St Nick and Odin - Christmas and Yule

Indeed we know that not every person concurs with us. Some are individuals we really regard and refer to as sources consistently. Be that as it may, subsequent to taking a gander at the extensive rundown of clear associations and similitudes we offer beneath, we would need to just say we settle on a truce.

First of all:

1) We are not denying the undeniable impact of Saint Nicholas who provided for the poor during the third century. Be that as it may, Saint Nicholas never professed to have 'gift making mythical beings' or capacities of flying through the sky. This article investigates the fascinating likenesses between the ORIGINAL adaptation of the invented character known as Santa Claus … and Odin of Norse folklore.

2) Few antiquarians differ that a significant number of our advanced occasions were made by the Christian church with an end goal to supplant well known agnostic occasions of the past and divert the concentration to Christ. A large number of the present famous Christmas customs (enhancing trees, wreaths, mistletoe, and so on) can be followed back to old agnostic celebrations: The Roman agnostic celebration of Saturnalia (Dec. seventeenth – Dec. 24th), and the more famous Germanic celebration known as Yule (12 days, normally Dec. 21st – Jan. first). The Yule celebration incorporated the festival of Odin's "Wild Hunt" that elaborate him flying through the sky around evening time on his supernatural flying pony named Sleipnir. Proof of this unique agnostic occasion can in any case be found in the numerous well known Christmas songs that notice Yule, Yuletide, Yule log, and so forth While history shows that the congregation supplanted Yule with Christmas, a considerable lot of the first Yule customs proceeded as the years progressed.

3) With the undeniable associations among Yule and Christmas, it's a good idea to think about how Yule (and Norse folklore overall) likewise discuss Norse divine beings flying through the sky on creature drawn sleds. What's more how Odin's flying, 8-legged pony Sleipnir was known for having a sled (see underneath). Also how Odin was known for parting with gifts. Furthermore how Odin had otherworldly mythical people and dwarves who were explicitly known for being creators of gifts (Thor's sledge Mjölnir being one of numerous models).

Add to this the numerous different similitudes recorded beneath and … all things considered, you choose.

The cutting edge Christmas is a combination of customs from many societies and has both Christian and pre-Christian components. One of the most predominant being Yule. To a few, Yule is as yet thought to be a sacred period. Like other winter solstice occasions, it praises the guarantee of light again prevailing over murkiness and the resurrection of the sun. During Yule, every one of the divine beings are regarded, particularly Odin – who is likewise alluded to as Jólfaðr (Yule Father). [4] Yule is known as a period where loved ones would fortify their connections to one another through neighborliness, devouring, drinking, gift-giving, and making cheerful notwithstanding the privations and risks of winter.

Things being what they are, is Odin, the 'Yule Father', conceivably a unique impact to the imaginary person of Santa Claus (Father Christmas)? Right away, the correlation appears to be strange. What could a cheerful, chubby man who descends fireplaces to bring kids presents potentially have to do with the one-peered toward, raven-flanked Viking lord of war? Upon closer assessment, be that as it may, the likenesses between the two become more clear.

At the point when we look past our advanced, commercial changed picture of Santa Claus to more conventional pictures, our examination quickly comes to fruition.

Odin was known for taking on many structures and had many names. In any case, one of his beloved structures was that of an old, white-hairy explorer clad in a shroud and expansive overflowed cap or hood.

Odin utilized this clothing as a camouflage while he crossed the nine universes looking for information [1,2,3]. This symbolism of Odin was the one that any Viking would be comfortable with. Concerning the first depiction of Santa. A long time before Santa's story was decorated by the Victorian opinions of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in 1823, and before his further reexamination by Coca-Cola during the 1920's and 1930's, Santa was ORIGINALLY portrayed as an old, tall, skinny man with a hide managed shroud and expansive overflowed cap or hood who went riding a horse. [5]

St Nick/Odin correlations include:

Odin crosses the skies during the evenings of Yule, compensating the great and rebuffing the terrible. The Vikings and other northern European people groups accepted that Odin hustled across the blustery night skies driving his bunch of divine beings, mythical beings, monsters, and familial spirits in an extraordinary chase against the ice goliaths and the powers of obscurity. This Wild Hunt, as it was frequently called, was connected to winter storms and surprisingly hazardous signs. While the Wild Hunt was on, the people who incited the rage of the divine beings could end up trapped in misfortune and Odin's anger, while those whom Odin leaned toward would get favorable luck and gifts. However the Wild Hunt could happen any colder time of year's evening, it was particularly connected with the 12 evenings of Yule. [6] Santa crossing the night skies of the entire world on Christmas night has comparative symbolism.

Odin was known for having a flying eight legged pony. Odin's 8-legged flying pony is named Sleipnir (as found in this thousand year old stone cutting found in Sweden). The first Santa rode on a pony (as found in the vintage post cards above). The idea of Santa utilizing reindeer rather than a pony was presented later in 1823 through the sonnet, 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (otherwise known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'). When doing battle, Odin rode on Sleipnir's back. And keeping in mind that the other Norse divine beings were known for having chariots that were drawn by mysterious flying monsters (like Thor's goats or Freya's felines), the Eddic sonnet, Sigdrifumal, specifies Sleipnir having runes cut into his teeth and onto the ties of his sled, which shows that the otherworldly flying pony likewise (in some measure on occasion) pulled a sled. In cold Scandinavia, creature drawn chariots were supplanted by creature drawn sleds. Three such sleds were found in the well known Viking Oseberg transport internment. [8]By the time the imaginary person of Santa was first being made, reindeer were notable as sled pulling creatures in Finland and other virus lands lining the Northern Scandinavian domains of the Viking country. [9] Many scholars make the further association with old Nordic accounts of youngsters leaving straw and carrots in their boots as a present for a hungry Sleipnir straight from the Wild Hunt. In return, they would observe their boots loaded up with gifts toward the beginning of the day. This is believed to be the beginning of present day treats for Santa and his reindeer in return for present stuffed (boot molded) stockings by the chimney. Notwithstanding, we still can't seem to track down any essential sources on this

Odin was a Gift-Giver. Norse fantasy has many occurrences of Odin giving gifts to humanity. As well as making the world and giving individuals life (and different things one may expect of a divine being), Odin would some of the time appear and furnish a commendable individual with some extraordinary thing they required. For instance, in the Volsunga Saga, Odin shows up in his now-recognizable mask to give the saint, Sigmund, the endowment of an enchanted sword. [3] In the Saga of Hrolf Kraki (Hrolf the Tall), King Hrolf rejects an endowment of friendliness, shield and weapons from an old, hairy man with a missing eye – just to later understand the gift-provider was Odin in mask. Hrolf later bites the dust because of not having these weapons. One of the many names for Odin was Óski (Wish Granter).

In the Eddic sonnet, Voluspa en skamma, Freyja expounds on Odin as gift-provider:

"We'll ask Odin

to remember us

he gives gold to the individuals who are commendable.

He gave Hermoth a cap and shield.

He gave Sigmund a blade as a gift.

He gives triumph to a few,

cash to other people,

persuasiveness to many,

also good judgment to all.

He gives waves to the ocean,

word-ability to artists,

he provides numerous with the bliss of affection"

Gift making mythical beings were alluded to as 'Odin's men'. The diminutive people and mythical beings of Norse folklore were explicitly known to be the makers of wondrous things, like Odin's supernatural lance (Gungnir), Thor's mysterious mallet (Mjolnir) and numerous other known gifts. However Alfheim, the domain of the Elves, was subsequently talented to the god Freyr, the Elves consistently have had an extraordinary union with Odin. The Eddic sonnet, Thorsdrapa (Lay of Thor) initially alluded to the Elves as "Odin's Men" [2].

The Norse accepted that Odin knew whether they were awful or great. Odin was viewed as the far-seeing, all-knowing lord of Norse folklore. He conveyed his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn each day to gather news from the Nine Worlds, and consistently these heavenly birds would report back to him. Odin would walk the earth, looking for insight and information and monitoring individuals that he leaned toward just as individuals that he doubted. Odin was additionally the "Chooser of the Slain," who – alongside Freya – picked who passed judgment on the value of individuals to have a spot in Valhalla. [1,2,3]

St Nick lives in the North Pole. Odin is said to live in an extraordinary world called Asgard, a domain eliminated from our existence and just open by intersection the Bifrost extension or rising the storage compartment of Yggdrasil. Odin frequently fights against the ice goliaths (or ice monsters). In correlation, a decent part of Scandinavia is within the Arctic Circle – uninhabited frozen spots in which life is almost outlandish. The early individuals of Scandinavia normally compared those Northern sloping, aloof areas of the 12 PM sun and Aurora Borealis as a position of enchantment and the 'place where there is the divine beings and goliaths.' And obviously, Vikings were generally known as "The Northmen" to the remainder of the world around then.

St Nick was initially called Father Christmas. One of Odin's most well known titles is that of the word Allfather. [1] As recently referenced, he is additionally called Jólfaðr (Yule Father). [4]

Folklorist Margaret Baker expressed the accompanying,

"the presence of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is the 25th of December, owes a lot to Odin, the old blue-hooded, shrouded, white-hairy Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed horse Sleipnir, visiting his kin with presents. … Odin, [over time] changed into Father Christmas, then, at that point, Santa Claus, flourished with St Nicholas and the Christchild, and turned into a main player on the Christmas stage." [11]

Consider how Santa Claus would have affected our previous precursors. St Nick represented confronting difficulty (for winter is a period of incredible difficulty in agrarian social orders) with security, wealth, liberality, and happiness. These equivalent characteristics were likewise intrinsic in the works of Odin, who was not just the divine force of war, but rather additionally of verse and shrewdness, and the exemplification of gift giving and courageous emotionlessness.

St Nick Claus is a complex social conglomerated character. He has many advancing starting places – Scandinavian and Germanic legend, Saint Nicholas of the third-century Eastern Roman Empire, Medieval and later people structures like Sinterklaas and other provincial varieties, Victorian sonnets and etchings, even the Coca Cola promotions of the 1930s and the wide range of various mainstream society from that point forward.

Other Christmas associations with Yule

• Mistletoe. Loki, the divine force of underhandedness and setback, engineered the homicide of Baldr (who was quite possibly the most adored of the god) with a lance produced using mistletoe. The Mistletoe berries later turned into an image of affection in the epilog of a similar story, thus the practice of kissing under it; Baldr's demise was additionally expected to prompt resurrection later Ragnarok, with regards to the subject of Yule. [12]

• Christmas trees. Vikings enhanced trees with food, gifts, and little carvings (especially to pay tribute to their divine beings). The custom of lighting candles on trees was not archived until the mid nineteenth century, thus we can trust that the consistently functional Vikings would be advised to detect than that.

• Hymns and Caroling. However they were in all likelihood of a totally different person than our Christmas tunes, the Norse sang Yule tunes. Nordic youngsters would wear covers and go house to house among their neighbors singing tunes. [10]

• Evenings of enchantment, supernatural animals, and occasion marvels. Vikings accepted that the time around Yule was enchanted, particularly around evening time. As in Celtic Samhain, the boundary between our reality and the extraordinary world was at its most slender. Spirits could venture to every part of the backwoods and fields. Mythical beings, dwarves, and different creatures were dynamic and could become associated with the undertakings of people. These different spirits and creatures could now and again carry gifts or equity to people who required it, and who showed them their due regard. [6,10] Our Christmas symbolism of nighttime enchantment, for example, in The Nutcracker, or the profound excursions of Ebenezer Scrooge are stories from a lot later occasions, yet their inclination and subjects would have been completely natural to the Vikings.

• Gifts of cakes and desserts. These things were proposed to the destinies (Norns) and mother (ripeness and supporting) powers that presumably begun with more seasoned Indo-European cliques, however suffused the Aesir Goddesses of the Viking Age (like Freya and Frigg). [10]

• Reverence of goddesses. To numerous Christians, Mary is a particularly significant Christmas character, and frequently gets unique consideration. The Vikings were the equivalent in regards to their accentuation of the female divinities and the festival of god parenthood around Yule. [10]

• Wreaths. One Yule custom included making enormous wheels of pine branches, lighting them ablaze, and moving them down a slope out of appreciation for the sun. The round state of wreaths additionally portrayed the recurrent idea of the seasons and of the Norse origination of the universe/time. [10]

• Yule Logs. At the Yule feast, Vikings would consume huge logs of oak recorded with runes for favorable luck in the coming year. Oak is the hardest of woods, thus these logs would consume long and hot for the duration of the night to cheer the blowout and to pursue the murkiness away.

• Drinking. Christmas and New Year are the primary seasons that prominent drinking of liquor turns out to be all the more socially satisfactory. The Vikings observed Yule with evenings on-finish of drinking mead and extraordinarily blended lagers from creature horns (and now and then the skulls of their adversaries).

Occasions are times when the practices of our numerous predecessors come down to us in mixed structures. Regardless of its different marks of beginnings, Christmas is as yet a period wherein individuals courageous the cold to meet up, fortifying the obligations of connection and kinship, think about their past and their future, and think about their profound spot on the planet.