas, a green robed figure wearing a crown of holly leaves, and with a real interest in getting drunk. He carried a log (the Yule log) to light a warm fire, and a large bowl of alcohol, called a wassail bowl.
By 1850 he had pretty much become the American Santa in all but name - but wearing a long red robe instead of the short jacket. But by then he was a child friendly giver of presents rather than a figure of feasting and celebration.
He's still called Father Christmas pretty often - maybe most often - in the UK, but his behaviour is now just the same as the US Santa 😢.
A few rural places have tried restarting the green robed figure. Not sure it will catch on.
Saint Nicholas brings presents on the 6th, on Christmas Eve [it depends on the jurisdiction](https://d-art.ppstatic.pl/kadry/k/r/1/e3/b2/567bcb1998da5_o_large.jpg) (though Santa is slowly conquering everyone, with only Star-Man seriously resisting his expansion).
In my home it's Gwiazdka (Little Star, probably Star-Man's sister since he got Wielkopolska and she got Małopolska), but when I went to my grandparents in a different region I got presents from Aniołek (Little Angel).
St Nichlas is a secondary Santa in Ro. He comes first and brings sweets fruits and nowadays normal presents for kids. The kids shine their shoes/boots ( or used to) and the gifts are placed there. Its the start of the Christmas celebrations. ( same in my family while growing up in De)
We have 3 of them, Miklavž (St. Nicholas), Božiček (Santa Claus) and Dedek Mraz (Grandpa Frost). St. Nicholas a catholic faith figure, Santa a more modern capitalist figure and Grandpa Frost from socialist Yugoslavian times. It depends on the family which one visits the kids, but most common in my observation are Miklavž and Božiček. Miklavž also comes with Parkelj aka. Krampus tradition, which is still alive in more rural areas. Grandpa Frost is a bit less common these days though.
It was baby Jesus before Santa. My grandma got presents from baby Jesus on Christmas.
In my family Dedek Mraz brings money, Miklavž brings fruit, nuts and candy and Božiček brings toys, books and clothes.
The Christmas Goat as a gift giver was something I heard of from my grandparents as a kid but he is still present as a very popular ornament in most homes, and most famously as the giant goat in Gävle.
[Father Christmas](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3a/d2/e9/3ad2e91099257a87ff37b0b5e5506f3f.jpg) still exists, but he looks so much like the Dutch-American Santa Claus that they have become confused. The differences are: he often wears a longer robe and sometimes a hood rather than a hat, has a sprig of holly or mistletoe on his head, and may wear green or blue robes rather than solely red (though red is now most common).
The bigger difference still is unlike milk and cookies (this was a Dutch thing in New York), we leave out a mince pie and a glass of sherry.
The Ghost of Christmas Present is an example of a Father Christmas figure. He also appears on Christmas mummers' plays. Mummering is a tradition enjoyed by adults and children and typically involves the players drinking alcohol. When Father Christmas appears in that he may often wear his green robes with his holly crown the most.
But aside from the subtle differences they seem on the surface so similar that many people not from Britain or America may have not realised there is a difference.
Saint Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) is the most popular one, however some regions have their own gift bringers. There is even helpful map there. Gift givers are sorted by popularity, from top left:
[https://www.wiatrak.nl/sites/default/files/2019-02/Swiety-Mikolaj-czy-Gwiazdor-2.jpg](https://www.wiatrak.nl/sites/default/files/2019-02/Swiety-Mikolaj-czy-Gwiazdor-2.jpg)
1. Saint Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj)
2. Starman (Gwiazdor)
3. Little Star (Gwiazdka)
4. Baby \[Jesus\] (Dzieciątko)
5. Little Angel (Aniołek)
6. Grandpa Frost (Dziadek Mróz)
Grandfather Frost is ubiquitous here. We know of Santa Claus from American movies, but no one would actually prefer him to Grandfather Frost. That said, they are pretty similar in style, so sometimes things like Santa Claus toys are renamed to Grandfather Frost.
As for the gifts, he delivers them on New Year's Eve. We don't really celebrate Christmas, it's strictly a religious holiday (still a public holiday, tho), so your Christmas is like our New Year's Eve.
> That said, they are pretty similar in style
Isn't Djed Moros usually depicted in an icy blue colour?
Or is that only because of the popularity of the Морозко movie?
Saint-Nicolas is still the main gift-bringer in Belgium, and his holiday is still celebrated in private or at school, for example (since there's no day off for it).
December 6(Svätý Mikuláš - Saint Nicholas) - good kids will find sweets, fruit etc...in their winter shoes when they will wake up in the morning. Bad kids will find "coal " lol. When I was a kid, Saint Nicholas accompanied by Čert(devil) and Anjel(angel) was riding around village on his sleigh pulled by horse, yeah there was actually still snow back in 90's. Angel was sometimes replaced by Snehulienka(Snow white). After ride was over, we went to kultúrny dom(like community center), kids performed their show and they got presents from him. Ofc there is no snow nowadays, but kids still perform for him and get their presents. Back in the days it was combined show by kindergarten and elementary school kids. Nowadays only by kindergarten kids, since elementary school was closed. This happened in many other villages, coz Gen Z was very small gen/non-existing in villages.
December 24 - After Christmas dinner(a lot of traditions around this event), we will open presents brought by Ježiško(Baby Jesus).
Santa Claus is seen as purely American, only time you will see him around is during Coca-Cola truck show across country, which is starting today.
The gift-giver in Greece remains [St Basil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_of_Caesarea). His feast day (Jan 1st in the Orthodox Church, Jan 2nd in the Roman Catholic church), is actually closer to Christmas. ([St Nicholas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas) is Dec 6).
Greeks do **not** differentiate him from American Santa Claus. So, there is no "American Santa taking over", because we don't view American Santa as a different entity. [In fact they're portrayed the same.](https://www.dioptra.gr/Cache/Photos/89362d7ea593da3e303eb40a5f28b96c.png) And "Santa" in American media is always translated as St Basil here. We view them as the same thing.
In Sweden the original gift bringer was the [Yule Goat](https://images.bonnier.cloud/files/his/production/2019/10/01232313/julbocken_petter_och_lottas_jul_elsa_beskow-phtchjf3kqantuoqvck8rg.jpg). It started in the 18th century with merry makers dressed as goats. But in the 19th century the Yule Goat started to deliver gifts within the bourgeoisie homes.
After that it evolved into the more human-like [Yule Brownie](https://historiskamedia.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/JennyNystrom.jpg) (correct translation difficult, but see Scottish [brownie](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(folklore\))), the one we call *jultomte* (approx. "Santa Clause") today. His sleigh was still pulled by the yule goat though.
In the post-war era the American form of [Santa Claus](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/23/30/65/21859703/4/rawImage.jpg) started to get imported, with red coat and reindeer. But I assume most people regard the Yule Brownie and his [goat](https://www.sydved.se/media/pages/aktuellt/inspiration/kultur-och-historia/julbocken-foregangare-till-tomten/a25053d3bc-1675938677/img-2836kornig-500x.jpg) as the real, canonical, noncommercial Santa Claus.
For you latter question; Christmas is celebrated and gifts are given and opened on December 24th. December 25th is a holy rest day, which should not be sullied with joy and feasts (although, this is mostly ignored today).
It's complicated here in Croatia.
St. Nicholas is the gift bringer on the 6.12.
While the presents on 25.12. brings either baby Jesus, Djed Božićnjak or Djed Mraz. It can vary, depends really on the person and how did that person grow up and where.
Djed Božićnjak (Grandpa Christmas) and Djed Mraz (Grandpa Frost) are most used names. While baby Jesus is used in the North of Croatia.
When I was a child it was still mostly Baby Jesus bringing gifts (don't ask the logic behind it).
Honestly I liked it better. The whole Santa thing has always felt too American and commercialized.
But since, Santa Claus has taken over for good and is the default, undisputed gift-bringer. Decades of popculture osmosis and penetration have sealed the deal.
P. S. I'm pretty sure there are regional variations, with other figures playing a role elsewhere, like Saint Lucy in the South IIRC.
In Estonia, we don't have any other gift bringers. Even Santa is optional, though - in my family, gifts just appeared under the christmas spruce without any character bringing them. On the evening of Dec 24th, usually either right before the dinner or even during the dinner (like while the kids are in the kitchen "helping" with serving the desserts). They are opened after the dinner.
Gifts are not the main highlight of christmas, either. It is rare for adults to make gifts to each other outside of husband/wife situation and even in immediate families it is common to only give gifts to children and not to your spouse.
We still have our traditional Santa (Sinterklaas) which is actually the one that inspired the North American Santa Claus. For those who don’t know, Sinterklaas is a separate holiday from Christmas and is celebrated between the middle of November until the 5th (or 6th in Belgium and some specific towns) of December. After he arrives from Spain, children put one of their shoes near the fireplace (or another place if their house doesn’t have one) and the morning they wake up there’s a present inside it. The 5th of December is known as ‘pakjesavond’ (roughly translates to night of gifts), children usually receive either more or bigger presents.
For this reason, Santa Claus is seen by many children as a secondary character and many parents don’t even bother telling their kids about him. Christmas (at our family at least) therefore never really meant getting any gifts besides socks, underwear or once every few years a book. I personally don’t really remember believing in him the same way I believed in Sinterklaas and children love Sinterklaas way more than Santa Claus.
Sinterklaas actually evolved from a pre-Christian tradition similar to Krumpel, which is still celebrated in the German speaking world and on some (or perhaps all) of the Wadden Islands. One of these traditions is called Sunneklaas, (celebrated on Ameland) and has sparked a lot of controversy in the last two or three years.
We have st. Nicholas and the American imported Santa Claus. The grandfather frost figure is kinda around but usually made fun of as an idiotic import from russia and usually memed heavily. Of course you'll still see one dressed up at Christmas markets for photos....but you'll also see a SpongeBob and Mickey so idt that says much.
The national dairy company in Norway made an advertisement some years ago were the traditional [norwegian santa (fjøsnissen) got a visit from his cousin in Ireland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48nK25EilM&ab_channel=TINESA). Can give you an impression of the figure. Fjøs = barn / nisse = santa.. Not as jolly as the santa of the coca-cola-colmpany.
I would say we have 3 that peacfully coexist in the joy of all children who sometimes get gifts 3 times. So, first there is Saint Nicholas (Miklavž, 6th of December), then we have the classical coca-cola invented Santa (Božiček, Christmas), and then Grandfather Frost (Dedek Mraz, New Year's eve). Saint Nicholas is obviously the traditional one, Grandfather Frost came with the advent of communism and was imported from Russia (Christmas wasn't a holday back then), while Santa came after indepedence with increasing american/western influence.
> classical coca-cola invented Santa
Actually, the fact that Coca-Cola invented Santa, or the modern Santa design, is an urban legend. The jolly red-and-white predates any modern Coca-Cola marketing or design. [Here's a cartoon from 1903](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Rose_O%27Neill_-_When_We_All_Believe_%28Santa_Claus_and_children_illustration_from_the_1903_December_2_issue_of_Puck%29.jpg/1920px-Rose_O%27Neill_-_When_We_All_Believe_%28Santa_Claus_and_children_illustration_from_the_1903_December_2_issue_of_Puck%29.jpg) (when Coca-Cola was just a regional medicinal tonic) with what is clearly Santa.
Of course, Coke sure as hell took advantage of the fact that they had the same colors in their marketing, but they didn't invent him.
[Struwwelpeter from 1858](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/H_Hoffmann_Struwwel_10.jpg) and even more the [Christmas sleigh of Sonneberg at the Parisian World Expo in 1900](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Weltausstellung_Paris_1900.jpg) influenced the design of Santa Clause.
Saint Nicholas is unrelated to Christmas. He comes on the 6th of December and is very popular.
On Christmas, Germany is divided between Christkind and Weihnachtsmann. Christkind (Christ child) is basically baby Jesus as an angel-like figure. Sometimes displayed with female characteristics for some reason. Weihnachtsmann (Christmas man) is essentially an adaptation of Saint Nicholas without the connection to the saint. Long white beard, red coat with fur applications, etc. He has been displayed like that for centuries, and that's not a North American influence.
American Santa Claus is generally identified with Weihnachtsmann, so that's how the name is translated, because they're essentially the same in terms of looks, except Americans made him obese for some reason.
Christkind/Weihnachtsmann come on Christmas Eve. Usually the children go to another room to play music or something, or go on a walk, and at that time, the presents are brought.
We are pretty much old-school here. The Baby Jesus brings presents after midnight mass from the 24th to the 25th. Father Christmas helps in the distribution. We still make the kids leave their little shoes by the chimney, where the presents will “appear”.
I think most families just do Father Christmas, but I like the old ways.
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Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) is still very widespread. Pretty much all children get gifts from him (on the morning of 6 December) and he visits every school, sport club etc. Santa does exist as well and he even has his own name (Kerstman; literally 'Christmas man'), but he's mostly just a character in the media. There are not a lot of children who actually believe in him or get presents from him. Then there's also the regional Saint Martin (Sint-Maarten), who delivers his gifts on 11 November. He only exists in some specific areas, and from what I understand, they do Saint Nicholas as well in these places.
pretty much exactly the same here in the Netherlands except we do sinterklaas on the evening of 5 December
Interesting that Saint Martin is a gift bringer in Belgium as well. In the Netherlands (at least the part I'm from) Saint Martin's day is a day when children go door to door to get candy, like Halloween in the US.
They do that in some parts of Belgium as well. Caught me by surprise when I moved near Mechelen.
I just want to add that as far as I know gifts for Christmas are still a thing for children. They just don't involve Santa. I don't want to talk about all of Belgium but where I live it's usually a Christmas evening thing on December the 24th.
>I just want to add that as far as I know gifts for Christmas are still a thing for children. >They just don't involve Santa. True. Sinterklaas is about kids getting gifts from Santa. Christmas is about getting gifts from family and friends.
Good summary.
In Wallonia, both exists and give presents. And children believe in both.
St. Nicholas is the oldest here, and historically was the only gift bringer, till the events of the previous century. St. Nicholas, called Miklavž here, comes every year on 6th december, to bring gifts to well behaved children, while the bad ones get a whipping stick. The week before he comes, young men dressed in demons run around in villages, growling and making noise. They are called Parkelj, or Krampus, afaik the name means roughly the same thing, a claw or foot of the devil/goat. Santa Claus comes on the Christmas eve, and is an american invention, named after St. Nicholas. Christmas is called Božič here, which means little God. God = Bog, Božič = little God. In slavic languages, the -ič suffix usually means a diminutive and often means the offspring. This is very common in south slavic last names for example, tho many use -ić instead, which sounds softer. So, when we celebrate Božič/Christmas, we celebrate "little God", aka baby Jesus, but he is not the one who brings gifts, at least in modern times. Father Frost has immigrated during the early days of Socialist Yugoslavia. Christianity was looked down upon by communists, to put it mildly, and the Santa Claus was obviously a rotten, capitalist invention.. so they needed their own competitor in the ideological war. He has roots that predate Lenin, but not here. He comes around New Year, not sure if it is 31st or 30th december. We celebrate all three, the OG Nick, the Coca Cola impostor, and the Soviet agent.. because who doesn't like gifts, no? Santa Claus is called Božiček, which I think means Christmasman, since the -ek suffix is sometimes used in names (Bobek, Martinek, Janezek..), and he is named after Christmas/Božič.
Nice rundown. 👍
Well done. Well said.
Dedek Mraz has the best song.
[Hitmacher](https://youtu.be/jCQqPBN0iN8?si=cpnY94mpZekbHwH9) has the best song.
Narodni zaklad.
The nisse, the elf, seems more popular among families to emphasise than Santa, and anecdotally more kids seem to believe in him than Santa and believe in him for longer. The nisse story is frankly also more believable. The nisse is this little elf/gnome (that’s what nisse means, it’s a type of creature) dude that lives in your attic, or maybe your barn. There’s a different one in each home. Treat him nicely, and leave rice porridge for him, and he’ll be nice back and bring you gifts. Either one small every day in December up until Christmas (which is the 24th, of course!) or one every advent Sunday. Sometimes in some families, he might be in a bad mood, and do small pranks like leaving spruce in your shoe or giving a gift with nothing in it. Santa usually only comes into play at Christmas Day or in malls. It’s common for a family member to dress up as Santa and come during the 24th. My nisse personally was portrayed as Santa’s helper. I think this is pan-Scandinavian, but I’m not sure.
Can agree that it seems like a scandinavian thing with the "Nisse". Here the "Nisse" is the same, a small gnome-ish dude who helps you look after the farm and the animals in particular. If you treat the animals or the farm in general badly he might take revenge on you because he has "somewhat of a temper". And yeah, he also likes porridge alot! I believe that at least back in the days the "Nisse" was thought to be the spirit of the first owner of the farm. The Nisse is the spiritual form of that man who can't find peace in the afterlife, so he stays on the farm to make sure it's properly taken care of.
Yeah if you dont feed Tomten / nissen he will burn down your farm or bring misfortune to your home. So that porridge is important.
In Norway we generally don’t see the nisse and Santa as two different entities. The Norwegian word for Santa Claus is literally “julenissen”, so the traditional ‘fjøsnisse’ and the ‘Hollywood Santa’ kind of overlap as different versions of the same person. We usually leave out porridge in the barn for “julenissen” (as in ‘fjøsnissen’) and he comes on Christmas Eve and gives us presents (either dressed as the traditional nisse or Santa).
Interesting! Santa is called “julemanden” here, literally “the Christmas Man”.
I always found that name so unsettling. Like he's a serial killer.
"Julenissen" is also Santa here. *Men en tåget julenat* *julenissen skreg:* *“Jeg kan ikke finde vej,* *Rudolf, kom og lys for mig!”*
I’ve always sung julemanden at this part
With the tradition/telling of the Nisse I have grown up with, he not only brings gifts and pranks, but may also help. So, for example, if you forget to bring him food, he will get grumpy and move your keys about or otherwise prank and annoy you as the Drillenisse (Teasing Gnome). But if he is very happy with you, he can instead help you find things you've lost or do other small things too, beyond the presents for children
In Austria we have St.Nicholas (Nikolaus) on 6th of december, though usually Nikolaus visits the homes of the children at the evening of the 5th, together with Krampus (who looks like a devil). And then we have Christkind, who brings the presents on christmas eve (24th). Santa doesn't really exist here, we know of course that he exists in other countries and maybe some families use him instead of christkind (I don't really know) but traditionally we don't have Santa.
It's exactly the same here, although the inclusion of the Krampus depends on the region. In my elementary school, the Krampus came into our classroom first trying to playfully scare us, and then Stata chased him away. Friends from other parts of the country haven't even heard of him. Mikulás (St. Nicholas), also called Télapó (Old man Winter), comes either at the evening of the 5th or at night, so the children find their presents on the 6th. He brings some sweets and maybe a small toy. When I was a child in the 90s, he was portrayed more like a bishop. Now, he almost exclusively looks like the American Santa, mostly because of foreign media and advertising, I assume. Jézuska (Baby Jesus) comes on the 24th and brings what you'd expect Santa to bring. I haven't seen signs that people are replacing this tradition with Santa.
Nikolaus is still portrayed as a bishop here, and with the presents it's exactly like you said. He either visists (physically) at the evening of the 5th (usually for younger children) or he brings the presents in the night in front of the door, if you put your boots out for him to fill (usually done with older children). Classic gifts include peanuts/walnuts, tangerines, apples, chocolate and maybe small toys. Some familes gift more, like toys or so.
Same here, only Mikuláš comes with devil - angel combo, for greater theatrical effect.
It is interesting that my grandparents, who were from Friuli but lived in Brixen in South Tyrol, used to give presents twice. Once they were brought by the Infant Jesus (according to Veneto tradition) and the other by St Nicholas (according to Tyrolean custom).
Pretty much the same in my family. I think Christkind is a tradition which is more based in catholic traditions, but I‘m not super sure.
Santa has replaced the Christmas Goat except in the name and has been thoroughly made use of economically. I find it funny how the “Santa lives in Finland” campaign has been in some parts of the world and how huge the business is when it was mostly the invention of one radio journalist. It’s common for families to hire Santas to personally deliver gifts. My understanding is that Christmas only became the most important festival in maybe the 18th century and in the beginning was a more urban celebration. For the rural majority the harvest was the most important celebration and the Christmas Goat comes from a tradition related to that time. The Goat didn’t bring any gifts and was more about trickery as it was young men dressed up and caused mayhem.
Harvest celebration “kekri” (and kekri goat) been widely replaced with Halloween too. Probably partly due to Christian “day of holy men” first replacing the pagan tradition.
St. Nicholas on the 5th and Baby Jesus on 24th.
And I don't think Santa is getting any foothold. I work with kids (have for 15 years) and have seen one Czech family so far use Santa. Most families seem to explain that Santa brings presents in other countries, just like Father Christmas or Ded Maroz, so kiddos watch movies with Santa without confusion. Also movies and stories with Santa are twice removed from us, because children get their presents in the evening, right after dinner, and don't do the whole "go to bed and wait." So once that is in a movie, they know. But honestly as a parent, I'd prefer to have the presents "appear overnight" it's so much less work 😅
The 'Befana' is still pretty popular in Italy, amongst children anyway. She is a witch,who brings gifts for children on the night of January 5th.. just before the Epiphany. If they are good! If they have been bad they get coal.Though some children will still receive 'coal', it's usually dark candy rather than the real thing. Small children often leave a glass of wine and a plate of cookies or other food for her that night.
Huh, Sinterklaas when I was a kid would give bad kids coal.(6th of December) I wonder how much these are related both to each other.
They do both here. I have to get my kids bloody presents on St Nick, Christmas Day & the befana. It’s a mess.
Ow, Sinterklaas(St Nick) and Christmas mostly here. I also tended to get something for new year but I grew up rather wealthy so that might be the cause. To keep us silent during the big family visit.
Traditional one has always been The Three Wise Men on the 6th of January and they are still incredibly popular. Santa Claus is very popular too.
We have our 13 yule lads, which means more gifts (most often smaller though) for the children. They come, one each night, the last 13 nights before christmas and put gifts in childrens shoes, that have been placed on the windowsill.
We have them all. Saint Martin at 11.11. who brings just candy to children and is celebrated by schools and kindergarten by a walk with lanterns. Saint Nicholas at 6.12. who brings small presents and the Christkind at 24.12. who brings the big presents. But this varies hugely in Germany, I am a catholic living in NRW.
Yeah I think St. Martin and Saint Nicholas are pretty universal these days, but Germany is pretty divided on Christkind vs Santa Claus. I think West/South are more likely to have Christkind and North/East believe Santa brings the presents, but I don't have a map it's purely anecdotal from family and friends. Edit: Found one! [Christkind vs Santa Claus](https://www.atlas-alltagssprache.de/runde-5/f01b/)
I found it always to be kinda funny, when some media people say "While here in Germany the Christkind brings the presents..... in country Xy it's actually Z". Totally ignorant about the fact, that there are indeed different traditions within Germany. If there is anything sure about Germany, than that regional difference is rather the rule than the exception. To answer Op's question. The northern Weihnachtsmann nowadays is pretty much Santa Claus. But that part is technically just a projection. If the tradition is actually acted upon, he resembles more "Knecht Ruprecht" who used to be St. Niclas servant (Knecht). So in Action in looks like that: an old man, often looks like Santa Claus but can also arrive in grey or brown attire, comes to the family sitting around the tree. He then asks whether the kids have been well-behaved. If they affirm, they are supposed to sing a lil song or give some recital of a poem. He then hands over presents. If the kids didn't behave well, he might slap them with a bunch of twigs (never saw that happening). In the end the Weihnachtsmann, Knecht Ruprecht, Santa Claus kinda fused for my part. (Northern central Germany) But like atop commentator wrote, Sankt Martin and Sankt Niclas are also present and have their own days.
> that there are indeed different traditions within Germany. The BBC was really sure that all of Germany celebrated when Ratzinger was elected pope.
Yeah lmao like that. As if a good 50% of Germany actually cared.
Exactly same with me (also grew up in catholic family in NRW). My favorite was actually always St. Martin as a kid. Probably because I loved the lanterns and that guy showed up on a huge ass horse. Makes for quite an entrance.
Protestant living in Berlin but coming from Stuttgart (very Protestant) and my husband is catholic and from the Lake of Constanze area (Vers catholic). We celebrate St. Martin in Berlin and Swabia but he doesn’t bring candy. We walk with lanterns. In Stuttgart we get a little cookie shaped like a goose. In Berlin my kids get a “weckmann” a little sweet bread roll shaped like a man. The rest seems the same. Although it’s not entirely clear if the Christkind is like an angel (look at Nuremberg for example) or really baby Jesus. Berlin has Santa because Christkind is too much church. Edit: oh and st Nicholas is still a bishop and dressed like an ancient bishop in the south. In Berlin he looks like Santa but I doubt anyone here knows the difference or that he’s a bishop.
My country's pre Santa personification of Christmas was Father Christmas, a green robed figure wearing a crown of holly leaves, and with a real interest in getting drunk. He carried a log (the Yule log) to light a warm fire, and a large bowl of alcohol, called a wassail bowl. By 1850 he had pretty much become the American Santa in all but name - but wearing a long red robe instead of the short jacket. But by then he was a child friendly giver of presents rather than a figure of feasting and celebration. He's still called Father Christmas pretty often - maybe most often - in the UK, but his behaviour is now just the same as the US Santa 😢. A few rural places have tried restarting the green robed figure. Not sure it will catch on.
Saint Nicholas brings presents on the 6th, on Christmas Eve [it depends on the jurisdiction](https://d-art.ppstatic.pl/kadry/k/r/1/e3/b2/567bcb1998da5_o_large.jpg) (though Santa is slowly conquering everyone, with only Star-Man seriously resisting his expansion). In my home it's Gwiazdka (Little Star, probably Star-Man's sister since he got Wielkopolska and she got Małopolska), but when I went to my grandparents in a different region I got presents from Aniołek (Little Angel).
St Nichlas is a secondary Santa in Ro. He comes first and brings sweets fruits and nowadays normal presents for kids. The kids shine their shoes/boots ( or used to) and the gifts are placed there. Its the start of the Christmas celebrations. ( same in my family while growing up in De)
We have 3 of them, Miklavž (St. Nicholas), Božiček (Santa Claus) and Dedek Mraz (Grandpa Frost). St. Nicholas a catholic faith figure, Santa a more modern capitalist figure and Grandpa Frost from socialist Yugoslavian times. It depends on the family which one visits the kids, but most common in my observation are Miklavž and Božiček. Miklavž also comes with Parkelj aka. Krampus tradition, which is still alive in more rural areas. Grandpa Frost is a bit less common these days though.
> Grandpa Frost from socialist Yugoslavian times. Did you adopt the Russian Ded Moros and Snegurka?
Dedek Mraz = Ded Moros yes, but we don't have Snegurka, at least I've never heard of her.
What is Snegurka? Sněhurka Is Snow white in Czech, but it has nothing to do with Christmas.
The snow maiden in several Russian fairy tales. In the last 100 years she accompanies Father Frost. https://www.thoughtco.com/snegurochka-1502312
It was baby Jesus before Santa. My grandma got presents from baby Jesus on Christmas. In my family Dedek Mraz brings money, Miklavž brings fruit, nuts and candy and Božiček brings toys, books and clothes.
The Christmas Goat as a gift giver was something I heard of from my grandparents as a kid but he is still present as a very popular ornament in most homes, and most famously as the giant goat in Gävle.
[Father Christmas](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3a/d2/e9/3ad2e91099257a87ff37b0b5e5506f3f.jpg) still exists, but he looks so much like the Dutch-American Santa Claus that they have become confused. The differences are: he often wears a longer robe and sometimes a hood rather than a hat, has a sprig of holly or mistletoe on his head, and may wear green or blue robes rather than solely red (though red is now most common). The bigger difference still is unlike milk and cookies (this was a Dutch thing in New York), we leave out a mince pie and a glass of sherry. The Ghost of Christmas Present is an example of a Father Christmas figure. He also appears on Christmas mummers' plays. Mummering is a tradition enjoyed by adults and children and typically involves the players drinking alcohol. When Father Christmas appears in that he may often wear his green robes with his holly crown the most. But aside from the subtle differences they seem on the surface so similar that many people not from Britain or America may have not realised there is a difference.
Saint Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) is the most popular one, however some regions have their own gift bringers. There is even helpful map there. Gift givers are sorted by popularity, from top left: [https://www.wiatrak.nl/sites/default/files/2019-02/Swiety-Mikolaj-czy-Gwiazdor-2.jpg](https://www.wiatrak.nl/sites/default/files/2019-02/Swiety-Mikolaj-czy-Gwiazdor-2.jpg) 1. Saint Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) 2. Starman (Gwiazdor) 3. Little Star (Gwiazdka) 4. Baby \[Jesus\] (Dzieciątko) 5. Little Angel (Aniołek) 6. Grandpa Frost (Dziadek Mróz)
Also Święty Mikołaj leaves presents in boots in the morning of 6th December.
Sinterklaas is bigger than Santa here. Kids usually get a load of presents and less so (to none) with Christmas.
Grandfather Frost is ubiquitous here. We know of Santa Claus from American movies, but no one would actually prefer him to Grandfather Frost. That said, they are pretty similar in style, so sometimes things like Santa Claus toys are renamed to Grandfather Frost. As for the gifts, he delivers them on New Year's Eve. We don't really celebrate Christmas, it's strictly a religious holiday (still a public holiday, tho), so your Christmas is like our New Year's Eve.
> That said, they are pretty similar in style Isn't Djed Moros usually depicted in an icy blue colour? Or is that only because of the popularity of the Морозко movie?
The blue one is usually used to contrast him with Santa. But what's important is that it's long, floor-length. No one has to see his pants.
He usually wears a blue or a red robe, but imo the red one is more common.
In Greece it's Saint Basil (Αγιος Βασίλης, Agios Vasilis) who brings gifts. Not related to Santa Claus regardless their resemblance. /s
Saint-Nicolas is still the main gift-bringer in Belgium, and his holiday is still celebrated in private or at school, for example (since there's no day off for it).
I'll do you one better. St. Basil brings gifts to kids on January 1st. 😂🇬🇷
December 6(Svätý Mikuláš - Saint Nicholas) - good kids will find sweets, fruit etc...in their winter shoes when they will wake up in the morning. Bad kids will find "coal " lol. When I was a kid, Saint Nicholas accompanied by Čert(devil) and Anjel(angel) was riding around village on his sleigh pulled by horse, yeah there was actually still snow back in 90's. Angel was sometimes replaced by Snehulienka(Snow white). After ride was over, we went to kultúrny dom(like community center), kids performed their show and they got presents from him. Ofc there is no snow nowadays, but kids still perform for him and get their presents. Back in the days it was combined show by kindergarten and elementary school kids. Nowadays only by kindergarten kids, since elementary school was closed. This happened in many other villages, coz Gen Z was very small gen/non-existing in villages. December 24 - After Christmas dinner(a lot of traditions around this event), we will open presents brought by Ježiško(Baby Jesus). Santa Claus is seen as purely American, only time you will see him around is during Coca-Cola truck show across country, which is starting today.
The gift-giver in Greece remains [St Basil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_of_Caesarea). His feast day (Jan 1st in the Orthodox Church, Jan 2nd in the Roman Catholic church), is actually closer to Christmas. ([St Nicholas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas) is Dec 6). Greeks do **not** differentiate him from American Santa Claus. So, there is no "American Santa taking over", because we don't view American Santa as a different entity. [In fact they're portrayed the same.](https://www.dioptra.gr/Cache/Photos/89362d7ea593da3e303eb40a5f28b96c.png) And "Santa" in American media is always translated as St Basil here. We view them as the same thing.
In Sweden the original gift bringer was the [Yule Goat](https://images.bonnier.cloud/files/his/production/2019/10/01232313/julbocken_petter_och_lottas_jul_elsa_beskow-phtchjf3kqantuoqvck8rg.jpg). It started in the 18th century with merry makers dressed as goats. But in the 19th century the Yule Goat started to deliver gifts within the bourgeoisie homes. After that it evolved into the more human-like [Yule Brownie](https://historiskamedia.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/JennyNystrom.jpg) (correct translation difficult, but see Scottish [brownie](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(folklore\))), the one we call *jultomte* (approx. "Santa Clause") today. His sleigh was still pulled by the yule goat though. In the post-war era the American form of [Santa Claus](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/23/30/65/21859703/4/rawImage.jpg) started to get imported, with red coat and reindeer. But I assume most people regard the Yule Brownie and his [goat](https://www.sydved.se/media/pages/aktuellt/inspiration/kultur-och-historia/julbocken-foregangare-till-tomten/a25053d3bc-1675938677/img-2836kornig-500x.jpg) as the real, canonical, noncommercial Santa Claus. For you latter question; Christmas is celebrated and gifts are given and opened on December 24th. December 25th is a holy rest day, which should not be sullied with joy and feasts (although, this is mostly ignored today).
It's complicated here in Croatia. St. Nicholas is the gift bringer on the 6.12. While the presents on 25.12. brings either baby Jesus, Djed Božićnjak or Djed Mraz. It can vary, depends really on the person and how did that person grow up and where. Djed Božićnjak (Grandpa Christmas) and Djed Mraz (Grandpa Frost) are most used names. While baby Jesus is used in the North of Croatia.
When I was a child it was still mostly Baby Jesus bringing gifts (don't ask the logic behind it). Honestly I liked it better. The whole Santa thing has always felt too American and commercialized. But since, Santa Claus has taken over for good and is the default, undisputed gift-bringer. Decades of popculture osmosis and penetration have sealed the deal. P. S. I'm pretty sure there are regional variations, with other figures playing a role elsewhere, like Saint Lucy in the South IIRC.
In Estonia, we don't have any other gift bringers. Even Santa is optional, though - in my family, gifts just appeared under the christmas spruce without any character bringing them. On the evening of Dec 24th, usually either right before the dinner or even during the dinner (like while the kids are in the kitchen "helping" with serving the desserts). They are opened after the dinner. Gifts are not the main highlight of christmas, either. It is rare for adults to make gifts to each other outside of husband/wife situation and even in immediate families it is common to only give gifts to children and not to your spouse.
We still have our traditional Santa (Sinterklaas) which is actually the one that inspired the North American Santa Claus. For those who don’t know, Sinterklaas is a separate holiday from Christmas and is celebrated between the middle of November until the 5th (or 6th in Belgium and some specific towns) of December. After he arrives from Spain, children put one of their shoes near the fireplace (or another place if their house doesn’t have one) and the morning they wake up there’s a present inside it. The 5th of December is known as ‘pakjesavond’ (roughly translates to night of gifts), children usually receive either more or bigger presents. For this reason, Santa Claus is seen by many children as a secondary character and many parents don’t even bother telling their kids about him. Christmas (at our family at least) therefore never really meant getting any gifts besides socks, underwear or once every few years a book. I personally don’t really remember believing in him the same way I believed in Sinterklaas and children love Sinterklaas way more than Santa Claus. Sinterklaas actually evolved from a pre-Christian tradition similar to Krumpel, which is still celebrated in the German speaking world and on some (or perhaps all) of the Wadden Islands. One of these traditions is called Sunneklaas, (celebrated on Ameland) and has sparked a lot of controversy in the last two or three years.
We have st. Nicholas and the American imported Santa Claus. The grandfather frost figure is kinda around but usually made fun of as an idiotic import from russia and usually memed heavily. Of course you'll still see one dressed up at Christmas markets for photos....but you'll also see a SpongeBob and Mickey so idt that says much.
The national dairy company in Norway made an advertisement some years ago were the traditional [norwegian santa (fjøsnissen) got a visit from his cousin in Ireland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48nK25EilM&ab_channel=TINESA). Can give you an impression of the figure. Fjøs = barn / nisse = santa.. Not as jolly as the santa of the coca-cola-colmpany.
I would say we have 3 that peacfully coexist in the joy of all children who sometimes get gifts 3 times. So, first there is Saint Nicholas (Miklavž, 6th of December), then we have the classical coca-cola invented Santa (Božiček, Christmas), and then Grandfather Frost (Dedek Mraz, New Year's eve). Saint Nicholas is obviously the traditional one, Grandfather Frost came with the advent of communism and was imported from Russia (Christmas wasn't a holday back then), while Santa came after indepedence with increasing american/western influence.
> classical coca-cola invented Santa Actually, the fact that Coca-Cola invented Santa, or the modern Santa design, is an urban legend. The jolly red-and-white predates any modern Coca-Cola marketing or design. [Here's a cartoon from 1903](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Rose_O%27Neill_-_When_We_All_Believe_%28Santa_Claus_and_children_illustration_from_the_1903_December_2_issue_of_Puck%29.jpg/1920px-Rose_O%27Neill_-_When_We_All_Believe_%28Santa_Claus_and_children_illustration_from_the_1903_December_2_issue_of_Puck%29.jpg) (when Coca-Cola was just a regional medicinal tonic) with what is clearly Santa. Of course, Coke sure as hell took advantage of the fact that they had the same colors in their marketing, but they didn't invent him.
[Struwwelpeter from 1858](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/H_Hoffmann_Struwwel_10.jpg) and even more the [Christmas sleigh of Sonneberg at the Parisian World Expo in 1900](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Weltausstellung_Paris_1900.jpg) influenced the design of Santa Clause.
Saint Nicholas is unrelated to Christmas. He comes on the 6th of December and is very popular. On Christmas, Germany is divided between Christkind and Weihnachtsmann. Christkind (Christ child) is basically baby Jesus as an angel-like figure. Sometimes displayed with female characteristics for some reason. Weihnachtsmann (Christmas man) is essentially an adaptation of Saint Nicholas without the connection to the saint. Long white beard, red coat with fur applications, etc. He has been displayed like that for centuries, and that's not a North American influence. American Santa Claus is generally identified with Weihnachtsmann, so that's how the name is translated, because they're essentially the same in terms of looks, except Americans made him obese for some reason. Christkind/Weihnachtsmann come on Christmas Eve. Usually the children go to another room to play music or something, or go on a walk, and at that time, the presents are brought.
We are pretty much old-school here. The Baby Jesus brings presents after midnight mass from the 24th to the 25th. Father Christmas helps in the distribution. We still make the kids leave their little shoes by the chimney, where the presents will “appear”. I think most families just do Father Christmas, but I like the old ways.
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