According to tradition, on Christmas Eve children leave their shoes by the fireplace filled with carrots and treats for Père Noël's donkey, Gui (French for "Mistletoe") before they go to bed. Père Noël takes the offerings and, if the child has been good, leaves presents in their place.
St. Nicholas historically travels with his donkey. For this reason, little children must also bring food for the donkey (hay, grain or carrots). However, Saint Nicholas and his donkey are not the only ones to go around the houses. , They are also accompanied by the scary Père Fouettard (whip father.)
🎄Eastern France: In eastern France, Santa kept his presents in baskets carried by a donkey. 🎄Italy: In Italy, Santa was often accompanied by a donkey. The image of Santa Claus riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer was popularized by the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas.
✨ In Early European Folklore Before the modern image of Santa emerged, Saint Nicholas was often depicted riding a white horse. In countries like the Netherlands, "Sinterklaas" would arrive on his noble steed, delivering gifts to children.
"Santa Claus and the Donkey that wanted to be Santa" - a Christmas bedtime story
How many animals does Santa have?
Santa has a total of nine reindeer. Their names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph. Donner's name has variously appeared as Donder and Dunder, while Blitzen is sometimes Blixem.
Reindeer weren't always Santa's animal of choice. Before the reindeer, there were other more common animals such as goats, donkeys, and horses… Everyone knows that Santa Claus flies all over the world in his sleigh pulled by reindeer, delivering gifts to good little girls and boys.
Lapland, encompassing Finland, Sweden, Norway and northern Russia is home to the Sami people as well as Santa in Finnish Lapland. So Santa must be able to not only speak Finnish but possibly Norwegian, Swedish and Russian. Santa is also linked to the Norse god Odin.
So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.
What's the difference between Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus?
Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message. Santa Claus encourages consumption; St. Nicholas encourages compassion.
Share: It was no accident that Father Christmas chose reindeer to pull his sleigh - Rudolph was the only animal for the job. Since the release of Clement Clark Moore's poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas in 1823, reindeer have been known as Santa's sleigh pullers.
The Sinterklaas feast is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on St. Nicholas' Eve (5 December) in the Netherlands and on the morning of Saint Nicholas Day (6 December) in Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany, and northern France (French Flanders, Lorraine, Alsace and Artois).
German immigrants brought Santa Claus figurines to Ohio in the 1800s and once like the blue Santa were made locally. The director of the American Toy Marvel Museum says the blue color was traditional for the German version of St. Nicholas.
Morin said there's no magic age or single right way for when parents need to reveal the truth. She said the truth should depend on the parent's values and what they want their child to learn.
Santa Claus' origins date back to about 280 A.D. when St. Nicholas was born, the History Channel reports. This would make Santa approximately 1,744 years old today.
Rudolph's nose is red because it is richly supplied with red blood cells, comprises a highly dense microcirculation, and is anatomically and physiologically adapted for reindeer to carry out their flying duties for Santa Claus.
But of course it's his job to move the whole world to wonder about such things, so he won't give up now. Santa Claus will live forever – or at least as long as children believe in him.
Santa Claus's reindeer are females. Here's why: Both male and female reindeer have antlers, which they shed and regrow each year. But bucks and does shed their antlers at different seasons. Doe reindeer keep their antlers through the winter, shedding them only when their calves are born in May.
What do we know about how, why and when children stop believing in Santa? The average age that children stop believing in Santa is eight. There's a huge amount of variation though — some kids will report it around four or five, some are closer to 12 or 13. So the average is eight, but each child's journey is different.
Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excepting Hong Kong and Macau), the Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, the Sahrawi Republic, ...
On 6 December 343, Saint Nicholas died but his miracles continued. Eventually, the man was replaced by the myth of Santa Claus – if he even existed at all. Saint Nicholas was dead, to begin with. On 6 December 343, to be precise, in Myra, in present-day Turkey.
