Christmas is not celebrated in the same way everywhere and gifts are not brought by the same character. Santa Claus in America, Hoteiosho in Japan and Frost in Russia.
Hoteiosho in Japan
The Buddhist monk Hoteiosho has a large belly, carries a large sack on his back, and has eyes on the back of his head. With it, he can see everything the kids are doing. The most important festival in Japan is New Year, not Christmas. Then the whole house is thoroughly cleaned and decorated for the next day.
La Befana in Italy
The witch la Befana brings gifts to children in parts of Italy on the night of Epiphany, January 5-6. The witch needs to go from house to house and stop by all the children in search of baby Jesus. She is depicted as an old, ugly but good-natured witch.
Santa Claus in America
Santa brings presents on December 24, but only to the good guys throughout the year. Santa Claus arrives with Schmutzli on December 6, while Santa Claus flies from house to house in a reindeer sleigh. Then he goes down the chimney, puts the presents under the Christmas tree, takes the milk and biscuits that the children gave him, and sets off. Therefore, it is more comparable to our type of Christ.
Santa Claus in Russia
The character of Don Baba comes from Slavic mythology and represents the incarnation of winter. He wears a long red, blue or white coat and is on the move with his granddaughter Snegurochka, who is often the personification of snow. Santa doesn’t come at Christmas, but he throws New Year’s parties for the kids.
Julbock in Sweden
The Yule goat tradition is said to date back to the 11th century. The tradition has changed a lot since then. Originally a half-human half-goat figure, St. It is said that he was carried around the streets by Nicholas. Saint Nicholas could control the devil.
Later in the 17th century, it is said that young men dressed as Julbock, made jokes and asked for candy. Sounds like Halloween. But the tradition did not develop in this direction. Teke became the symbol of the gift giver. The fathers dressed accordingly and gave gifts to the whole family. Today the figure can only be seen as a decoration in shop windows or on Christmas trees. In major cities, huge versions of the Yule Goat are made from straw and red ribbons during the Christmas season.
13 trolls in Iceland
13 little trolls roam Iceland to distribute gifts to all the children. They are the children of the troll woman Grýla and live all year in a cave in the mountains. With funny names like wooden spoon licker, window glitcher or door slam, these Christmas trolls come out of their caves from December 12-24 to bring sweets or small gifts. The kids take their shoes out the night before and put something to eat in the trolls’ shoes. Because if you’re unlucky, the next morning you’ll find just an old potato in your shoe instead of a gift.
Reyes Magos in Spain
In Spain, children have to wait a little longer for their presents. These were not brought by the Three Kings Reyes Magos until January 6th. In Argentina, three wise men bring gifts at Epiphany.