Imaginative play, in which children know that Santa Claus is only a character in a story but pretend that he is real, just like they pretend that superheroes or other fictional characters are real, is widely believed to be valuable. [126], Reverend Paul Nedergaard, a clergyman in Copenhagen, Denmark, attracted controversy in 1958 when he declared Santa to be a "pagan goblin" ("en hedensk trold" in Danish) after Santa's image was used on the annual Christmas stamp ("julemærke") for a Danish children's welfare organization. [141], Psychologists generally differentiate between telling fictional stories that feature Santa Claus and actively deceiving a child into believing that Santa Claus is real. 2008 was officially declared the Year of Santa Claus in the country. [131][132] The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. [78], Other Santa letter processing information, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, include:[78], Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus, and since 1982 over 13,000 Canadian postal workers have volunteered to write responses. [94][95][96][97] Parents can order a personalized "Santa letter" to be sent to their child, often with a North Pole postmark. In December 2000, the Weather Channel built upon these local efforts to provide a national Christmas Eve "Santa tracking" effort, called "SantaWatch" in cooperation with NASA, the International Space Station, and Silicon Valley-based new multimedia firm Dreamtime Holdings. Countries whose national postal operators answer letters to Santa and other end-of-year holiday figures, and the number of letters received in 2006: Germany (500,000), Australia (117,000), Austria (6,000), Bulgaria (500), Canada (1,060,000), Spain (232,000), United States (no figure, as statistics are not kept centrally), Finland (750,000), France (1,220,000), Ireland (100,000), New Zealand (110,000), Portugal (255,000), Poland (3,000), Slovakia (85,000), Sweden (150,000), Switzerland (17,863), Ukraine (5,019), United Kingdom (750,000). [78] Writing letters to Santa Claus has the educational benefits of promoting literacy, computer literacy, and e-mail literacy. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007, with government officials attending. In Denmark, he is said to live in Greenland (near Uummannaq). The facility makes extensive use of task interleaving, literally combining dozens of DC activities (putaway, replenishing, order picking, sleigh loading, cycle counting) in a dynamic queue the DC elves have been on engineered standards and incentives for three years, leading to a 12% gain in productivity. For instance, a Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO (Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization) for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room, and "short broads," with the elves then going on strike. Many of these websites also include email addresses or web forms which claim to allow children to send email to Santa Claus. However, actively deceiving a child into believing in Santa Claus's real-world existence, sometimes even to the extent of fabricating false evidence to convince them despite their growing natural doubts, does not result in imaginative play and can promote credulity in the face of strong evidence against Santa Claus's existence.[142][143]. Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in Lycia. [122] Other nonconformist Christians condemn the materialist focus of contemporary gift giving and see Santa Claus as the symbol of that culture.[123]. [63], There is also a city named North Pole in Alaska where a tourist attraction known as the "Santa Claus House" has been established. And checking it twice; [undue weight? Jonathan Meath: Why Should We Believe in Santa? In the United Kingdom, Father Christmas was historically depicted wearing a green cloak. In Ireland it is popular to leave Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies. this is the children's version of 'santa claus is coming to town' You better not cry The law came to attention when the beer brand Bud Light attempted to use its mascot Spuds MacKenzie in a Santa Claus outfit during a December 1987 ad campaign; Bud Light was forced to stop using the imagery. [citation needed] Elves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century. Norman Corwin's 1938 comic radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas, set entirely in rhyme, details a conspiracy of the Devil Mephistopheles and damned figures of history to defeat the good will among men of Christmas, by sending the Roman emperor Nero to the North Pole to assassinate Santa Claus. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is a 1970 stop motion Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in New York, New York. Amerisearch, Inc., 2002, Jacqueline Simpson, Steve Roud (2000) "English Folklore". I'm telling you why Due to this, some companies offered video calls for a fee using apps such as Zoom where children could talk to an actor dressed up as Santa Claus at the other end. For other uses, see, For the fourth-century Christian saint Santa Claus was based on, see, Legendary character, said to deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve, "Ho ho ho" redirects here. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen). In Canada, malls operated by Oxford Properties established a process by which autistic children could "visit Santa Claus" at the mall without having to contend with crowds. "There Really Is a Santa Claus: The History of St. Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions" p. 39. Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fundraising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. In the cartoon base, Santa has been voiced by several people, including Stan Francis, Mickey Rooney, Ed Asner, John Goodman, and Keith Wickham. He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop at the North Pole, and flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.[3][4]. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future. [79] Children from Great Britain, Poland and Japan are the busiest writers. ", "High Five! In Hungary, St. Nicolaus (Mikulás) comes on the night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning. [149] In other studies, a small fraction of children felt betrayed by their parents, but disappointment was a more common response. [114][115] In the case of Microsoft's website, however, there have been occasional unfortunate results. [120][121], Santa Claus has partial Christian roots in Saint Nicholas, particularly in the high church denominations that practice the veneration of him, in addition to other saints. Did White Rock or The Coca-Cola Company create the modern Santa Claus Advertisement? In other words, children do a great job of scientifically evaluating Santa. Better not pout [79], Children can also receive a letter from Santa through a variety of private agencies and organizations, and on occasion public and private cooperative ventures. As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved in popular culture into a large, heavyset person. [143] Some children have reacted poorly, including rejecting the family's religious beliefs on the grounds that if the parents lied about the unprovable existence of Santa Claus, then they might lie about the unprovable existence of God as well. You better watch out! "I'm not against Santa himself. Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, red hat with white fur, and black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey."[38]. In Finland, Korvatunturi has long been known as Santa's home, and two theme parks, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located near Rovaniemi. Spokesperson Vicki Hyde said, "It would be a hard-hearted parent indeed who frowned upon the innocent joys of our children's cultural heritage. From 2002 to 2014, the program replied to approximately "one million letters or more a year, and in total answered more than 24.7 million letters";[89] as of 2015, it responds to more than 1.5 million letters per year, "in over 30 languages, including Braille answering them all in the language they are written". He receives over 600,000 letters every year from over 198 different countries with Togo being the most recent country added to the list. In 1912 the actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film. After the children have fallen asleep, parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree. [22] During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. For the Muppet television film, see, Germanic paganism, Wodan, and Christianization, Parades, department stores, and shopping malls, William J. Federer (2002). Directed by Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.. With Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, George S. Irving. [26] The flying reindeer could symbolize the use of fly agaric by Sámi shamans.[27]. [79], Through the years, the Finnish Santa Claus (Joulupukki or "Yule Goat") has received over eight million letters. [55], In professional wrestling, on the 23 December 2019 edition of Monday Night Raw (filmed on 22 December), independent wrestler Bear Bronson dressed up as Santa Claus to win the WWE 24/7 Championship from Akira Tozawa at Columbus Circle in New York during a sightseeing trip. It contained Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh, bringing rewards to children. [65], Actors portraying Santa Claus appear in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. In the past, many local television stations in the United States and Canada likewise claimed they "tracked Santa Claus" in their own metropolitan areas through the stations' meteorologists. All that Santa stuff seems to me like cheap show business," said David König of the Creative Copywriters Club, pointing out that it is primarily an American and British tradition. "In the 1820s he began to acquire the recognizable trappings: reindeer, sleigh, bells," said Seal in an interview. (What child has ever received a coal for Christmas?) All the same, Santa still receives far more letters than e-mail through the national postal operators, proving that children still write letters. [72], There are schools offering instruction on how to act as Santa Claus. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" where the author described him as an elf.[57]. SANTA CLAUS COMIN TO TOWN KRIS AND TOPPER THROW PILLOW $27.99: A Christmas Story Leg Lamp Pewter Ornament $17.99: Polar Express Pewter & Enamel Ornament $17.99: A Christmas Story Doormat $29.99: Frosty the Snowman Pewter 2-Sided Ornament $17.99: The Original Rankin/Bass Rudolph & Santa Puppets History Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild, became a leading player on the Christmas stage. By the end of the 20th century, the reality of mass mechanized production became more fully accepted by the Western public. Tolerance for Christmas increased after the Restoration but the Puritan opposition to the holiday persisted in New England for almost two centuries. It blossomed into a second career for him, and after appearing in parades and malls,[73] he appeared on the cover of the American monthly Boston Magazine as Santa. In the English and later British colonies of North America, and later in the United States, British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. As part of this, GP will permanently close its Lehigh Valley Dixie cup manufacturing facility in Easton, Pennsylvania, by the end of 2021. Too much cannot be done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating and inclining thought of childhood. Booz Allen Supports NORAD to Track Santa's Approach This Year, December 1, 2010 by Booz Allen Hamilton", "It's Time for e-Sputnik, by Patrick Gorman, December 8, 2010", "When Christmas Was Banned – The early colonies and Christmas", "What a Real War on Christmas Looks Like", "Santa Claus won't be coming to this town, as Chinese officials ban Christmas", How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus: One Theory, "Nast, Thomas: "Merry Old Santa Claus" – Encyclopædia Britannica", "Spuds Can't Promote Beer Dressed as Santa". A letter to Santa is often a child's first experience of correspondence. Božiček (Christmas Man) brings gifts on the eve of 25 December, and Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Frost) brings gifts in the evening of 31 December to be opened on New Years Day. This article is about the 1970 Rankin/Bass television special. [56], The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. Saint Nicolas/Sinterklaas' assistants are called "Zwarte Pieten" (in Dutch) or "Père Fouettard" (in French), so they are not elves. [75], Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Santa grottos were not operating for the 2020 Christmas season. Coca-Cola's Santa Claus: Not The Real Thing! The problem is that, in the process, he has become burdened with some of society's greatest challenges: materialism, corporate greed, and domination by the media. Tags on gifts for children are sometimes signed by their parents "From Santa Claus" before the gifts are laid beneath the tree.[59][60][61]. The Finnish Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi, however the Santa Claus Main Post Office is situated in Rovaniemi precisely at the Arctic circle. [66] The actor dressed up as Santa is usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa. that it associates good behavior with being materially rewarded with presents from Santa Claus, that tricking children into believing falsehoods interferes with the development of, This page was last edited on 10 February 2021, at 05:18. [15] His physical appearance was variable,[16] with one famous image being John Leech's illustration of the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's festive classic A Christmas Carol (1843), as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace. "Lying To Kids About Santa Can Erode Their Trust, Psychologists Say", Materialism with the modern U.S. Christmas, "Without Magic, Santa Would Need 12 Million Employees", An article on the History of Santa Claus from the St. Nicholas Center, The History of Santa Claus and Father Christmas, Research guides for Thomas Nast and Santa Claus at The Morristown & Morris Township Public Library, NJ, "The Knickerbockers Rescue Santa Claus: 'Claas Schlaschenschlinger' from James Kirke Paulding's, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Claus&oldid=1005943440, Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints, Articles with dead external links from December 2010, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2016, Articles lacking reliable references from December 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2012, Articles with disputed statements from December 2016, Articles with minor POV problems from June 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎, Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. [29][better source needed], In 1821, the book A New-year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York. It is also validated by hard evidence: the half-eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning. – discuss]. [79], According to the Universal Postal Union (UPU)'s 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has the oldest Santa letter answering effort by a national postal system. They now knew something that the younger kids did not". Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly. However this has been found to be less efficient than the use of the normal postal service, and this tradition is dying out in modern times, especially with few homes having open fires. Other Christmas Eve Santa Claus rituals in the United States include reading A Visit from St. Nicholas or other tale about Santa Claus, watching a Santa or Christmas-related animated program on television (such as the aforementioned Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and similar specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, among many others), and the singing of Santa Claus songs such as "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and "Up on the House Top".

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