Santa’s helpers: Who delivers Christmas presents in other cultures?

Santa Claus is coming to town, says a famous Christmas carol. However, around the world, jolly St. Nick isn’t the only gift-giver during the holiday season.

In the Netherlands, from where the Santa Claus tradition supposedly was exported to the United States, Sinterklaas is a bit different from his American counterpart.

Sinterklaas, true to the origins of St. Nicholas of Myra, is dressed up as a Catholic bishop and instead of arriving with a sleigh from the North Pole, he travels on a steamship from Spain.

In Russia and other Slavic cultures, Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) is the equivalent of Santa Claus. He’s usually portrayed as wearing a long blue winter cloak, a walking stick, and riding a troika with his granddaughter, who assists him.

During the USSR, Ded Moroz was first banned along with other religious celebrations, but eventually reinstated giving out “New year gifts”, a tradition that persists today in the Russian Federation.

Turkey, a Muslim-majority nation, followed the example of the former Soviet Union with the adoption of the entirely secular figure known as Noel Baba.

Noel Baba, just as his Russian counterparts, delivers New Year presents under “New Year trees”. Quite curious, given that the original St. Nicholas originated in present-day Turkey.

Traditionally, in Italy, gifts are handed out by a witch-like old lady known as Befana, who goes riding on her broomstick on the night of January 5 to deliver presents.

Interesting enough, nobody is certain about the origin of Befana. Many people, including the Brothers Grimm, speculate that she originated from some sort of pre-Christian celebration of pagan origin that survived through syncretism.

Spanish children, just like Italy, get their Christmas presents in early January. This time, they delivered on January 6 by the Magi, the three wise men from the East.

All over Spain, on January 5, children gather to see the cavalcade of the magi, filled with all sorts of circus-like spectacles and starring the three wise men throwing candy at the onlookers.

However, tradition varies all over the Iberian Peninsula. In Basque Country, for example, gifts are given to children on Christmas Eve by a gentle giant known as the Olentzero.

According to Basque tradition, Olentzero, a Basque charcoal burner dressed in traditional peasant clothes, who enjoys his pipe and good wine delivers sweets. In some areas of Northern Spain, children make a dummy representing the Olentzero on the street, singing carols and asking for sweets from bystanders, not unlike Halloween!

The Olentzero isn’t the only peculiar tradition born from present-day Spain. In Barcelona and all over Catalonia, their equivalent of Santa Claus is a bit wooden: The Tió de Nadal, literally meaning Yule Log.

According to Catalonian tradition, children have to “feed” and take care of the log from the Day of the Immaculate Conception until Christmas Eve, in which they have to beat the Yule Log with sticks until it defecates the Christmas presents.

Finally, some countries prefer asking for their presents from Jesus Christ. The children of southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Czechia ask to Baby Jesus for gifts.

Interesting enough, this tradition has also extended to South America, where it is popular in southern Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

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