SANTA CLAUS IN MANY LANDS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2693, 24 December 1909, Page 3 (Supplement)

SANTA CLAUS IN MANY LANDS.

Tlie modern English Santa Claus is a delightful personage. He is a moderately well-groomed old man, short as to stature and somewhat burly. Indeed, he i<- so stout that it is the greatest mystery to l.ttle children how he manages to pass down •chimneys and through keyholes. Benevolence is written in large letters upon his intellectual brow. His whole appearance is romantic and strangely picturesqueHis cloak, which reaches to his feet, i R of white fur. His hat, which is of fur too, is pointed, and covered with snow. On his shoulder he bears a. Christmas-tree heavy with toys and sweets. In his hanus he carries many more good things. It seems strange that this dear, kind old man owes his origin to a mere boy. ie original Santa Claus was the wonderful boy Bishop of Myra, the, brave St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, whose festival fell on December 5The Santa Claus of to-day, like the Christmas-tree, -was invented in Germany—the land of sentiment ; romance, melody and love of children. Every child in Germany, from tbe richest to the poorest, has his or her little or large Christmas-tree. But there is many a little mite in England who ha s never clapped his or her eyes, upon one. Germany’s Santa Claus, as regards appearances, is very different from his English cousin. He i s not stout. He has a heavy- grey moustache, and wears spectacles and a flat cap. And, whilst ne carries no Christmas-tree, there is a large basket slung round his neck full of toy s and good things to eat.

It is also worthy of mention that German children do not hang up their stockings on Christinas Eve as English, children do. They are wiser: they hang up their father’s big jack-boots instead.

In Finland, Santa Claus is very properly represented dashing along over snow-clad heights in a four-in-hand of galloping reindeer. Tbe little Finns are told that the generous and genial old gentleman comes from an unknown island in. the Arctic Seas. Of course, he is very like their cwn father —• small, sturdy and beardless. After ho has distributed tbe little Finns’ presents, he is supposed to pas s on into Russia. He grows a foot or more in height on tbe way, and develops a thick square-set beard, and finally appears in the dismal southern country in an enormous fur coat and a Russian cap.

In Austria the feast of Santa Claus is celebrated on tbe day dedicated to St. Nicholas, namely, December 5. The house door is suddenly flung open, and in marches a boy dressed in whit© robes, with a mitre on his head and a sceptre in hi s hand. He is followed by* a troop of “angels’ 5 who are dressed in the deepest black. The little bishop takes a seat, and the children of the house are brought before him and examined by him in their catechism. Those who answer his questions to his satisfaction receive presents from tbe angels, but those who do not do so are pinched and tormented by tbe “imps.” It was not till after tbe FrancoGerman war of 1870 that Santa Claus found a footing in France. A R in Italy, in the “gav country” he takes the ~ form of a* laughing, dancing: Punchinello. He wears low shoes, cap and bells, and rich ribbons on his knees; and he has a hump on his back. He carries his presents in a large basket. , In China he i R a tea tracer, and nn» presents are distributed from two ordinary flat Chinese trays slung across his shoulders on a bainooo. but it ison New Year’s Day, instead of on. Christma ß Dav, that he goes bis round in that great heathen country. NewYear’s Day is the day of days to the yellow man. The little Japs call their Santa Claus Hotei. Hotel, like St. Nicholas, was a famous Japanese priest, who was verv fond of children 3 and good to them. . In America, and throughout the bntish Empire, Santa Claus is represented, as in the Motherland.