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Odin, with his white hair and beard, flying overhead
in the sky with a noisy host is similar to Santa Claus flying through the night
sky with his herd of reindeer who clattered noisily upon landing, at least in
the imagination. There is no explicit modern explanation tying Santa Claus to
Odin, but given that Jolly Old Saint Nick or just plain old Santa Claus is not part of the original story of the birth
of Jesus, one wonders where he got into the Christmas Season celebrations.
Curiously enough, one of the areas
this character hailed from is Odenwald.
Saint
Nicholas and Santa Claus are thought of as benign and loveable symbols. Saint Nicholas was the forerunner of Santa Claus.
In some countries he had a side-kick called the Krampus, a sinister looking creature who carried a bundle
of bound branches or twigs to thrash children who were "wicked" or greedy.
Another
character more like the Krampus, also called the Belsnickle, appeared shortly
before Christmas and would beat naughty children so they would learn to behave by the next Christmas time.
As bright and smiling as Saint
Nicholas was, Krampus was the exact opposite, dark and grievous. You could say they were as different as night and day or
God and Satan. Nevertheless, they were a team for quite a long time.
The modern-day Santa and his team of reindeer flying across the sky could also be pictured
as an old man with snow white hair like Oden and his host of magical animals (Odin's howling host).
Gruss vom Krampus
St. Nick Leads Devilish Companions
The Origen of Krampus
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Belsnickle: "is a crotchety, fur-clad Christmas gift-bringer figure
in the folklore of the Palintinate region of southwestern Germany along the Rhine, the Saarland, and the Odenwald area of
Baden-Württemberg." Belsnickle
might seem to be more like the "wild man" type, being clad in rags like a begger or hobo and described as fur-clad
from head to foot, looking very angry, much grimmer than Santa. If you think about it, Belsnickle may represent a hairy
man dressed all in rags. Some stories describe him as wearing a mask and carrying a whip, a far cry from loveable Santa Claus. Belsnickle is more like
Black Peter, also called Schwarte Piet, than jolly old Saint Nick. Schwarte Piet is the punishing half of the Saint
Nicholas duo. Like Schwarte Piet, Belsnickle is described as being especially short in stature, and like Schwarte Piet, and
punishing bad children, switching them with a bundle of twigs or sticks.
In some versions of this legend, children
can tell Belsnickle is coming for them when they hear his bells jingling in the darkness, coming closer and closer.
"Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'"? Are those Santa's sleigh bells or something far worse? Belsnickle, although being linked to Saint
Nicholas, seems a more likely candidate to be compared to pagan Germanic and Norse types connected to legends of Odin
because he isn't a thoroughly nice man.
The word mischief no longer conveys the serious harm these Germanic figures reputedly
caused people. In a sense, they are all variations on the theme of Odin.
Zwarte Piet
Father Christmas
The Belsnickle is often described as a forerunner of Santa Claus,
but there is a great wealth of background information about The Belsnickle and his Belsnicklers, published as recently at
the 1800s in newspapers in the United States. These newspaper aricles describe varied customs and aspects of the Belsnickle
that obviously reach far back to old Germanic customs. There is some bewailing of the fact the The Belsnickle was no longer
the character that he once was in the old days. The Belsnickle was thought of as a "mischievous hobgoblin". His costume was pictured as a
long patched coat with jingle bells sewn along the hemline of his coat. Men who dressed up as Belsnicklers dressed up in one-piece
costumes like clowns sometimes wear with stripes and/or patches, or like harlequins. They also had masks to
disguise their identity. Many of the aspects of The Belsnickle are the same a mummers and Halloween costumes In his hobgoblin form, The Belsnickle
was usually invisible in a family's house, although his mysterious knocks might be heard. The Belsnickle had a violent aspect. After
the night visit of The Belsnickle, there was frequently a swath of destruction in a town to be seen the next day.
Belsnickel
The Belsnickel and Rupert
Appalachian Belsnickels
The Saint Nick figure is more commonly paired with an
opposite, punishing type than as a single, purely good figure in folklore. It seems that, at least to people of yore,
this was a more balanced view of how things should be. Two opposites united, like life and death or day and night, undoubtedly
seemed more realistic than a single, completely benevolent giver of gifts. Life was viewed as far more punishing
and cruel that we view it today, and children were taught to accept the bitter with the sweet. An old song called Santa Claus Land reflects
the modern point of view, at least on the surface: "Santa Claus Land, Santa Claus Land How
would you like to go To a beautiful forest with wonderful trees Where all sorts of sugar plums grow." In acuality, the lyrics have hints of death in the old Norse tradition. People
have always been concerned with life and death and what becomes of the individual after death. Religion and mythology explain
these topics. In Norse mythology, Odin is in charge of the warriors who die on the batttlefield. His angels, the Valkyrie,
bring the warriors' souls to him. "The analogous god of the dead in Irish myth is Donn, the eldest son of Midir
the Proud and his abode was Tech Duinn (House of Donn) on an island off the southwest coast of Ireland where he assembles
the dead before they set off westward to the Otherworld" (Ellis, 120-121).
Jack Frost and Old Man Winter, are mythical characters whose connection to
the celebration of Christmas and winter festivals that predate Christianity is more tenuous but they have many similar characteristics.
The Origin of Jack Frost
Old Man Winter may be an alternative older name for Father Christmas and has been identified with the Old English god Woden.
"An Old Man's Winter Night" poem by Robert Frost
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