Figure Christianity
Santa Claus
Pater Natalis la
Legendary figure said to deliver gifts to people on Christmas Eve
- Consort of Mrs. Claus
A life on the record,
dated by its sources.
Roles, not beliefs
Family
The family of Santa Claus
Parents, consorts and children as the accounts give them. Choose a consort to see the children the stories give the two.
Accounts differ about a god’s family. Where they name different parents, the tree sets them side by side instead of choosing one.
The family as a list · 2
Kinship in an account 2
What this means
Parentage as a named source tells it. Not an independently established biological relationship, and different accounts disagree.
Does not imply an independently established biological relationship · agreement between accounts · marriage as a legal institution · exclusivity, or a single canonical pairing
Imported from Wikidata unless a tile says otherwise. Nothing here has been read by an editor.
Texts
In the texts
Works this figure appears in. A work’s date is the source’s, not this figure’s.
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Up on the House Top ↗
1864 Christmas song by Benjamin Hanby -
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas ↗
song performed by Chicago -
A Paraphrase of the Dutch Hymn to Saint Nicholas ↗
1810 American poem -
Santa Claus’s Ball ↗
1863 American story -
St. Nicholas ↗
painting by Robert Walter Weir, multiple versions in various collections
Later works
Later works that name Santa Claus
Written in 1500 CE or later, and not religious texts: works that retell or borrow the figure, not sources for the life.
What this means
Sorted out of the texts by each work’s own recorded date on the source clock, and by its record not marking it as a religious text: the split is worked out here, not stated by any source. A religious text of any date stays among the texts.
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Written 23 December 1823 CEA Visit from St. Nicholas
1823 poem attributed to Clement Clarke Moore -
Written 1909 CEThe Road to Oz
1909 novel by L. Frank Baum -
Written 1809 CEA History of New York
1809 novel by Washington Irving - Written December 1904 CE
A Kidnapped Santa Claus
short story by L. Frank Baum -
Written 1821 CEOld Santeclaus with Much Delight
anonymous 1821 Christmas poem -
Written 12 April 1912 CEThe Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
1902 children's book
Also in films, games and series: 'Twas the Night, Dashing Through the Snow, Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, The Night Before Christmas, The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives, The Ultimate Christmas Present
Connections
How Santa Claus connects
Grouped by the kind of relationship, because a successor is not a son and a shared symbol is not an influence.
Affiliation 1
What this means
Association with a tradition or school. Traditions branch, overlap and re-merge; this is not a clean single-origin tree.
Does not imply a fixed roster · that every account of the tradition knows this figure
Imported from Wikidata unless a tile says otherwise. Nothing here has been read by an editor.
Identification 6
What this means
One figure treated as another in some context. Not literal identity in all contexts, and usually a claim by a third party.
Does not imply literal identity in all contexts · that either tradition made the identification
Imported from Wikidata unless a tile says otherwise. Nothing here has been read by an editor.
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identified with Christkind traditional Christmas gift-bringer - identified with Ded Moroz Christmas figure in Slavic cultures
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identified with Father Christmas Folkloric personification of Christmas in several English‐speaking parts of the world -
identified with Joulupukki Christmas figure from Finland - identified with Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas in the European folklore
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identified with Sinterklaas legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas
Sources
Sources and evidence
Where every statement on this page comes from, and how each one stands.
26 statements on this record
- 3 Has references The statement cites something outside Wikimedia. That citation has not been checked here.
- 23 Imported Taken from Wikidata as it stands. Nobody here has read it. 2 of them cite only Wikipedia: one source, counted once.
Only this record’s own statements. What other records say about it is counted on theirs.
Three layers, three licences
- Text
- Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted, not merged
- Pictures
- Wikimedia Commons · each file’s own terms
Review
Not yet read by an editor here. Every relationship on this page is an import.
Disagreements are kept, not resolved, and a count of sources is not a confidence score.
Keep exploring
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