Santa Claus and Hoteiosho: These characters bring gifts to children at Christmas

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Christmas is not celebrated the same way everywhere, and gifts are not brought everywhere by the same characters. In America, Santa Claus comes, in Japan it is Hoteiosho, in Russia it is Santa Claus.

The Buddhist monk Hoteiosho has a large belly, carries a large sack on his back, and has eyes at the back of his head. This means kids can see everything they do. The most important festival in Japan is not Christmas, but New Year. The entire house is then thoroughly cleaned and decorated for the next day.

Witch la Befana brings gifts to children in some parts of Italy on Epiphany night, which connects January 5 to January 6. The witch has to go from house to house and stop by all the children to look for the baby Jesus. She is depicted as an old, ugly but good-natured witch.

Santa Claus brings gifts on December 24, but only to children who have been good throughout the year. While Santa Claus comes to us with his little mess on December 6th, Santa Claus also flies from house to house on his reindeer sleigh. He then climbs in through the chimney, puts the presents under the Christmas tree, takes the milk and cookies the children have provided him, and runs away. So he is more comparable to our Christ child.

The figure of Father Frost comes from Slavic mythology and represents the embodiment of winter. He wears a long red, blue or white coat and is often accompanied by his granddaughter Snegurochka, the symbol of snow. The father doesn’t come at Christmas, but he organizes New Year’s parties for the children.

The Julbock tradition is said to date back to the 11th century. Since then the tradition has changed significantly. Originally, a half-man, half-goat figure was said to be paraded through the streets by St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas could control the devil.

Later in the 17th century, young men are said to dress up as Christmas goats, tell jokes and ask for candy. It’s a lot like Halloween. However, the tradition did not develop in this direction. The billy goat became the symbol of the gift bringer. Fathers dressed accordingly and gave gifts to the whole family. Today this figure can only be seen as a decoration in store windows or on Christmas trees. In major cities, huge versions of Christmas money are made from straw and red ribbons during the Christmas season.

There are 13 little trolls who travel around Iceland to deliver gifts to all the children. They are the children of the troll woman Grýla and live in a cave in the mountains all year round. These Christmas trolls, with funny names like wooden spoon licker, window peeper or door banger, emerge from their caves between December 12th and 24th to bring sweets or small gifts. The children took their shoes outside the previous evening and put some food into the trolls’ shoes. If you are unlucky, the next morning you will find only an old potato in your shoe instead of a gift.

In Spain, children have to wait a little more patiently for their gifts. These were brought only on January 6 by the three kings, the Reyes Magos. In Argentina, the three wise men bring gifts on Epiphany.

Source : Blick

Malan

I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.