Kriss Kringle is English for German " Christ Child! "

History of St. Nicholas and Christmas

There are a wealth of stories about Nicholas’ life --  many of them emphasize his kindness and generosity. After his death on December 6, a tradition of gift giving was begun in his honor.

St. Nicholas Day is still observed on December 6 in many countries, but in others, America included, the practices associated with the day were combined with Christmas. It seemed natural to many Christians that a holiday celebrating giving would merge with the birth of Christ, the greatest gift ever given to the world. However, the merger happened to the dismay of many Christian leaders who thought that St. Nicholas started to draw too much attention away from Christ. In Germany, parents were encouraged to teach their children that the Christ Child was the gift-giver. The name Kriss Kringle is the English form of the German name for “Christ Child.” Ironically, in America, the name Kriss Kringle came to be used synonymously with St. Nicholas, St. Nick, Santa Claus and even the English name Father Christmas.

In Middle Age art, St. Nicholas was typically depicted as a tall, thin, bearded cleric. So how did he evolve into the Santa that we know today in America? 

Santa’s white beard and red suit are actually quite similar to the bishop’s vestments worn by the Dutch Sinterklaas. But the “chubby and plump” appearance of America’s Santa Claus is generally traced to the 19th-century poem “’Twas The Night Before Christmas” – an attempt to create a more friendly image of Santa and assure children that they had  (in the words of the poem) “nothing to dread.” This was pushed by the then large new age of Department Stores in the cities in the late 1800s.   You might say it was one of the greatest advertising campaigns in history!

Though the modern Santa Claus has devolved into a secularized figure surrounded by fantasy, his image can serve to help us remember the real St. Nicholas, a man who devoted his life to serving God and inspiring others to do the same. The purpose of all saints (all Christians) is to bring glory to God, not to detract from him.

At Christmas, we celebrate that God himself came in bodily form, in real flesh and blood, to earth. However, after he ascended to heaven and his physical presence was no longer on earth, Jesus entrusted believers to be his “body” (1 Corinthians 12:27). By all accounts, St. Nicholas lived a life that helped others to see the reality of Christ. How can we follow his example and help others to see Christ in us (in real flesh and blood) this Christmas?

Traditions of St. Nicholas Past and Present

In honor of St. Nicholas the gift giver, Christians began to celebrate December 6 (his feast day) by giving presents. The tradition developed over time. For good boys and girls, St. Nicholas would come in his red bishop’s robe and fill boots with gifts on the night of December 5. For bad boys and girls St. Nicholas was to be feared. 

In highly Catholic parts of Europe, St. Nicholas became a deterrent to erring young children. In Germany, he was often accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht (farmhand Rupert) who threatened to eat misbehaving children. In Switzerland, St. Nicholas threatened to put wicked children in a sack and bring them back to the Black Forest. In the Netherlands, St. Nicholas’s helper would tie them in a sack and bring them back to Spain. In parts of Austria, the priest, dressed up in Christmas garb, would visit the homes of naughty children and threaten them with rod-beatings. 

Over time, Saint Nicholas became the patron saint of nations like Russia and Greece, cities like Fribourg and Moscow, and of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers (the three gold balls hung outside pawn shops are symbolic of the three bags of gold).

Not surprisingly, the Reformers were less than friendly towards the traditions that had been built up around the saints. Luther rejected the saints’ days, believing they were built upon legends and superstitions (and a virulent strain of moralism we might add). In Germany, Luther replaced Saint Nicholas’ Day with a different holiday, Christ Child, or Christkindl. Ironically, Kriss Kringle which derived from Luther’s Christ Child holiday has become just another name for St. Nicholas.

If you love Christmas with all the trappings of Santa Claus and stockings and presents, thank the Dutch. The Puritans had done away with St. Nicholas and banned Christmas altogether. But the Dutch held on to their tradition and brought it with them to the New World. In the Netherlands, Sint Nicolaas was contracted to Sinterklaas. According to Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas rides a horse and is accompanied by his helper Zwarte Piet or Black Pete. Many consider Black Pete a racist stereotype derived from slavery, although others claim he is black because he goes down the chimney and gets a face full of soot.

**  Historical note:  Unfortunately today anything " Black " seems to become branded as part of the Black - Negro slavery - Raciest thing; which is in most cases not true!  The following story is a case at hand
!

The Story of Little Black Sambo

by 

Helen Bannerman

 3.94  ·   Rating details ·  4,816 ratings  ·  347 reviews

The jolly and exciting tale of the little boy who lost his red coat and his blue trousers and his purple shoes but who was saved from the Tigers to eat 169 pancakes for his supper, has been universally loved by generations of children. First written in 1899, the story has become a childhood classic and the authorized American edition with the original drawings by the author has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Little Black Sambo is a book that speaks the common language of all nations and has added more to the joy of little children than perhaps any other story. They love to hear it again and again; to read it to themselves; to act it out in their play. (less)

 In fact there was a book written by an English Lady in India - called  " Little Black Sambo " - yet it was about the dark and sometimes black natives in southern India!  This false connection which was actually about a somewhat make-believe young boy and his birthday presents - which he had shared with some tigers!  The shame about this was in the USA in the 1960s, there was a nationwide chain of pancake restaurants called Sambo's.  This led to the Black US population attacking and ultimately causing the chain to go out of business even though it was not about African Blacks!   
Just goes to show how a simple none related thing can be blown out of proportion and something good be made bad!
 Footnote:   Helen Bannerman (born Brodie Cowan Watson) was the Scottish author of a number of children's books, the most famous being Little Black Sambo. She was born in Edinburgh and, because women were not admitted as students into British Universities, she sat external examinations set by the University of St. Andrews and attained the qualification of LLA. She lived for a good proportion of her life in India, where her husband was an officer in the Indian Medical Service.

The heroes of many of her books are recognizably south Indian or Tamil children from the illustrations. However, despite the plots having no really racist overtones and usually celebrating the intelligence and ingenuity of the children, the name Sambo has become a slur against people of color and the books have often been banned or censored. As a result of this controversy, a politically correct version co-authored by Fred Marcellino, The Story of Little Babaji, changed the names of the main characters. 

Shelves: 2017-shelf, ya   03 Nov 2017

Rather more interesting than I thought it would be! And no, I don't know why anyone would think this was racist. The kid pulled a golden apple trick on the four tigers and let them fight amongst themselves, finally getting his clothes back.

I don't know about any of you, but that's a clever move. Briar Rabbit-like. So yeah, I like. :)

Tiger run around the tree, indeed!

Of course, Briar Rabbit  - by Disney is now considered racist  - because of the ' Tar Baby ' 
{but for the trick to work it had to be tar  - which just happens to be Black! 
 Some just are never happy!
** 
At any rate, it is easy to see how Sinterklaas evolved in America to Santa Claus. Santa Claus became the Santa we know in the United States came only after the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was written in 1823. 

Possibly the best-known verses ever written by an American, the poem has greatly influenced the tradition of Santa in the English-speaking world and beyond. Yet what an effect it has had upon the world in general! 

** Be careful what you read it may be great - but can be bad-mouthed by certain groups! Such is life if you do not get the truth and full facts!