Santa Claus

Origin
Santa Claus' origin has been told various ways by various authors. Here is what is widely known about Santa Claus:

Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) lives with his wife (whose maiden name is speculated to be Mary Christmas) at or near the North Pole where there is always snow (although other Arctic or Subarctic locations are sometimes specified, like Iceland or Lapland). In some stories, the two have a daughter. Every Christmas Eve he packs his sleigh and flies around the world delivering gifts to children. His sleigh is usually pulled by eight flying reindeer - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, a slight variation on Clement C. Moore's original roster. The gifts are made by a group of elves who live at the North Pole with Santa. He keeps a list of which children are "Naughty" and which children are "Nice." He delivers gifts to the children on the "Nice" list by climbing down chimneys and leaving the presents under a Christmas tree or in stockings.

The 1892 play Santa Claus’ Daughter portrays Santa Claus as a king, “Ruler of the Kingdom of the North Pole,” where he lives with his wife and daughter in a “Snow Castle” or “Snow‐palace” and has a “dude” (dandy) of a male secretary named Gussie de Smythe who prepares the annual directory of gift recipients. The kingdom is defended by “Amazons” composed of a band of “Snow‐fairies” with their own queen, as well as personifications of the holidays Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. Santa Claus is said to be hundreds of years old and that “one of the conditions of [his] becoming immortal and the Christmas Saint” is his not being allowed to leave the North Pole but once a year.

Ded Moroz is the Slavic counterpart to Santa Claus, but in the most famous tale told of him, he acts more like Jack Frost or the Frost King, and public‐domain stories in English often even translate his name as King Frost. He is, nevertheless, portrayed as distinguishing a nice child from a naughty one, giving gifts (to the nice one), and driving a sleigh pulled by a team of six white horses. In the tale, he springs from one tree to another and has the power to make a young woman who was abandoned by her family in the cold forest become colder and colder. However, he takes pity on her when she does not complain and gives her jewels and a silver‐ and gold‐embroidered robe (or a fur coat with beaver trim in another version). When her family then leave her stepsister in the same spot expecting similar gifts, Ded Moroz literally freezes the rude stepsister to death.

Public Domain Comic Appearances

 * Numerous...

Public Domain Literary Appearances

 * A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty …, by Diedrich Knickerbocker (pseudonym of Washington Irving), 1809. Much of what makes Santa Claus distinct from Father Christmas and Sinterklaas originated in this book. (vol. 1 and vol. 2 on the Internet Archive)
 * A New‐Year’s Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve, part 3, The Children’s Friend, vol. 3, 1821. (Yale U. Library)
 * “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” by Clement Clarke Moore, The Troy Sentinel, 23 Dec. 1823. (page online)
 * Reprinted many times, including in The New‐York Book of Poetry, 1837. (Internet Archive)
 * “Up on the House Top” (song), by Benjamin Hanby, 1864.
 * The Slav’s Poetical Views of Nature, vol. 2, by Alexander Afanasyev, 1867.
 * A Letter From Santa Claus (letter, 1870s) by Mark Twain
 * St. Nicholas (magazine, 1873–1922)
 * “The Frost Fairies,” Birdie and His Fairy Friends: A Book for Little Children, by Margaret T. Canby, 1873. Santa Claus does not appear in the story but is said to be the neighbor of Jack Frost (who lives “far to the North”) and is the intended recipient of a large gift of Jack’s gold and gems, although it never reaches him. (Reproduced online)
 * The Snow Maiden (play), by Alexander Ostrovsky, 1873.
 * Lill's Travels in Santa Claus Land (story, 1878)
 * “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” (song), words by Benjamin Hanby, music by James Pierpont, 1881.
 * “A Song of Saint Nicholas,” Rhymes and Jingles, by Mary Mapes Dodge, 1882. Makes no mention of reindeer, but instead claims that Saint Nicholas is able to visit every child’s home because he travels via their dreams. (Internet Archive)
 * The Snow Maiden (opera), by Nikolai Rimsky‐Korsakov, 1882.
 * Santa Claus and the Mouse (poem, 1883) by Emilie Poulsson
 * Santa Claus and His Works (poem, 1886) by George P. Webster
 * “A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True” (story and play), Lulu’s Library, vol. 1, by Louisa May Alcott, 1886. (Internet Archive)
 * Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride (poem, 1889) by Katherine Lee Bates
 * “The Frost King,” by Helen Keller, The Mentor, vol. 2, no. 1, Jan. 1892. Santa Claus does not appear in this retelling of “The Frost Fairies” (above), but is likewise said to be the neighbor of King Jack Frost (who lives “far to the North”) and is the intended recipient of a large gift of Jack’s treasure, although it never reaches him. (Internet Archive)
 * Santa Claus’ Daughter: A Musical Christmas Burlesque in Two Acts …, by Everett Elliott and F. W. Hardcastle, Ames’ Series of Standard and Modern Drama, no. 309, 1892. Santa Claus’ teen daughter Kitty, feeling isolated living at the North Pole, requests that her father bring back a man for her, so on his annual flight, he kidnaps a crass Irishman in the hopes that, after meeting him, his daughter will no longer want any man from the world of mortals. (Internet Archive)
 * “The Story of King Frost,” The Yellow Fairy Book, ed. Andrew Lang, 1894. (Internet Archive)
 * “Is There a Santa Claus?” (essay), by Francis Pharcellus Church, The Sun, 21 Sept. 1897.
 * Mr. Kris Kringle: A Christmas Tale (story, 1898) by S. Weir Mitchell
 * Santa Claus's Partner (novel, 1899) by Thomas Nelson Page
 * A Captured Santa Claus (novel, 1902) by Thomas Nelson Page
 * The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (novel, 1902) by L. Frank Baum
 * A Kidnapped Santa Claus (story, 1904) by L. Frank Baum
 * A Defective Santa Claus (poem, 1904) James Whitcomb Riley
 * A Ballad Of Santa Claus (poem, 1907) by Henry Van Dyke
 * Tommy Trot's Visit to Santa Claus (novel, 1908) by Thomas Nelson Page
 * The Goblins' Christmas (story, 1908) by Elizabeth Anderson
 * The Road to Oz (novel, 1909) by L. Frank Baum
 * “The Story of King Frost,” Childhood’s Favorites and Fairy Stories, vol. 1, ed. Hamilton Wright Mabie, Young Folks’ Treasury in 12 Volumes, 1909. (Google Books)
 * The Children's Book of Christmas Stories (story collection, 1913)
 * Mrs. Santa Claus, Militant: A Christmas Comedy (play), by Bell Elliott Palmer, 1914. Mrs. Santa Claus waits for Mr. Santa Claus (whom she calls “Jolly”) to take a nap and then steals his sleigh and attempts to deliver the Christmas presents herself. (Google Books)
 * “King Frost,” More Russian Picture Tales, by Valery Carrick, trans. Nevill Forbes, 1914. (Internet Archive)
 * Christmas Island (poem, 1916) by Katherine Lee Bates
 * Santa Claus' Riddle (poem, 1916) by Katherine Lee Bates
 * Santa's Stocking (poem, 1916) by Katherine Lee Bates
 * A Reversible Santa Claus (story, 1917) by Meredith Nicholson
 * Anita's Secret or Christmas in the Steerage (play, 1917) by Walter Ben Hare
 * Santa's Helpers (poem, 1918) by M. Nora Boylan
 * Raggedy Andy Stories (1920) by Johnny Gruelle
 * The Christmas Dinner (play, 1921) by Shepherd Knapp
 * Down the Chimney (play, 1921) by Shepherd Knapp
 * Up the Chimney (play, 1921) by Shepherd Knapp

Public Domain Film Appearances

 * Santa Claus Filling Stockings (1897)
 * Santa Claus and the Children (1898)
 * The Visit from Santa Claus (1899)
 * Santa Claus' Visit (1900)
 * The Night Before Christmas (1905)
 * A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907)
 * Night Before Christmas (1908)
 * A Trap for Santa Claus (1909)
 * Ida's Christmas (1912)
 * A Christmas Revenge (1915)
 * The Faith of Sonny Jim (1915)
 * The Tichborne Mummers' Play (1919)
 * The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1933)
 * Santa's Surprise (1947)
 * Santa Claus' Punch and Judy (1948)
 * Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1948)
 * Joe Santa Claus (tv, 1951)
 * The Snow Maiden (1952). According to Wikipedia, it had been listed on the Roskino Web site as being in the public domain. (YouTube)
 * The Miracle on 34th Street (tv, 1955)
 * Santa Claus [vs. The Devil] (1959)
 * The Christmas Visitor (1959)
 * Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
 * Santa and the Three Bears (1970)

See also …

 * Old Man Winter
 * Frost King
 * Jack Frost
 * Yule Lads
 * Ghost of Christmas Present
 * Santa Claus’ reindeer
 * Mrs. Claus
 * Kitty Claus
 * Snow Maiden
 * Abominable Snow Monster of the North