Christmas is the celebration that includes exchanging of gift, merry-making and visiting church. It takes lots of different elements in making Christmas a beautiful celebration of life. We assume Christmas as a feast of yummy pudding and turkey, when Santa comes home hanging up socks full of gifts and we open presents under the Christmas trees and have fun with loved ones.
As per the Byzantine, Greek, and Scandinavian myths and folklore, Santa is some guy that wears a red velvet suit accompanying fake beard and pleases the people with lots of beautiful gifts. In other countries around the world, Santa is a different person and different types of traditions are followed on this beautiful occasion. Know more about Santa of different countries.
The holiday gift donor in Japan is a fat Buddhist monk with eyes behind his head. People say he travels with a red-nosed reindeer and works alone. Christmas in Japan is celebrated with family doing some charity work. On New Year’s Eve, the entire house is cleaned and decorated and family members exchange good lucks and wait for their gifts from the kind monk.
The Santa Claus of Dutch is little old, which appears more like a pope than a happy chubby cute man. He also wears imperial robes and hangs around with a guy called Black Peter (Zwarte Piet). He also distributes gifts to children by moving over roofs by white horse and dropping them down chimneys.
It depends that in which part of Italy you live. The gift donor of the land presents you something on the Epiphany or on Christmas. La Befana is the one that supposedly brings you these holiday gifts. This friendly holiday witch drops candies, figs and other things in socks of good kids and coal or dark candy in socks of bad kids. La Befana is considered to have great love for wino. So, parents leave a glass of wine for her to enjoy this.
At first, it used to be a Christmas goat - the Julbock, who used to deliver gifts and holiday cheers to Swedes. However, they phased out the goat in the last century.
So, the Jultomte was the new mythical figure who is generally small and old, bearded and capped and gives presents to people.
Ded Moroz is also called as Grandfather Frost, which is dressed up more like a Santa and carries an extra magical staff. He doesn’t go anywhere without his granddaughter Sengurochka – Snow Girl. Both of them plan for New Year Eve’s party for kids. It is fun to be around these wonderful Christmas celebrities.