Everything about Santa Claus is historical. Distant relatives or just acquaintances? The holiday comes to us

Who is Santa Claus - this question is asked not only by children, but also by adults, because not everyone knows where this New Year's character lives, who helps him cope with such a volume of work and how to write a letter correctly in order to receive a cherished gift for the holiday.

Childhood memories warm a person's soul throughout life path, such stories provide strength to overcome adult difficulties. The brightest are magical events that a child's mind cannot understand, but sincerely joyfully perceives. Older children explain who Santa Claus is, he brings gifts and a lot of positive emotions. Sincere belief in miracles often passes along with childhood, but even adults do not dare to deny the existence of Santa Claus.

Is there a real Santa Claus?

A child’s question whether Grandfather Frost exists should not take the parent by surprise; one must confidently say yes. From generation to generation, older family members tell younger ones about a fairy-tale, non-fictional character, the lord of winter frosts and snowfalls. In the mythology of the Slavs, he was associated with a blacksmith; he bound water and miraculously drew designs from frost. The breath of Santa Claus is a frosty cold, the tears of icicles, and his thick gray hair is clouds of snow, his wife is Winter.

The first time Santa Claus came to the Christmas holidays was in 1910, but Soviet authority banned him from appearing, and he went on forced leave for several years. On the eve of 1936, they remembered him and began to invite him to the New Year holidays. Father Frost became the giver of gifts to children at the Christmas tree, he is invited to act in films, and with him his granddaughter Snegurochka and a boy symbolizing the New Coming Year appear in public.

Who is Santa Claus - origin story

There is a story about how the modern Santa Claus appeared, because he did not always look like this. The Slavs had a god Morok - the ruler of winter cold, frost and snow. He was cunning and crafty, loved to deceive and mislead. The meeting with Morok did not bring good luck, they were afraid of him and cajoled him with gifts - they cooked for him delicious pancakes and kutya, displaying them outside the windows, asked not to destroy crops, not to freeze travelers on the roads.

A lot of time passed, and Morok became kinder; he easily began to give gifts to the kind and hardworking, for example the fairy tale “Morozko” where main character with an easygoing and meek character, she received gifts after the tests, and the lazy and evil sister was frozen to death. Every parent always explains to their child that Santa Claus comes first to the obedient and good - in order to receive a gift, you must behave well.

Where does the real Santa Claus live?

Father Frost lives in Veliky Ustyug, a few kilometers from the city center, has an estate - a carved tower, located in pine forest, on the bank of the river. There he spends most time - reads letters, accepts drawings and postcards sent by children. You can get to the house itself, where Santa Claus is from, only on , and you can get to it by riding on a Russian stove with Emelya. On the path leading to the house you can find:

• Babu Yaga;
• Twelve months;
• Teddy bear;
• Squirrel;
• Chanterelle;
• Grandmother Aushka;
• Old Lesovichka;
• Wise Owl.

In the house of Father Frost there are entire mansions - a museum of gifts from different corners planets. There is a room where people make a wish while bells ring, you can go into the study, visit the observatory and bedroom, see a huge closet with fur coats, hats and felt boots. The only secret fairy tale character There will be a room with gifts; it is not customary to talk about it, much less show it to guests.

What does Santa Claus look like?

Santa Claus is known as a strict and hot-tempered old man, but he is always fair, loves children very much, and acts as an instructive character, not a nanny. The external description of Santa Claus is known to everyone, a tall, gray-haired old man, he is many, many years old, has a long beard to the waist or floor and thick gray eyebrows, symbolizing wisdom and power, rosy cheeks - good health. It is difficult to confuse him with other characters, Father Frost's outfit is bright and memorable, each element symbolizes a certain power, a bag of gifts and a magic crystal staff are always with him.

1. The hat is skillfully embroidered with silver and gold threads with pearls.
2. A long, warm fur coat - usually red, but may be blue or blue color, the edges are trimmed with swan's down, the fur coat is decorated with an ornament of precious threads.
3. Mittens – warm mittens.
4. Linen shirt and trousers.
5. Shoes – felt boots.

What is the name of Santa Claus?

What is Santa Claus called? different countries world - the fairy-tale character has different names, and his visit to children does not always coincide with the New Year holidays. The most famous Santa Claus - the American grandfather, also in a red suit, but with pants and a wide black belt - comes on the Christmas holidays and hides gifts in a stocking by the fireplace. In Poland this is Saint Nicholas, in France he is called Pere Noel, in Greece he is called Vasily, in Spain Olentzero or Papa Noel, in warm Cambodia he is Father Heat, he gives gifts to Norwegian children to Jolinissa, to Slovak children - Mikulas.

Santa Claus's assistants

The most responsible workers who help Santa Claus prepare gifts are the Snowman and the Snow Maiden, snowflakes, Snowstorm or Winter Blizzard, young boy – New Year, very smart and nimble beyond their years, they often not only prepare gifts, but also appear near the New Year tree. At holiday matinees, brave children often volunteer to help an old grandfather, hold a staff, or suggest the necessary information. At the residence of Santa Claus, characters from New Year's tales and cartoons living in fairy houses near his mansion.

Santa Claus's assistant Snowman

Snegurochka Santa Claus and Snowman are the main three characters coming to the New Year's holiday. The snowman is cheerful and funny, carries a heavy bag, loves to talk about interesting adventures and various obstacles that suddenly happened on the way to the holiday. The kids make fun of him, but he is not offended, he reminds Santa Claus that other children are waiting and it’s time to hurry.

Who is Snegurochka?

The Russian Father Frost travels with the Snow Maiden, a beautiful young companion that his foreign colleagues do not have. She is obedient and makes friends with forest dwellers, loves to sing songs with children and give out gifts. Dressed in a white or blue fur coat made of fluff and snow, long braid hair, decorated with a headband of crystal snowflakes. Often she is kidnapped by evil forces, and Santa Claus and the Snowman have to rescue the beauty from captivity - being late for the festive holiday.

Santa Claus's horses

Santa Claus arrives at the New Year's tree or as an invited guest in the house on three horses harnessed to a sleigh. He drives the team himself or entrusts it to his assistant Snowman. Using a mysterious method, he manages to visit different places, congratulate adults and give gifts to children. It should be admitted that if Santa Claus is sure that he does not have time, he instructs the most responsible assistants to take his outfits under the secret cover of a thick beard to attend a holiday where they are very much looking forward to it.

How to call the real Santa Claus?

Fulfilling a child’s cherished wish, how to call Santa Claus, you can invite him to the house for a personal visit, but children, like adults, have fun in the company. The most playful fairy-tale character who gives a bunch of desired gifts may not create a festive atmosphere in an individual setting. In such cases, an option would be to organize a children's celebration together with other parents and their children in a pre-agreed area.

How to write a letter to Santa Claus correctly?

Your cherished wish can be written down and sent like a regular postcard, you shouldn’t start with demands - I want and I need, it’s better to start with a greeting and a story about yourself, perfect good deeds, over the past year. Letters written by children should be read to parents before sending them to correct mistakes. There will definitely be a response to the letter.

“Hello, Grandfather Frost, cotton wool beard! Did you bring us gifts? The guys are really looking forward to it!” - these lines are familiar to us since kindergarten! Most of us perceive this comrade as a fairy-tale character who appears on New Year's Eve and gives gifts to obedient children. Let's take a closer look at who Santa Claus is and where he came from.

When did the image of Santa Claus appear?

The Slavs were able to personify almost everything natural phenomena. Moroz was also not deprived of such an honor. He was presented as a white-bearded old man in a fur coat who was master of the cold and winter cold. You can hear Frost in winter forest, when he “crackles and clicks, jumping from tree to tree.” He usually came from the north. Different Slavic tribes called Moroz in their own way: Treskunets, Morozko, Karachun, Studenets, Zyuzya, etc.

In general, the Slavs held Frost in high esteem, because it was believed that cold snowy winter will provide good harvest. Therefore, there was a ritual called “Clicking Frost”, when he was treated to ritual food in the form of pancakes and kutya.

A lot of information about Frost can be gleaned from folk art. In many fairy tales, he tested the protagonist, who could be generously gifted or frozen to death.

Many writers of the 19th century described this character in their fairy tales, relying specifically on Slavic mythology. At the same time, he was not associated with the New Year or Christmas, but he already had some attributes of the modern Santa Claus. In the Soviet film “Morozko” you can directly see such a character.

But still, starting from the second half of the 19th century, Santa Claus began to be compared with the New Year holidays. So he began to play the role of “Christmas grandfather,” who, like Nicholas the Pleasant in the West, gave gifts to obedient Russian children.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, Grandfather Frost was very similar to his contemporary, but with an emphasis on Christmas traditions. However in 1929, the Komsomol strictly prohibited the celebration of Christmas and, accordingly, Moroz Ivanovich went on vacation for several years.

The revival of Santa Claus in our usual form took place on the New Year of 1936! At the same time, the first New Year tree in the Soviet Union was officially held, where he appeared together with his granddaughter Snegurochka. It is worth noting that Santa Claus was conceived as a character intended for a children's audience.

By the way, in the USSR they tried to introduce such a character as the New Year Boy, who appeared as the successor of Grandfather.

What does the real Santa Claus look like?

Western culture sometimes makes us confuse the appearance of our Father Frost with the attributes of Santa Claus. Let's figure it out what exactly a Russian New Year's Grandfather should look like.

Beard

A long thick beard has always been an integral attribute of our Santa Claus at all times. In addition to the fact that a beard indicates his age, it also symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Interestingly, the Slavs imagined Frost with a beard down to his feet.

Fur coat

The grandfather must wear a red fur coat, embroidered with silver and trimmed with swan down. Do not forget about the obligatory presence of a traditional ornament, for example, in the form of geese or stars. Today fur coats are used in both blue and white, and even Green colour, but many, including historians, criticize this outfit, insisting that for our Frost, red is canonical.

A cap

Santa Claus wears a semi-oval hat, like a boyar's, but on its front part there should be a triangular cutout. Color, ornament, trim - everything should match the fur coat. All kinds of hats with a tassel are for Santa.

Shoes and other accessories

Today, many Grandfathers wear sneakers and leather shoes, which is completely unacceptable. These must be felt boots or boots embroidered with silver. The belt (not a belt!) must be white with a red ornament, which symbolizes the connection with the ancestors. Mittens should also be white, symbolizing the holiness and purity of what Santa Claus gives from his hands.

Staff

The Slavic Morozko used a stick to make a characteristic knock, later the staff was used to create cold and freeze those who did not pass the test. According to the canon, the staff must be crystal or at least silver to resemble crystal. It has a twisted handle and ends with a stylized image of the Moon or a bull's head.

A bag with presents

Santa Claus comes to children not empty-handed, but with a whole bag of gifts. Its color is usually red too. By definition, the bag is magical, because the gifts in it do not end, according to at least, while he is in the hands of Grandfather.

Well, now when dressing up as Santa Claus, you will know what to focus on.

Character of Santa Claus

Unlike his Western counterpart, Santa Claus is not an inveterate merry fellow. He is quite stern, but at the same time kind and fair.. Santa Claus still loves to test people and only then give them gifts, but he no longer freezes anyone, but simply finds out how you behaved last year and asks you to recite a poem.

In many cultures, there is a character who gives children gifts for New Year or Christmas. The most famous throughout the world is Santa Claus, who holds the post of good giver in Western Europe and the USA.

We won't make a detailed comparison between Father Frost and Santa, just remember that our donor's sleigh is pulled by a three-piece, he does not climb pipes, does not smoke a pipe and does not wear glasses. In addition, our Grandfather does not associate with elves, because he has a granddaughter, Snegurochka.

A few words about the Snow Maiden

Direct analogy with Slavic mythology Snegurochka does not, although there is an opinion that this is one of the girls who was frozen by Morozko. The first mentions of the Snow Maiden appear in Russian folklore, where she is described as a revived girl who was made of snow. Later she appears as the daughter of Santa Claus, but in the end the option with a granddaughter took root.

Today, Snegurochka is Father Frost’s indispensable assistant on all New Year’s holidays.

Conclusion

Santa Claus is truly a national treasure, because people worked on his image different eras. Also in Slavic tribes revered the stern master of the cold, who also appears in oral folk art, and in fairy tales of Russian writers. It came to us in the form good grandfather, who gives children gifts for the New Year.

Unlike the main New Year's wizard, the “granddaughter” does not drink, does not bring gifts, but rather endures Santa Claus, who is oversaturated with “magic.”

The first and most amazing mystery The Snow Maiden lies in its absolute uniqueness. Of course, the modern Russian Snow Maiden may have Belarusian, Ukrainian and even Kazakh sisters, however, in essence, they are all a continuation of one image, which was finally formed along with the Soviet tradition of celebrating the New Year.

So, there are no analogues of the Snow Maiden in the world, except for the dubious image of the wife of Santa Claus.

Moreover, unlike Father Frost, the Snow Maiden is not recorded in Russian folk ritual.

Despite this, the Snow Maiden has been with us for a long time - from the very moment when a fairy tale about a girl made of snow who came to life appeared in Russian folklore.

Of course, at that time this girl had nothing to do with the New Year or gifts.

According to one version, the story of the Snow Maiden comes directly from the Kostroma funeral ritual.

The Slavic funeral rite of Kostroma represented a farewell to winter and at the same time a request to the forces of nature for the fertility of the lands. According to one version of the ritual, the effigy of the girl was drowned in the river, according to the second, it was burned at the stake, like Maslenitsa. In another version, Kostroma got drunk to death with wine at a merry feast, which makes it very close to all lovers of New Year's table gatherings.

One way or another, the forerunner of the Snow Maiden, Kostroma, was dealt with quite deliberately. And the death of a girl made of snow while jumping over a fire is, if you like, a lighter version of the ritual story.

If Kostroma, who was also the goddess of fertility, had, according to the Slavs, quite contradictory nature, then the Snow Maiden initially looked like a kind and naive girl.

History of the ascent

Translated the Snow Maiden from folklore into literary characters Russian folklore collector Alexander Afanasyev, who in 1867 placed fairy tales about the Snow Maiden in the second volume of his study “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature.”

It is interesting that Ostrovsky’s play was received very coldly, and it is unknown what career would have awaited the Snow Maiden if the composer had not gotten involved in 1882 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His opera based on the play “The Snow Maiden” was a wild success, after which the ice girl began to move towards the status of the second New Year’s face.

Even in the pre-revolutionary period Russian teachers are beginning to use the image of the Snow Maiden in Christmas tree scenarios. True, as a rule, we're talking about about staging certain scenes from Ostrovsky’s play with her participation. Also, Snow Maiden figurines are beginning to be hung on the Christmas tree as decoration.

And yet, at that moment, the Snow Maiden remained exclusively minor character. The decisive transformation came in 1935, when the Soviet Union began to officially celebrate the New Year.

Now the Snow Maiden has become " right hand» Santa Claus, a mediator in communication between him and children at matinees. At the same time, for a reason that is not entirely clear, their relationship status changed. If Ostrovsky's Snow Maiden was the daughter of Father Frost, then in new version she appeared as his granddaughter.

Father Frost and Snow Maiden with children at the New Year tree. Photo: RIA Novosti

Although it cannot be ruled out that this Snow Maiden is actually the daughter of the one who melted while jumping over the fire. In any case, the Soviet Snow Maiden had no tendency to melt.

At the celebration of the New Year, 1937, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden appeared together for the first time at the Christmas tree in the Moscow House of Unions. It is interesting that at that time the Snow Maiden appeared in the form of a little girl and only after some time she “grew up”.

Tower on Lagernaya street

It is quite possible that this change in texture was caused solely by practical considerations - after all, female students theater schools and aspiring theater performers coped with the roles of hostesses at children's matinees much better than elementary school students.

The Snow Maiden was saved by two famous Soviet writers -Lev Kassil And Sergey Mikhalkov. It was they who wrote the scripts for the Kremlin Christmas trees in the early 1950s, and made the granddaughter of Father Frost a mandatory participant in the performances. Only after this did the Snow Maiden finally “stake out” a place for herself near the Christmas tree.

The Snow Maiden is so kind and harmless that she constantly finds herself hostage to various evil spirits who have material claims against Santa Claus. In my memory, the Snow Maiden only once took the initiative, helping out her grandfather. In the cartoon “When the Christmas Trees Light Up,” the atypically determined Snow Maiden went on a sleigh to the capital in order to bring gifts lost by Santa Claus. And she coped with her task perfectly.

The Snow Maiden is now an independent girl, and she has her own residence located in Kostroma. It was in these parts, in the Shchelykovo estate, that the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky and wrote a play about the Snow Maiden. In terms of the number of visitors, “Terem Snegurochka” may well give a head start to the residence of Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug.

The only oddity regarding the Snow Maiden’s habitat is her Kostroma address - the granddaughter of Father Frost lives on Lagernaya Street, house 38.

Distant relatives or just acquaintances?

The most stubborn seekers of Western analogues believe that the Snow Maiden has something in common with Saint Lucia, who in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, during the ban on the cult of saints and, in particular, Saint Nicholas, acted as a Christmas giver of gifts to children. In the countries of Scandinavia and Finland, the feast of St. Lucia, celebrated on December 13, has survived to this day, and serves as a kind of prelude to Christmas.

There is also the Italian Befana, either an old woman or a young woman, who appears to children on the night of Epiphany and places gifts for obedient children in pre-prepared socks. Befana puts ash in the socks of bad children. By the way, this lady is also well known to Russian children - a slightly modified image of her was described by Gianni Rodari in his “Journey of the Blue Arrow.”

Malanka is also mentioned, participating in the New Year's rituals of Bassarabia, Podolia and Galicia.

However, all these ladies, of course, cannot be compared with our unique and inimitable Snow Maiden, who every year saves children from embarrassment in front of the gray-bearded magical old man, and then meekly delivers the spoiled Santa Claus to his abode. That is why Snegurochka is exclusively our character, in which every Russian woman can see herself.

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  © Public Domain / Ministry of Communications of the USSR
• © Public Domain / Ministry of Communications of the USSR
• © Public Domain / Ministry of Communications of the USSR
• © Public Domain / Ministry of Communications of the USSR
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  ©

New Years is soon. Its most long-awaited hero is Father Frost, he gives gifts and brings joy to children. We are used to it, but we don’t know much about it.

Supporters New Year's myth They say that the cult of Santa Claus is almost more ancient than all religions, that he came into our lives from Slavic pre-Christian mythology. There is some truth in this, only this is the Frost that existed in pagan traditions, was not at all that good-natured grandfather... The etymology of the current Father Frost is found in Odoevsky’s fairy tale of the mid-19th century, but the discrepancies between the fairy-tale Ivanovich Moroz and the cult of the current Father Frost are obvious. The difference is that in the pedagogical fairy tale of the Russian writer Moroz Ivanovich is more of a spring character, but not a winter one.

The truth is that the cult of Santa Claus is quite young. He tried to establish himself in pre-revolutionary Russia by analogy with the Western cult of St. Nicholas, but, not having time to gain strength, was broken by the Bolsheviks. The second birth of the image occurred in the late 30s, when for ideological reasons it was beneficial to create a neo-pagan cult of Santa Claus. That is, Santa Claus was revived as a propaganda tool. As an example: Santa Claus on Soviet postcards 1944 is depicted with a pipe in his mouth. What is he doing? Drives out the fascists.

Where do the gifts come from?

The idea that Santa Claus brings gifts on New Year's Day is also quite young. Children at the end of the 19th century were sure that Christmas trees were brought simply by Frost, old Ruprecht (German influence of the cult), but not yet by Father Frost. In general, there was an idea that the one we know today as Father Frost brought only Christmas trees, but he was not the one who put gifts under them. In keeping with the Christmas tree myth, children were usually told that it was the baby Jesus who sent gifts. It’s clear now why Soviet time Grandfather Frost himself began to bring gifts, having created a magic bag for these purposes.

Veliky Ustyug?

The story of the homeland of Santa Claus is just a song. Arkhangelsk was considered the first permanent residence of Santa Claus. Grandfather settled there on the initiative of the regional committee of the Komsomol, supported then, at the very end of the 80s, by the directors of the Arkhangelsk sea trade port, the military Sevmashplant, and other large enterprises. Father Frost also lived in Lapland, and since 1998, on the initiative of Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov, Father Frost received a residence in Veliky Ustyug.

It is clear that the struggle to be called the homeland of Father Frost goes beyond the fairy-tale context; it includes production, paraphernalia, and tourism. A lot of money. What is really worth thinking about is that Ustyug is the birthplace of the first fool for Christ, Procopius of Ustyug, which means it is a prayed-up land with a deep Orthodox tradition.

Santa vs Father Frost?

It’s somehow easier in the West. There is Christmas - one of the main Christian holidays. Family celebration. Archie Lee, the brilliant Coca-Cola advertiser, mixed in the cult of Santa Claus. He delivers gifts. It can be placed on labels (because images of children are prohibited). OK.

Our Father Frost brings gifts for a reason. It’s also not easy to get hold of. And then read out the poems you have learned. And then lead another round dance, holding hands. It’s good that children are not forced to run cross-country. Our Father Frost only looks like their Santa Claus, but no more. Our Father Frost is more like a strict father or a strict grandfather. In his mythology there is a cause-and-effect relationship. He studied well, learned a poem - well done, for a gift. Both the notes in the diary and the grandmothers transferred across the road count. A kind of Old Testament principle of “an eye for an eye.”

Tradition

Urban folklore is cynical and merciless. The number of jokes about drunken Santa Claus that have been around from generation to generation, of course, did not appear out of nowhere. Nowadays event agencies can provide Santa Clauses for every taste, and former role The neighbors performed Santa Claus. One suit for everyone - and they went through the courtyards and entrances. In every house they will also pour it. And then jokes about “Santa Claus has a red nose” run through the confetti-strewn snowdrifts, and then they film New Year films, Where main character- a victim of alcoholic delirium... Such is the tradition.

Come see the guys new year holidays Grandfather and granddaughter began only at the end of the 19th century.

Many people think that Santa Claus has Russian origin, and its ancestry goes back to the image of a frosty old man from Russian folk tales. This is not entirely true, or rather, not at all true. It is sometimes mistakenly believed that Father Frost and the Snow Maiden have been companions of festive New Year trees since ancient times, but this only happened at the end of the 19th century. In the legends of our ancestors, there was Frost - the lord of winter cold. His image reflected the ideas of the ancient Slavs about Karachun - the god of winter cold. Frost was presented as an old man vertically challenged with a long gray beard. From November to March, Moroz always has a lot of work. He runs through the forests and knocks with his staff, causing bitter frosts to occur. Frost sweeps through the streets and paints patterns on the window panes. It chills the surface of lakes and rivers, stings our noses, gives us a blush, and amuses us with fluffy snowfalls. This image of the winter lord is artistically developed and embodied in Russian fairy tales in the images of Grandfather Student, Grandfather Treskun, Moroz Ivanovich, Morozko. However, although these frosty grandfathers were not devoid of a sense of justice and compassion and sometimes gave gifts to kind and hardworking people who wandered into their domain, they were not associated with the arrival of the New Year and the distribution of gifts was not their main concern.

The prototype of Santa Claus is a real person from Asia Minor

The prototype of modern Santa Claus is considered real person named Nicholas, born in the 3rd century in Asia Minor (on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea) in rich family and subsequently became a bishop. Having inherited a considerable fortune, Nikolai helped the poor, the needy, the unfortunate, and especially took care of children. After his death, Nicholas was canonized. In 1087, pirates stole his remains from the church in Demre, where he served as bishop during his lifetime, and transported them to Italy. The church parishioners were so outraged that they erupted big scandal, which, as contemporaries would say, unwittingly performed the function of advertising. Gradually, from a saint who was known and appreciated only in his homeland, Nicholas became an object of veneration for all Christians in Western Europe.

In Russia, Saint Nicholas, nicknamed Nicholas the Wonderworker or Nicholas of Myra, also gained fame and worship, becoming one of the most revered saints. Sailors and fishermen considered him their patron and intercessor, but this saint especially did a lot of good and wonderful things for children.

Nisse. Norway.

This is how the tradition of preparing stockings or shoes for gifts arose

There are many traditions and legends about the mercy and intercession of St. Nicholas in relation to children, widespread in Western Europe. One of these stories tells that a certain poor father of a family could not find the means to feed his three daughters, and, in despair, was going to give them into the wrong hands. Saint Nicholas, who heard about this, made his way into the house and stuffed a bag of coins into the chimney. At that time, the sisters' old, worn-out shoes were drying in the stove (according to another version, their stockings were drying by the fireplace). In the morning, the amazed girls took out their old shoes (stockings) filled with gold. Need I say that their happiness and jubilation knew no bounds? Kind-hearted Christians tenderly retold this story to many generations of their children and grandchildren, which led to the emergence of a custom: children put their boots over the threshold at night and hang their stockings by the bed with the expectation of receiving gifts from St. Nicholas in the morning. The tradition of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day has existed in Europe since the 14th century; gradually this custom moved to Christmas Eve.

Uzbek Father Frost and Snow Maiden.

How did Santa Claus appear?

In the 19th century, together with European emigrants, the image of St. Nicholas became known in America. The Dutch Saint Nicholas, who was called Sinter Klaas in his homeland, reincarnated as the American Santa Claus. This was facilitated by the book “The Parish of St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, which appeared in America in 1822. It tells about a boy's Christmas meeting with Saint Nicholas, who lives in the cold North and rides around on a fast reindeer sleigh with a bag of toys, giving them to children.

The popularity of the good Christmas “old man in a red fur coat” among Americans has become very high. IN mid-19th century, this Saint, or Père Noel, became fashionable even in Paris, and from France the image of Father Frost penetrated to Russia, where Western European culture was not alien to educated and wealthy people.

Russian Santa Claus

Naturally, it was not difficult for Father Christmas to settle down in Russia, since similar image has been present in Slavic folklore since ancient times, developed in Russian folk tales and fiction(poem by N.A. Nekrasov “Frost, Red Nose”). The appearance of the Russian Father Frost incorporates both ancient Slavic ideas (a short old man with a long gray beard and a staff in his hand) and the features of the Santa Claus costume (a red fur coat trimmed with white fur).

Where did Frost get his granddaughter Snegurochka from?

This is a brief background to the appearance at the Christmas holidays, and later at Christmas trees Russian Santa Claus. And it’s even more pleasant that only our Father Frost has a granddaughter, Snegurochka, and she was born in Russia.

This pretty companion began to accompany her grandfather to the New Year trees only with late XIX century. She was born in 1873 thanks to the fairy tale play of the same name by A.N. Ostrovsky, who, in turn, artistically reworked one of the options folk tale about a girl sculpted from snow and melted by the warm rays of the sun. The plot of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky differs significantly from the folk tale. Here the Snow Maiden is the daughter of Frost. She comes to the people from the forest, enchanted by their beautiful songs.

Lyrical, beautiful story Many people liked about the Snow Maiden. Famous philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov wanted to put it on home stage Abramtsevo circle in Moscow. The premiere took place on January 6, 1882. Costume sketches for her were made by V.M. Vasnetsov, and three years later famous artist makes new sketches for the production of the opera of the same name by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, based on the play by N.A. Ostrovsky.

Towards creation appearance Snow Maidens had two more relations famous artist. M.A. In 1898, Vrubel created the image of the Snow Maiden for a decorative panel in the house of A.V. Morozova. Later, in 1912, N.K. presented his vision of the Snow Maiden. Roerich, who participated in the production dramatic performance about the Snow Maiden in St. Petersburg.

The modern appearance of the Snow Maiden has absorbed individual features of the artistic versions of all three masters of the brush. She can come to the Christmas tree in a light sundress with a hoop or headband - just as V.M. saw her. Vasnetsov; or in white clothes woven from snow and down, lined with ermine fur, as M.A. depicted it. Vrubel; or in the fur coat that N.K. put on her. Roerich.

The story of the snow girl who came to people became increasingly popular and fit very well into the city's Christmas tree programs. Gradually, the Snow Maiden becomes a permanent character during the holidays as an assistant to Father Frost. This is how the special Russian custom of celebrating Christmas with the participation of Father Frost and his beautiful and intelligent granddaughter is born. Father Frost and Snow Maiden entered social life countries as obligatory attributes of the coming New Year. And Snegurochka still helps her elderly grandfather to amuse the children with games, dance around the Christmas tree, and distribute gifts.

By the way

What is Santa Claus called in different countries?

• Australia, USA - Santa Claus. The American grandfather wears a cap and a red jacket, smokes a pipe, travels through the air on reindeer and enters the house through a pipe. Australian Santa Claus is the same, only in swimming trunks and on a scooter (you know, it’s hot on the first of January in the country of kangaroos).
• Austria - Sylvester.
• Altai Territory - Sook-Taadak.
• England - Father Christmas.
• Belgium, Poland - Saint Nicholas. As the legend goes, he left golden apples in a shoe in front of the fireplace for the family who sheltered him. This was a very long time ago, so St. Nicholas is considered the very first Santa Claus. He rides a horse, wearing a miter and a white bishop's robe. He is always accompanied by his Moorish servant Black Peter, who carries a bag of gifts for obedient children behind his back, and in his hands - rods for naughty children.
• Greece, Cyprus - Saint Basil.
• Denmark - Yletomte, Ylemanden, St. Nicholas.
• Western Slavs - Saints Mikalaus.
• Italy - Babo Nattale. Besides him, he comes to obedient children Kind fairy Befana (La Befana) and gives gifts. The naughty ones get a coal from the evil sorceress Befana.
• Spain - Papa Noel.
• Kazakhstan - Ayaz-ata.
• Kalmykia - Zul.
• Cambodia - Grandfather Heat.
• Karelia - Pakkainen.
• China - Sho Hin, Sheng Dan Laoren.
• Colombia - Papa Pascual.
• Mongolia - Uvlin Uvgun, comes accompanied by Zazan Okhin (Snow Maiden) and Shina Zhila (New Year boy). New Year in Mongolia coincides with the cattle breeding holiday, so Santa Claus wears the clothes of a cattle breeder.
• Netherlands - Sanderklaas.
• Norway - Nisse (little brownies). Nisse wear knitted caps and love tasty things.
• Russia - Father Frost, Father Treskun, Morozko and Karachun rolled into one. He looks a little stern. He wears a fur coat down to the ground and a high hat, and in his hands he holds an ice staff and a bag of gifts.
• Romania - Mos Jerile.
• Savoie - Saint Chalandes.
• Uzbekistan - Korbobo and Korgyz (Snow Maiden). To Uzbek villages in New Year's Eve“Snow Grandfather” in a striped robe rides in on a donkey. This is Corbobo.
• Finland - Joulupukki. This name was not given to him in vain: “Youlu” means Christmas, and “pukki” means goat. Many years ago, Santa Claus wore a goat skin and delivered gifts on a goat.
• France - Grandfather January, Pere Noel. The French "Father January" walks with a staff and wears a wide-brimmed hat.
• Czech Republic - Grandfather Mikulas.
• Sweden - Krise Kringl, Yulnissan, Jul Tomten (Yolotomten).
• Japan - Oji-san.