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Krótka historia o Mikołaju
Poziom:
Temat: Kultura i obyczaje
On the 24th of December every year children
around the world put out milk and cookies
in the hopes of luring a magic fat man into
their home who will leave presents behind
before sneaking into the house next door.
How did such an odd tradition begin?
You can pretty much blame Northern Europe,
where the winter weather is cold and dark
and depressing.
And the coldest and darkest and depressingest
day is the Solstice on December 21st or 22nd
when the sun only gives a few hours of weak
light if any at all.
These sun-deprived people invented magical
characters to visit them and lighten the mood
by bringing gifts and celebrations.
These characters ranged from elves to Gods
to goats, but there are two of particular
interest to the modern story.
The first is St Nick, in The Netherlands.
St Nick is thin and perhaps a bit stern, but
still brings presents to children early in
December. He dresses like a bishop in red
and white with a staff and rides on a horse
named Amerigo, for whom Dutch children are
encouraged to leave out a carrot. St Nick
is called Sinterklaas in Dutch.
The second character is Father Christmas from
England. Father Christmas is a big, jolly
pagan dressed in green with a holly wreath
on his head.
Traditionally he is less concerned with children
and gifts than he is with food and wine and
celebration and is perhaps best known for
being one of the three spirits of Christmas
who terrorize Scrooge.
When Europeans settled the Colonies St Nick
and Father Christmas and the other characters
began to mix together.
This explains why the US version has so many
names. Santa Claus is the Americanization
of Sinterklaas, but he's also called St Nick
and Father Christmas and Kris Kringle which
comes from Germany.
In the old world these were different characters,
but in the new world over time they evolved
into one which you can see happening in older
stories.
For example, the poem, "The Night Before Christmas"
came out in 1823 in New York which established
that Santa lands on the roof and fills stocking
with toys.
But this Santa is an elf, much like those
from the Nordic Countries. He's very small
and drives a miniature sleigh with tiny reindeer
-- which makes a lot more sense for someone
whose job description includes fitting down
chimneys.
Also, the word, 'Santa' appears nowhere in
the poem. The original title is 'A visit from
St Nick'.
As the 1800s continued a fat, human looking
immortal Santa evolved into the standard among
American authors. It was in the states that
he gained both his elvish workforce and a
wife.
By about 1900 Santa had developed his current
iconic style. It should be noted that, contrary
to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn't change
his colors to their corporate scheme but instead
used the conveniently red-and-white Santa
in 1931 to help sell more soda during their
off season.
Though Coke didn't create him their omni-present
ads probably did brand this as the One True
Santa in the minds of millions helping spread
him round the world to many cultures with
no traditions of winter gift-givers.
This American Santa in-turn influenced his
relations in Northern Europe to become more
like him, although not always to the pleasure
of the locals.
In particular, the British Father Christmas
has been completely assimilated into the Santa
collective to the point where many Britons
don't realize they were ever separate.
In the Netherlands, however, St Nick is still
successfully holding his own as a distinct
character.
The one last detail about modern Santa that's
still up for debate, at least between countries,
is where exactly he lives.
In the late 1800s his home was the magnetic
north pole centered under the aurora borealis.
While this would be the most diplomatic option
for Santa Magnetic North has since moved off
the Polar Ice Sheet and into the Ocean, a
rather inconvenient place to set up a toy
factory.
So Canada claims his workshop is somewhere
in Nunavut and has given Santa a post code
and -- no joke -- official Canadian citizenship.
The American response is that the North Pole
doesn't refer to the obviously inhospitable
sheet of non-domestic ice but rather to the
little town of North Pole, Alaska.
Denmark claims he lives in their former colony
of Greenland. And Greenland, not surprisingly,
agrees.
The Nordic countries quarrel about his exact
location but Finland is the clear winner of
this argument with his workshop in Rovaniemi
on the Arctic Circle.
For the evidence inclined, you can actually
go visit Santa there and see the elves, toys,
reindeer and post office, which makes Finland's
claim pretty strong. Santa is even available
during the off season.
But, no matter where he might be based, Santa
still manages to get round the world in just
one night to deliver all those presents...
and eat all those cookies.
