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THE HOME OF TEAM KRAZY KAT MOTORCYCLE DRAG RACING
CHRISTMAS FACTS
The Origins of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the only new addition to the folklore of SantaClaus in the
twentieth century.
On a December night in Chicago several years ago, a little girl climbed onto her father's lap and
asked a question. It was a simple question, asked in children's curiosity, yet it had a heart-rending
effect on Robert May.
"Daddy," four-year old Barbara asked, "Why isn't my Mommy just like everybody else's
mommy?"
Bob May stole a glance across his shabby two room apartment. On a couch lay his young wife,
Evelyn, racked with cancer. For two years she had been bedridden; for two years, all Bob's
income and smaller savings had gone to pay for treatments and medicines.
The terrible ordeal already had shattered two adult lives. Now Bob suddenly realized the
happiness of his growing daughter was also in jeopardy. As he ran his fingers through Barbara's
hair, he prayed for some satisfactory answer to her question.
Bob May knew only too well what it meant to be "different." As a child he had been weak and
delicate. With the innocent cruelty of children, his playmates had continually goaded the stunted,
skinny lad to tears. Later at Dartmouth, from which he was graduated in 1926, Bob May was so
small that he was always being mistaken for someone's little brother.
Nor was his adult life much happier. Unlike many of his classmates who floated from college into
plush jobs, Bob became a lowly copy writer for Montgomery Ward, the big Chicago mail order
house. Now at 33 Bob was deep in debt, depressed and sad.
Although Bob did not know it at the time, the answer he gave the tousled haired child on his lap
was to bring him to fame and fortune. It was also to bring joy to countless thousands of children
like his own Barbara. On that December night in the shabby Chicago apartment, Bob cradled his
little girl's head against his shoulder and began to tell a story...
"Once upon a time there was a reindeer named Rudolph, the only reindeer in the world that had a
big red nose. Naturally people called him Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." As Bob went on to
tell about Rudolph, he tried desperately to communicate to Barbara the knowledge that, even
though some creatures of God are strange and different, they often enjoy the miraculous power to
make others happy.
Rudolph, Bob explained, was terribly embarrassed by his unique nose. Other reindeer laughed at
him; his mother and father and sister were mortified too. Even Rudolph wallowed in self pity.
"Well," continued Bob, "one Christmas Eve, Santa Claus got his team of husky reindeer -Dasher,
Dancer, Prancer, and Vixon ready for their yearly trip around the world. The entire reindeer
community assembled to cheer these great heroes on their way. But a terrible fog engulfed the earth
that evening, and Santa knew that the mist was so thick he wouldn't be able to find any chimney.
Suddenly Rudolph appeared, his red nose glowing brighter than ever. Santa sensed at once that
here was the answer to his perplexing problem. He led Rudolph to the front of the sleigh, fastened
the harness and climbed in. They were off! Rudolph guided Santa safely to every chimney that
night. Rain and fog, snow and sleet; nothing bothered Rudolph, for his bright nose penetrated the
mist like a beacon.
And so it was that Rudolph became the most famous and beloved of all the reindeer. The huge red
nose he once hid in shame was now the envy of every buck and doe in the reindeer world. Santa
Claus told everyone that Rudolph had saved the day and from that Christmas, Rudolph has been
living serenely and happy."
Little Barbara laughed with glee when her father finished. Every night she begged him to repeat the
tale until finally Bob could rattle it off in his sleep. Then, at Christmas time he decided to make the
story into a poem like "The Night Before Christmas" and prepare it in bookish form illustrated
with pictures, for Barbara's personal gift. Night after night, Bob worked on the verses after
Barbara had gone to bed for he was determined his daughter should have a worthwhile gift, even
though he could not afford to buy one...
Then as Bob was about to put the finishing touches on Rudolph, tragedy struck. Evelyn May died.
Bob, his hopes crushed, turned to Barbara as chief comfort. Yet, despite his grief, he sat at his desk
in the quiet, now lonely apartment, and worked on "Rudolph" with tears in his eyes.
Shortly after Barbara had cried with joy over his handmade gift on Christmas morning, Bob was
asked to an employee's holiday party at Montgomery Wards. He didn't want to go, but his office
associates insisted. When Bob finally agreed, he took with him the poem and read it to the crowd.
First the noisy throng listened in laughter and gaiety. Then they became silent, and at the end, broke
into spontaneous applause. That was in 1938.
By Christmas of 1947, some 6,000,000 copies of the booklet had been given away or sold, making
Rudolph one of the most widely distributed books in the world. The demand for Rudolph
sponsored products, increased so much in variety and number that educators and historians
predicted Rudolph would come to occupy a permanent place in the Christmas legend.
Through the years of unhappiness, the tragedy of his wife's death and his ultimate success with
Rudolph, Bob May has captured a sense of serenity. And as each Christmas rolls around he recalls
with thankfulness the night when his daughter, Barbara's questions inspired him to write the story.
Rudolph was reprinted as a Christmas booklet sporadically until 1947. That year, a friend of
May's, Johnny Marks, decided to put the poem to music. One professional singer after another
declined the opportunity to record the song, but in 1949, Gene Autry consented. The Autry
recording rocketed to the top of the Hit Parade. Since then, three hundred different recordings have
been made, and more than eighty million records sold. The original Gene Autry version is second
only to Bing Crosby's, White Christmas, as the best-selling record of all time.
Rudolph became an annual television star, and a familiar Christmas image in many of the countries
whose own lore had enriched the international St. Nicholas legend.
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the only new addition to the folklore of SantaClaus in the
twentieth century.
On a December night in Chicago several years ago, a little girl climbed onto her father's lap and
asked a question. It was a simple question, asked in children's curiosity, yet it had a heart-rending
effect on Robert May.
"Daddy," four-year old Barbara asked, "Why isn't my Mommy just like everybody else's
mommy?"
Bob May stole a glance across his shabby two room apartment. On a couch lay his young wife,
Evelyn, racked with cancer. For two years she had been bedridden; for two years, all Bob's
income and smaller savings had gone to pay for treatments and medicines.
The terrible ordeal already had shattered two adult lives. Now Bob suddenly realized the
happiness of his growing daughter was also in jeopardy. As he ran his fingers through Barbara's
hair, he prayed for some satisfactory answer to her question.
Bob May knew only too well what it meant to be "different." As a child he had been weak and
delicate. With the innocent cruelty of children, his playmates had continually goaded the stunted,
skinny lad to tears. Later at Dartmouth, from which he was graduated in 1926, Bob May was so
small that he was always being mistaken for someone's little brother.
Nor was his adult life much happier. Unlike many of his classmates who floated from college into
plush jobs, Bob became a lowly copy writer for Montgomery Ward, the big Chicago mail order
house. Now at 33 Bob was deep in debt, depressed and sad.
Although Bob did not know it at the time, the answer he gave the tousled haired child on his lap
was to bring him to fame and fortune. It was also to bring joy to countless thousands of children
like his own Barbara. On that December night in the shabby Chicago apartment, Bob cradled his
little girl's head against his shoulder and began to tell a story...
"Once upon a time there was a reindeer named Rudolph, the only reindeer in the world that had a
big red nose. Naturally people called him Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." As Bob went on to
tell about Rudolph, he tried desperately to communicate to Barbara the knowledge that, even
though some creatures of God are strange and different, they often enjoy the miraculous power to
make others happy.
Rudolph, Bob explained, was terribly embarrassed by his unique nose. Other reindeer laughed at
him; his mother and father and sister were mortified too. Even Rudolph wallowed in self pity.
"Well," continued Bob, "one Christmas Eve, Santa Claus got his team of husky reindeer -Dasher,
Dancer, Prancer, and Vixon ready for their yearly trip around the world. The entire reindeer
community assembled to cheer these great heroes on their way. But a terrible fog engulfed the earth
that evening, and Santa knew that the mist was so thick he wouldn't be able to find any chimney.
Suddenly Rudolph appeared, his red nose glowing brighter than ever. Santa sensed at once that
here was the answer to his perplexing problem. He led Rudolph to the front of the sleigh, fastened
the harness and climbed in. They were off! Rudolph guided Santa safely to every chimney that
night. Rain and fog, snow and sleet; nothing bothered Rudolph, for his bright nose penetrated the
mist like a beacon.
And so it was that Rudolph became the most famous and beloved of all the reindeer. The huge red
nose he once hid in shame was now the envy of every buck and doe in the reindeer world. Santa
Claus told everyone that Rudolph had saved the day and from that Christmas, Rudolph has been
living serenely and happy."
Little Barbara laughed with glee when her father finished. Every night she begged him to repeat the
tale until finally Bob could rattle it off in his sleep. Then, at Christmas time he decided to make the
story into a poem like "The Night Before Christmas" and prepare it in bookish form illustrated
with pictures, for Barbara's personal gift. Night after night, Bob worked on the verses after
Barbara had gone to bed for he was determined his daughter should have a worthwhile gift, even
though he could not afford to buy one...
Then as Bob was about to put the finishing touches on Rudolph, tragedy struck. Evelyn May died.
Bob, his hopes crushed, turned to Barbara as chief comfort. Yet, despite his grief, he sat at his desk
in the quiet, now lonely apartment, and worked on "Rudolph" with tears in his eyes.
Shortly after Barbara had cried with joy over his handmade gift on Christmas morning, Bob was
asked to an employee's holiday party at Montgomery Wards. He didn't want to go, but his office
associates insisted. When Bob finally agreed, he took with him the poem and read it to the crowd.
First the noisy throng listened in laughter and gaiety. Then they became silent, and at the end, broke
into spontaneous applause. That was in 1938.
By Christmas of 1947, some 6,000,000 copies of the booklet had been given away or sold, making
Rudolph one of the most widely distributed books in the world. The demand for Rudolph
sponsored products, increased so much in variety and number that educators and historians
predicted Rudolph would come to occupy a permanent place in the Christmas legend.
Through the years of unhappiness, the tragedy of his wife's death and his ultimate success with
Rudolph, Bob May has captured a sense of serenity. And as each Christmas rolls around he recalls
with thankfulness the night when his daughter, Barbara's questions inspired him to write the story.
Rudolph was reprinted as a Christmas booklet sporadically until 1947. That year, a friend of
May's, Johnny Marks, decided to put the poem to music. One professional singer after another
declined the opportunity to record the song, but in 1949, Gene Autry consented. The Autry
recording rocketed to the top of the Hit Parade. Since then, three hundred different recordings have
been made, and more than eighty million records sold. The original Gene Autry version is second
only to Bing Crosby's, White Christmas, as the best-selling record of all time.
Rudolph became an annual television star, and a familiar Christmas image in many of the countries
whose own lore had enriched the international St. Nicholas legend.
The Origins of Frosty The Snowman
"Frosty the Snowman'' was a Tin Pan Alley novelty created by Jack Nelson and Steve Rollins in
1950,consciously made as a follow-up to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
and sold to Gene Autry, who recorded it. The title was taken up for a children's book,
illustrated by Corinne Malvern, and published in 1950 by Golden Books.
It went on to become a popular children's television cartoon by Rankin & Bass in 1968.
Frosty is the most famous snowman.
"Frosty the Snowman'' was a Tin Pan Alley novelty created by Jack Nelson and Steve Rollins in
1950,consciously made as a follow-up to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
and sold to Gene Autry, who recorded it. The title was taken up for a children's book,
illustrated by Corinne Malvern, and published in 1950 by Golden Books.
It went on to become a popular children's television cartoon by Rankin & Bass in 1968.
Frosty is the most famous snowman.
The Origins of elves
In the pagan times of Scandinavia, people believed that house gnomes guarded their homes against evil.
Although these gnomes mostly were benevolent, they quickly could turn nasty when not properly treated,
so it is told. Throughout the centuries, they were either loved or loathed. Some people even believed
them to be trolls and cannibals. The perception of gnomes largely depended on whether a person was
naughty, or nice.
When Christmas became popular again as a festive season in the middle-1800s, Scandinavian writers such
as Thile, Toplius, Rydberg sketched the gnomes' true role in modern life: fairies that are somewhat
mischievous, but the true friends and helpers of Father Christmas (Santa Claus). They are theChristmas
elves. Artists such as Hansen and Nyström completed the picture of elves for us. Living in Lapland
At one stage it was thought that the elves live in Father Christmas' (Santa's) village in North Pole.
However, in 1925 it was discovered that there are no reindeer in the North Pole but there are lots in
Lapland, Finland. Nobody has actually seen their village because the passage to it is a secret that is
known only to Father Christmas and the elves. We know that it is somewhere on the Korvatunturi mountain
in the Savukoski county of Lapland, Finland, which is on the Finnish-Russian border.
The magic toymaking machine
The elves are the children of Gryla and Leppaludi, their father and mother. Some people say that there
are 13 elves, some say 9, some 6. They are very clever and help Father Christmas to design the toys that
children and grownups order by email or snailmail. We know at least 6 of the duties they have. Here it is
with their Westernised names:
Bushy Evergreen is the inventor of the magic toymaking machine.
Shinny Upatree is Father Christmas's (Santa's) oldest friend and cofounder of the secret village in Lapland.
Wunorse Openslae designed Father Christmas's sleigh and maintains it for top performance. (It is believed that the
reindeer reach speeds faster than Christmas tree lights.) He also cares for the reindeer.
Pepper Minstix is the guardian of the secret of the location of Father Christmas's village.
Sugarplum Mary is Head of the Sweat Treats, and assistant to Father Christmas's wife, Mrs Claus, also known as
Mary Christmas.
Alabaster Snowball is very important. He is the Administrator of the Naughty & Nice list.
In the pagan times of Scandinavia, people believed that house gnomes guarded their homes against evil.
Although these gnomes mostly were benevolent, they quickly could turn nasty when not properly treated,
so it is told. Throughout the centuries, they were either loved or loathed. Some people even believed
them to be trolls and cannibals. The perception of gnomes largely depended on whether a person was
naughty, or nice.
When Christmas became popular again as a festive season in the middle-1800s, Scandinavian writers such
as Thile, Toplius, Rydberg sketched the gnomes' true role in modern life: fairies that are somewhat
mischievous, but the true friends and helpers of Father Christmas (Santa Claus). They are theChristmas
elves. Artists such as Hansen and Nyström completed the picture of elves for us. Living in Lapland
At one stage it was thought that the elves live in Father Christmas' (Santa's) village in North Pole.
However, in 1925 it was discovered that there are no reindeer in the North Pole but there are lots in
Lapland, Finland. Nobody has actually seen their village because the passage to it is a secret that is
known only to Father Christmas and the elves. We know that it is somewhere on the Korvatunturi mountain
in the Savukoski county of Lapland, Finland, which is on the Finnish-Russian border.
The magic toymaking machine
The elves are the children of Gryla and Leppaludi, their father and mother. Some people say that there
are 13 elves, some say 9, some 6. They are very clever and help Father Christmas to design the toys that
children and grownups order by email or snailmail. We know at least 6 of the duties they have. Here it is
with their Westernised names:
Bushy Evergreen is the inventor of the magic toymaking machine.
Shinny Upatree is Father Christmas's (Santa's) oldest friend and cofounder of the secret village in Lapland.
Wunorse Openslae designed Father Christmas's sleigh and maintains it for top performance. (It is believed that the
reindeer reach speeds faster than Christmas tree lights.) He also cares for the reindeer.
Pepper Minstix is the guardian of the secret of the location of Father Christmas's village.
Sugarplum Mary is Head of the Sweat Treats, and assistant to Father Christmas's wife, Mrs Claus, also known as
Mary Christmas.
Alabaster Snowball is very important. He is the Administrator of the Naughty & Nice list.
The Christmas Tree
It is told that Saint Boniface, a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, England who established Christian churches in
France and Germany in the 7th Century, one day came upon a group of pagans gathered around a big oak tree about to
sacrifice a child to the god Thor. To stop the sacrifice and save the child's life Boniface felled the tree with one
mighty blow of his fist. In its place grew a small fir tree. The saint told the pagan worshipers that the tiny fir was the
Tree of Life and stood for the eternal life of Christ.
It is also told that Saint Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. By the 12th Century, Christmas trees were hung from ceilings as a symbol of Christianity.
However, in that time, for a reason no one could yet explain, the trees were hung upside down.
Trees as symbols
Trees were a symbol of life long before Christianity. Ancient Egyptians brought green palm branches into their homes
on the shortest day of the year in December as a symbol of life's triumph over death. Ancient Finns used sacred groves
instead of temples. Romans adorned their homes with evergreens during Saturnalia, a winter festival in honour of
Saturnus, their god of agriculture. Druid priests decorated oak trees with golden apples for their winter solstice
festivities. During December in the Middle Ages, trees were hung with red apples as a symbol of the feast of Adam
and Eve, and called the Paradise Tree.
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) is said to be the first to have decorated a Christmas tree with candles to show children
how the stars twinkled through the dark night.
The first Christmas trees
The first reference of a fir tree decorated for Christmas is at Riga in Latvia in 1510. In 1521, the Princess Hélène de
Mecklembourg introduced the Christmas tree to Paris after marrying the Duke of Orleans. There also is a printed
reference to Christmas trees in Germany, dated 1531. Another famous reference, to 1601, is about a visitor to
Strasbourg, Germany (now part of France) who noticed a family decorating a tree with "wafers and golden
sugar-twists (barley sugar) and paper flowers of all colours."
The Christmas tree was introduced to the United States by German settlers and by Hessian mercenaries paid to fight in
the Revolutionary War. In 1804, US soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn (Chicago) hauled trees from surrounding
woods to their barracks.
Britain was introduced to the Christmas tree in 1841, when Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert brought
a Christmas tree to Windsor Castle for the Royal family. The custom of of the Christmas tree spread quickly to the
middle class, to working people, and throughout the colonies (where the Empire's flag would sometimes top the tree).
Christmas tree angels were introduced in the 1850s.
Christmas tree decorations
Trees were decorated with apples, cakes and candies for many centuries. Martin Luther was the first to use candles
on trees in the late 16th Century. In 1842, Charles Minnegrode introduced the custom of decorating trees to the US in
Williamsburg, Virginia.
In 1850s, German company Lauscha, based in Thuringia, began to produce shaped glass bead garlands for Christmas
trees. They also introduced the Rauschgoldengel, the Tingled-angel', dressed in pure gilded tin. The glass ornaments
reached Britain in the 1870s, and North America around 1880. In 1882, ornaments were complimented by electric
Christmas lights. Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, lit a Christmas tree with a string of 80 small
electric light bulbs which he had made himself. By 1890, the Christmas light strings were mass-produced. By 1900,
stores put up large illuminated trees to lure the customers.
It is told that Saint Boniface, a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, England who established Christian churches in
France and Germany in the 7th Century, one day came upon a group of pagans gathered around a big oak tree about to
sacrifice a child to the god Thor. To stop the sacrifice and save the child's life Boniface felled the tree with one
mighty blow of his fist. In its place grew a small fir tree. The saint told the pagan worshipers that the tiny fir was the
Tree of Life and stood for the eternal life of Christ.
It is also told that Saint Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. By the 12th Century, Christmas trees were hung from ceilings as a symbol of Christianity.
However, in that time, for a reason no one could yet explain, the trees were hung upside down.
Trees as symbols
Trees were a symbol of life long before Christianity. Ancient Egyptians brought green palm branches into their homes
on the shortest day of the year in December as a symbol of life's triumph over death. Ancient Finns used sacred groves
instead of temples. Romans adorned their homes with evergreens during Saturnalia, a winter festival in honour of
Saturnus, their god of agriculture. Druid priests decorated oak trees with golden apples for their winter solstice
festivities. During December in the Middle Ages, trees were hung with red apples as a symbol of the feast of Adam
and Eve, and called the Paradise Tree.
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) is said to be the first to have decorated a Christmas tree with candles to show children
how the stars twinkled through the dark night.
The first Christmas trees
The first reference of a fir tree decorated for Christmas is at Riga in Latvia in 1510. In 1521, the Princess Hélène de
Mecklembourg introduced the Christmas tree to Paris after marrying the Duke of Orleans. There also is a printed
reference to Christmas trees in Germany, dated 1531. Another famous reference, to 1601, is about a visitor to
Strasbourg, Germany (now part of France) who noticed a family decorating a tree with "wafers and golden
sugar-twists (barley sugar) and paper flowers of all colours."
The Christmas tree was introduced to the United States by German settlers and by Hessian mercenaries paid to fight in
the Revolutionary War. In 1804, US soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn (Chicago) hauled trees from surrounding
woods to their barracks.
Britain was introduced to the Christmas tree in 1841, when Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert brought
a Christmas tree to Windsor Castle for the Royal family. The custom of of the Christmas tree spread quickly to the
middle class, to working people, and throughout the colonies (where the Empire's flag would sometimes top the tree).
Christmas tree angels were introduced in the 1850s.
Christmas tree decorations
Trees were decorated with apples, cakes and candies for many centuries. Martin Luther was the first to use candles
on trees in the late 16th Century. In 1842, Charles Minnegrode introduced the custom of decorating trees to the US in
Williamsburg, Virginia.
In 1850s, German company Lauscha, based in Thuringia, began to produce shaped glass bead garlands for Christmas
trees. They also introduced the Rauschgoldengel, the Tingled-angel', dressed in pure gilded tin. The glass ornaments
reached Britain in the 1870s, and North America around 1880. In 1882, ornaments were complimented by electric
Christmas lights. Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, lit a Christmas tree with a string of 80 small
electric light bulbs which he had made himself. By 1890, the Christmas light strings were mass-produced. By 1900,
stores put up large illuminated trees to lure the customers.
Boxing Day
26th of December was traditionally known as St. Stephen's Day, after the first Christian martyr.
It is now more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was
collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then
distributed to the poor and needy after Christmas.
It is thought the Boxing Day was first observed in the Middle Ages. It found renewed
popularity in the 19th Century when the lords and ladies of England presented gifts in
boxes to their servants on 26 December in appreciation of the work they had done over
the Christmas celebrations.
If 26 December falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Boxing Day takes place on the Monday.
26th of December was traditionally known as St. Stephen's Day, after the first Christian martyr.
It is now more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was
collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then
distributed to the poor and needy after Christmas.
It is thought the Boxing Day was first observed in the Middle Ages. It found renewed
popularity in the 19th Century when the lords and ladies of England presented gifts in
boxes to their servants on 26 December in appreciation of the work they had done over
the Christmas celebrations.
If 26 December falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Boxing Day takes place on the Monday.
Christmas cake & Christmas pudding
The origins of Christmas are found in festivities with an abundance of meals. In the earlier years, as soon as the
weather got cold, pigs, calves and poultry were carved up into different cuts of meat. Filets, cutlets, hams and pigs'
knuckles and trotters, together with cheeses, were buried in the snow or stored in the root cellar, a sort of cold room.
Some meats were pickled in stoneware jars, some were smoked. This was not only for winter, this was early
preparation for the Christmas festivities.
The traditional Christmas plum pudding.
Fruit cake, stollen and log cake are part of the Christmas tradition, served on Christmas eve or offered as gifts.
One of the oldest Christmas dishes known is mince pie, which originated in the Middle Ages. The original recipe
contained a mixture of finely chopped poultry, pheasant, partridge and rabbit. Later, sugar, apples, raisins and candied
oranges and lemons were added. Over time, the meats were eliminated leaving only the sweet ingredients, introducing
the "traditional" Christmas pudding.
The famous, typically English Christmas pudding was called a "hackin" from its many ingredients. By the 17th
Century, when more sweets were added, it became the plum pudding, often prepared on Christmas morning, and
sprinkled with brandy and flamed when served.
The traditional Christmas fruit cake is a derivative of the Christmas pudding. It includes raisins, dates, nuts and
candied fruit, also forgetting the generous helping of brandy or rum.
In some countries, families gather around Christmas lunches, in other countries, around Christmas dinners. Traditional
Christmas meals usually consist of a variety of cooked meats and vegetables. Father Christmas (Santa Claus) enjoyed
a glass of milk and cookies the night before.
The origins of Christmas are found in festivities with an abundance of meals. In the earlier years, as soon as the
weather got cold, pigs, calves and poultry were carved up into different cuts of meat. Filets, cutlets, hams and pigs'
knuckles and trotters, together with cheeses, were buried in the snow or stored in the root cellar, a sort of cold room.
Some meats were pickled in stoneware jars, some were smoked. This was not only for winter, this was early
preparation for the Christmas festivities.
The traditional Christmas plum pudding.
Fruit cake, stollen and log cake are part of the Christmas tradition, served on Christmas eve or offered as gifts.
One of the oldest Christmas dishes known is mince pie, which originated in the Middle Ages. The original recipe
contained a mixture of finely chopped poultry, pheasant, partridge and rabbit. Later, sugar, apples, raisins and candied
oranges and lemons were added. Over time, the meats were eliminated leaving only the sweet ingredients, introducing
the "traditional" Christmas pudding.
The famous, typically English Christmas pudding was called a "hackin" from its many ingredients. By the 17th
Century, when more sweets were added, it became the plum pudding, often prepared on Christmas morning, and
sprinkled with brandy and flamed when served.
The traditional Christmas fruit cake is a derivative of the Christmas pudding. It includes raisins, dates, nuts and
candied fruit, also forgetting the generous helping of brandy or rum.
In some countries, families gather around Christmas lunches, in other countries, around Christmas dinners. Traditional
Christmas meals usually consist of a variety of cooked meats and vegetables. Father Christmas (Santa Claus) enjoyed
a glass of milk and cookies the night before.
Father Christmas
The figure of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) is based on Saint Nicholas, who became one of the youngest bishops
ever at age 17. At age 30 he became the Bishop of Myra, a port town on the Mediterranean Sea, that is part of
modern-day Turkey. He hailed from a rich home and became well known for supporting the needy. He would often be
seen, clad in red and white bishop's robes and riding on a donkey, handing out gifts to children.
During the Middle Ages, many churches were built in honour of Saint Nicholas. In the 11th century, his remains were
enshrined in a church in the Italian city of Bari. It is told that the first Crusaders visited Bari and carried stories about
Nicholas to their homelands. The anniversary of his death, 6 December, became a day to exchange gifts.
During the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, Martin Luther tried to stop the venerating of saints and the feast
of Saint Nicholas was abolished in some European countries. The gift giver took on other names: in Germany, he
became Der Weinachtsmann ("Christmas Man"), Père Noël in France, Father Christmas in Britain and the colonies,
and many other names.
Santa Claus in New York
The Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, founded New York - named New Amsterdam under the Dutch and renamed when
the British took over the colony - and brought with them the celebrations of Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for Saint
Nicholas. Santa Claus is the American pronunciation of Sinter Klaas.
As early as 1773 "St. A. Claus" was mentioned in the American press. In 1809, Washington Irving (the author of
"Tales from Sleepy Hollow") wrote about Sinterklaas in his "A History of New York." Irving described Sinterklaas
as a rotund little man in a typical Dutch costume, with knee breeches and a broad-brimmed hat, who travelled on
horseback on the Eve of Saint Nicholas. In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, a poet and professor of theology, published
the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas"). Moore's Santa is a jolly old elf
who flies around in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. Moore even named the reindeer by the names we know
them today, and the method by which Santa returns up the chimney.
Thomas Nast, the illustrator and caricaturist who created the donkey and elephant images to depict the US Democratic
and Republican parties, contributed his own vision of Santa for Harper's Weekly magazine from 1860 until the late
1880s. Nast depicted Santa in a red, fur-trimmed suit and a wide leather belt. Each year he added more details to his
version of the Santa legend, including the home-workshop at the North Pole and the Naughty & Nice list.
Santa Claus in the North Pole
In 1885, Nast sketched two children looking at a map of the world and tracing Santa's journey from the North Pole to
the United States. The following year, the American writer, George P. Webster, took up this idea, explaining that
Santa's toy factory and "his house, during the long summer months, was hidden in the ice and snow of the North Pole."
In 1931 Haddon Sundblom presented Santa as a plump human rather than an elf, with a jovial face and big beard in a
Coca-Cola advertisement. (Coca-Cola was a client of Sundblom's advertising agency from 1924 to until his death in
1976.) Today, it is Sundblom's Santa that slips down chimneys around the world.
Santa's address discovered
In 1925, it was discovered that there are no reindeer at the North Pole. There are, however, lots of reindeer in
Lapland, Finland. In 1927, the great secret of Santa's address was revealed by Markus Rautio ("Uncle Markus") who
compered the popular "Children's hour" on Finnish public radio. He declared that Father Christmas lives on Lapland's
Korvatunturi Mountain.
Korvatunturi - literally "Mount Ear" is in the Savukoski county, Lapland, Finland, on the Finnish-Russian border. At
500 m (1,640 ft) high, it actually is only a big hill. But its three summits points to the answer the children of the world
had been asking for years: "Yes, there really is a Father Christmas (Santa Claus)." And his official Post Office is in
the town of Napapiiri, near Rovaniemi, near the Korvatunturi mountain. The mountain itself is out of bounds to people
The figure of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) is based on Saint Nicholas, who became one of the youngest bishops
ever at age 17. At age 30 he became the Bishop of Myra, a port town on the Mediterranean Sea, that is part of
modern-day Turkey. He hailed from a rich home and became well known for supporting the needy. He would often be
seen, clad in red and white bishop's robes and riding on a donkey, handing out gifts to children.
During the Middle Ages, many churches were built in honour of Saint Nicholas. In the 11th century, his remains were
enshrined in a church in the Italian city of Bari. It is told that the first Crusaders visited Bari and carried stories about
Nicholas to their homelands. The anniversary of his death, 6 December, became a day to exchange gifts.
During the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, Martin Luther tried to stop the venerating of saints and the feast
of Saint Nicholas was abolished in some European countries. The gift giver took on other names: in Germany, he
became Der Weinachtsmann ("Christmas Man"), Père Noël in France, Father Christmas in Britain and the colonies,
and many other names.
Santa Claus in New York
The Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, founded New York - named New Amsterdam under the Dutch and renamed when
the British took over the colony - and brought with them the celebrations of Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for Saint
Nicholas. Santa Claus is the American pronunciation of Sinter Klaas.
As early as 1773 "St. A. Claus" was mentioned in the American press. In 1809, Washington Irving (the author of
"Tales from Sleepy Hollow") wrote about Sinterklaas in his "A History of New York." Irving described Sinterklaas
as a rotund little man in a typical Dutch costume, with knee breeches and a broad-brimmed hat, who travelled on
horseback on the Eve of Saint Nicholas. In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, a poet and professor of theology, published
the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas"). Moore's Santa is a jolly old elf
who flies around in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. Moore even named the reindeer by the names we know
them today, and the method by which Santa returns up the chimney.
Thomas Nast, the illustrator and caricaturist who created the donkey and elephant images to depict the US Democratic
and Republican parties, contributed his own vision of Santa for Harper's Weekly magazine from 1860 until the late
1880s. Nast depicted Santa in a red, fur-trimmed suit and a wide leather belt. Each year he added more details to his
version of the Santa legend, including the home-workshop at the North Pole and the Naughty & Nice list.
Santa Claus in the North Pole
In 1885, Nast sketched two children looking at a map of the world and tracing Santa's journey from the North Pole to
the United States. The following year, the American writer, George P. Webster, took up this idea, explaining that
Santa's toy factory and "his house, during the long summer months, was hidden in the ice and snow of the North Pole."
In 1931 Haddon Sundblom presented Santa as a plump human rather than an elf, with a jovial face and big beard in a
Coca-Cola advertisement. (Coca-Cola was a client of Sundblom's advertising agency from 1924 to until his death in
1976.) Today, it is Sundblom's Santa that slips down chimneys around the world.
Santa's address discovered
In 1925, it was discovered that there are no reindeer at the North Pole. There are, however, lots of reindeer in
Lapland, Finland. In 1927, the great secret of Santa's address was revealed by Markus Rautio ("Uncle Markus") who
compered the popular "Children's hour" on Finnish public radio. He declared that Father Christmas lives on Lapland's
Korvatunturi Mountain.
Korvatunturi - literally "Mount Ear" is in the Savukoski county, Lapland, Finland, on the Finnish-Russian border. At
500 m (1,640 ft) high, it actually is only a big hill. But its three summits points to the answer the children of the world
had been asking for years: "Yes, there really is a Father Christmas (Santa Claus)." And his official Post Office is in
the town of Napapiiri, near Rovaniemi, near the Korvatunturi mountain. The mountain itself is out of bounds to people
Do Reindeer Really Fly?
Does Santa come with flying reindeer to deliver present at Christmas?
To answer the question, "Does Santa come with flying reindeer to deliver presents at Christmas?" This is what
they have found:
No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and
while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer ,which only Santa
has ever seen.
There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the
Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million
according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8
million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth,
assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say
that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh,
jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks
have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each
of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for
the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, a total trip
of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus
feeding, etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For
purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4
miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a
medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably
described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that
"flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or
even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to
353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in
the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3
QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously,
exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will
be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces
17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the
back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.
Does Santa come with flying reindeer to deliver present at Christmas?
To answer the question, "Does Santa come with flying reindeer to deliver presents at Christmas?" This is what
they have found:
No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and
while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer ,which only Santa
has ever seen.
There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the
Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million
according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8
million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth,
assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say
that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh,
jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks
have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each
of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for
the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, a total trip
of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus
feeding, etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For
purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4
miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a
medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably
described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that
"flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or
even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to
353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in
the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3
QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously,
exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will
be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces
17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the
back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.
