This is a list of Christmas and winter gift-bringer figures from around the world.
The history of mythical or folkloric gift-bringing figures who appear in winter, often at or around the Christmas period, is complex, and in many countries the gift-bringer – and the gift-bringer's date of arrival – has changed over time as native customs have been influenced by those in other countries. While many though not all gift-bringers originated as religious figures, gift-bringing is often now a non-religious custom and secular figures exist in many countries that have little or no tradition of celebrating Christmas as a religious festival. Some figures are entirely local, and some have been deliberately and more recently invented.
The main originating strands – all of which have their roots in Europe – are
Not all gift-bringers were or are specifically focused on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day: other common customs are 6 December (St Nicholas), 1 January, New Year (St Basil, or secular), and 6 January, Epiphany (Three Kings).
The international popularity of the figure of Santa Claus has transformed the older traditions of many countries.
Given the overlapping nature of gift-bringers throughout the world in name, attributes, date of arrival, and religious versus secular identity, this list may include winter gift-bringers that are not specifically associated with Christmas. The list should however not include mythical or folkloric characters that do not bring gifts, such as Father Time.
| Nation | Old man | Child | Other | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baba Chaghaloo | |||||
| Albanian: Babagjyshi, Babagjyshi i Krishtlindjeve[2] (Grandfather Christmas, Old Man of Christmas), Albanian: Babadimri[3] (Grandfather Frost) | |||||
| Catalan; Valencian: Pare Noel (Father Christmas) | Catalan; Valencian: Els Tres Reis (The Three Kings) | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas) | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | Spanish; Castilian: Reyes Magos (The Three Wise Men) | |||
| Armenian: Ձմեռ Պապ (Dzmer Papik) (Winter Grandfather) | Armenian: Գաղանթ Բաբա (Gaghant Baba) | Gaghant Baba is a more traditional figure associated with the old Armenian new year (gaghant), while Dzmer Papik is a more recent importation to the Republic of Armenia | |||
Santa Claus
| Wangkarnal Crow (in Warmun, Western Australia)[5] | ||||
| German: [[Nikolaus|St Nikolaus]] or German: Nikolo | Christkind (Christ Child) | ||||
| Azerbaijani: Şaxta Baba (Father Frost) | |||||
| Belarusian: Дзед Мароз (Dzied Maroz) (Grandfather Frost) | Śviaty Mikałaj (Saint Nicholas) was largely replaced by Dzeid Maroz during the Soviet period. | ||||
| Dutch; Flemish: Kerstman (Christmas Man) and Dutch; Flemish: [[Sinterklaas]] for Dutch speakers; French: [[Père Noël]] (Father Christmas) and French: [[Saint Nicholas|St Nicholas]] for French speakers | Le Petit Jesus (Baby Jesus) for French speakers | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas) | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | ||||
| Bosnian: Djed Božićnjak (also known as Bosnian: Božić Bata or Bosnian: [[Ded Moroz|Djed Mraz]]) 1 January | |||||
| Portuguese: Papai Noel, Portuguese: Bom Velhinho (Good Little Oldie). | |||||
| Bulgarian: Дядо Коледа (Dyado Koleda) | |||||
| Santa Claus, French: Père Noël (Father Christmas) for French speakers | |||||
| Spanish; Castilian: El Viejito Pascuero (The Easter Oldman), referring to him appearing at "Christmas Time", which in Chile is often called "Nativity's Easter" (Spanish; Castilian: Pascua de la Natividad) or simply "Easter" (Spanish; Castilian: Pascua), in contrast to "Resurrection Easter" (Spanish; Castilian: Pascua de Resurrección). | |||||
| Shengdan laoren (Traditional Chinese: Chinese: 聖誕老人, Simplified Chinese: Chinese: 圣诞老人, Cantonese: sing daan lo jan|italic=yes, pinyin: shèngdànlǎorén (Old Man Christmas) | |||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas) | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God), Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Jesús (Child Jesus) | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Santa Clós (Santa Claus), Spanish; Castilian: San Nicolás (Saint Nicholas) or his nickname Colacho. | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | ||||
| Croatian: Djed Božićnjak (Grandfather Christmas), Croatian: Sveti Nikola (St Nicholas) 6 December | Croatian: Mali Isus (Baby Jesus) | In Dalmatia and Slavonia, Croatian: [[Saint Lucy|St Lucy]] arrives on the eve of her feast day, 13 December. | |||
| Greek, Modern (1453-);: Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας (Saint Basil the Great) for Greek speakers | |||||
| Angel and devil accompanying Czech: Svatý Mikuláš (St Nicholas) 6 December | Czech: Ježíšek[6] (Baby Jesus) | ||||
| Czech: [[Julemanden]] (Christmas Man) | |||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas), Spanish; Castilian: Santa Clós (Santa Claus) | Spanish; Castilian: Los Tres Reyes Magos (The Three Kings), Spanish; Castilian: Vieja Belén (Old Lady of Bethlehem) | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas) | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | The Three Kings | |||
| Father Christmas[7] or synonymously Santa Claus[8] | Before mid-Victorian times Father Christmas was a different folkloric figure representing good cheer, and did not bring gifts.[9] [10] | ||||
| Estonian: Jõuluvana (Old Man of Christmas) | |||||
| Santa Claus | |||||
| Finnish: [[Joulupukki]] (Yule Goat) | |||||
| - French: Le [[Père Noël]] (Father Christmas) - French: [[Sinterklaas|Saint Nicolas]] (Saint Nicholas) in Alsace, Lorraine, the Ardennes, Franche-Comté and the Low Countries, 6 December - French: [[Olentzero]] in the Basque Country - French: [[Martin of Tours|Saint Martin]] in Alsace, Franconian Lorraine and Maritime Flanders, 10 or 11 November[11] [12] [13] - French: Le Père Janvier (Father January) in Burgundy, Nivernais and Bourbonnais, 31 December - 1 January[14] | - French: [[Christ Child|Le Petit Jésus]] (Child Jesus) - French: Le [[Christkind|Christkindel]] (Christkind) in Alsace and Franconian Lorraine, 6 December[15] | - French: Tante Arie (Aunt Arie, a fairy) in the County of Montbéliard - French: [[Biblical Magi|Les Rois Mages]] (The Three Kings) in Roussillon | |||
| Georgian: თოვლის ბაბუა tovlis babua (Snow Grandfather) 1 January | |||||
| - German: [[Martin of Tours|Martinsmann]], 10 November in Protestant areas, 11 November in Catholic areas - German: [[Nikolaus]], 6 December - German: Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man), 24 December in Protestant areas | German: [[Christkind]] (Christ Child), 24 December in Catholic areas | German: Nikolaus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, Krampus, Belsnickel or other servants in some regions of Germany. | |||
| Greek, Modern (1453-);: Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας (Saint Basil the Great) | |||||
| Haitian; Haitian Creole: Tonton Nwèl (in Haitian Creole), French: Père Noël (in French) | |||||
| Santa Claus | The Three Kings | ||||
| 聖誕老人 (jyutping: sing3 daan3 lou5 jan4) (Christmas Old Man), Santa Claus, St Nicholas, Father Christmas | |||||
| Hungarian: Télapó (Father Christmas); Hungarian: Mikulás (Nicholas) | Hungarian: Jézuska or Hungarian: Kis Jézus (Child Jesus) | Angels accompanying the baby Jesus | Mikulás is accompanied by krampusz, generally bringing virgács (rod for whipping) to children who did not behave well | ||
| Icelandic: [[Yule Lads|Jólasveinar]] (Yulemen or Yule Lads) | In Icelandic folk tales there are numerous Jólasveinar, which come on different dates. | ||||
| - English: Santa Claus, Father Christmas - Hindi: Hindi: सांता क्लॉज़ (saanta kloz), Hindi: सैंट निकोलस (saint nikolas) - Other languages: Several names | |||||
| Santa Claus, Indonesian: [[Sinterklaas|Sinterklas]] | |||||
| Santa Claus, Baba Noel (Persian: Persian: بابا نوئل); Amu Nowruz (Persian: Persian: عمو نوروز, "Uncle Nowruz"), also known as Papa Nowruz (Persian: Persian: بابا نوروز – Bābā Nowruz), Spring Equinox (20 March). | |||||
| Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Irish: Daidí na Nollag[17] for Irish speakers | |||||
| Italian: Babbo Natale (Father Christmas); in Trieste, St Nicholas 6 December. | Italian: Gesù Bambino (Baby Jesus) | Italian: [[Befana|La Befana]] 6 January. In Sicily, Udine, Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Verona and Western Trentino, St Lucy arrives on the eve of her feast day, 13 December. | |||
| or is known, but is not a traditional visitor | On 2 Jan[18] the Seven Lucky Gods bring metaphorical treasures in their treasure ship Takarabune[19] | ||||
Swahili: Baba Krismasi
| |||||
| Korean: 산타 할아버지 (Santa Harabeoji) (Grandfather Santa), Korean: 산타 클로스 (Santa Claus) | |||||
| Latvian: Ziemassvētku Vecītis (Father Christmas) | |||||
| Arabic: بابا نويل[20] (Baba Noel), French: [[Père Noël]] | |||||
| German: [[Christkind]] (Christ Child) | |||||
| Lithuanian: Kalėdų Senelis (Grandfather Christmas) | |||||
| Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch: Kleeschen (St Nicholas) | Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch: [[Christkind]] (Christ Child) | ||||
| Malagasy: Dadabe Noely (in Malagasy), French: Père Noël (in French) | |||||
| Father Christmas (Maltese: Missier il-Milied in Maltese) | |||||
| Santa Claus | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | Spanish; Castilian: Los Tres Reyes Magos (The Three Kings) | |||
| Dutch; Flemish: Kerstman (Christmas Man), Dutch; Flemish: [[Sinterklaas]] (St Nicholas) | Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), accompanies Dutch; Flemish: Sinterklaas | ||||
| Santa Claus, Maori: Hana Kōkō (in Māori)[21] | |||||
| Spanish; Castilian: El Niño (The Child) | The Three Kings | ||||
| Macedonian: Дедо Мраз (Dedo Mraz; in Macedonian), Albanian: Babagjyshi (in Albanian) | |||||
| Norwegian: Julenissen (Santa Claus) | |||||
| Santa Claus | Christ Child | The Three Kings 6 January | |||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas) | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas), Santa Claus | |||||
| Santa Claus, Tagalog: Santa Klaus (in Tagalog) | Spanish; Castilian: Los Tres Reyes Magos, Tagalog: Tatlóng Haring Mago (The Three Kings), 5 January | ||||
| Polish: Gwiazdor (Star Man or Little Star), Santa Claus, Polish: Święty Mikołaj (St Nicolas) 6 December | Polish: Dzieciątko (Christ Child) in Upper Silesia | Polish: Aniołek (Angel) 24 December in Kraków[22] | |||
| Portuguese: Pai Natal (Father Christmas), Santa Claus | Portuguese: Menino Jesus (Christ Child) – now less common | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Santa Clós (Santa Claus) | Spanish; Castilian: Los Tres Reyes Magos (The Three Kings) | ||||
| Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Moș Crăciun (Old Man Christmas, Christmas Old Man, Grandfather Christmas, Christmas Grandfather), Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Moș Nicolae (St Nicholas) | Hungarian: Jézuska or Hungarian: Kis Jézus (Child Jesus) (for the Hungarian minorities) | Hungarian: Angyal (The Angel) (for the Hungarian minorities) | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: [[Moș Gerilă]] (Grandfather Frost, Old Man Frost) during the previous Communist era | ||
| - In Russian: Russian: Дед Мороз (Ded Moroz) (Grandfather Frost) - In other languages: Nenets: Ямал Ири (Yamal Iri) (Grandpa of Yamal); Tatar: Tatar: Кыш Бабай (Grandfather Winter); Yakut: Yakut: Чысхаан (Chyskhaan) (Lord of the Cold) | Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden and granddaughter of Ded Moroz) and the New Year Boy | Before 1917, during the pre-Communist era, the gift-bringers were St Nicholas, Baboushka and Kolyáda | |||
Santa Claus
| |||||
| Now Serbian: Деда Мраз (Deda Mraz; Grandpa Frost); previously Serbian: Божић Бата (Božić Bata; Christmas Brother) | |||||
| Angel and Devil accompanying Slovak: Svätý Mikuláš (St Nicholas) 6 December | Slovak: Ježiško (Baby Jesus) | ||||
| Slovenian: Miklavž (St Nicholas), Slovenian: [[Ded Moroz|Dedek Mraz]] (Grandpa Frost), Slovenian: Božiček (Santa Claus) | Slovenian: Jezušček (Baby Jesus) | Slovenian: Sveti Trije kralji (The Three Kings) | |||
| - In English: Santa Claus Father Christmas, Santa Claus - In other languages: Afrikaans: [[Sinterklaas]] (in Afrikaans), Zulu: uFata Khisimusi (in Zulu) | |||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas); Catalan; Valencian: Pare Noél in Catalonia; Basque: [[Olentzero]] in the Basque Country and Navarre; Galician: Apalpador in Galicia | The Three Kings 6 January; Catalan; Valencian: [[Tió de Nadal]] in Catalonia;[23] Spanish; Castilian: Anjanas in Cantabria; Asturian; Bable; Leonese; Asturleonese: Anguleru in Asturias; Basque: [[Mari Domingi]], a recent female companion for Olentzero in the Basque Country and Navarre.[24] | ||||
| Sinhala; Sinhalese: නත්තල් සීයා (Naththal Seeya; in Sinhala), Tamil: சாண்டா கிளாஸ் (Cāṇṭā kiḷās; in Tamil) | |||||
| Swedish: [[Tomte|Jultomten]] (Christmas Gnome) | Swedish: [[Joulupukki|Julbock]] (Christmas Goat) until the 19th century | ||||
| St Nicholas (known as German: Samichlaus to German-speakers and Italian: San Nicolao to Italian), French: [[Père Noël]] (Father Christmas) for French-speakers | German: [[Christkind]] (Christ Child) in some areas, Italian: Gesù Bambino (Baby Jesus) in Italian-speaking areas | Italian: [[Befana|La Befana]] in Italian-speaking areas | |||
| Papa Noël (Arabic: Arabic: بابا نويل baba noel) | |||||
| Chinese: 聖誕老人 or Chinese: 聖誕老公公 (Old Man of Christmas) | |||||
Swahili: Baba Krismasi
| |||||
| Thai: ซานตาคลอส (Santa Claus) | |||||
| Tonga (Tonga Islands);: Sanitā Kolosi | |||||
| Turkish: Noel Baba (Father Christmas) or Grandfather Gaxan (Alevi areas) | |||||
| Turkmen: Aýaz Baba | |||||
| Ukrainian: Святий Миколай (Sviatyj Mykolaj) (St Nicholas), Санта Клаус (Santa Claus), sometimes Різдвяний Дід (Rizdvianyi Did) (Father Christmas) | Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on December 25. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar. [25] | ||||
| Spanish; Castilian: Papá Noel (Father Christmas) | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño Dios (Child God) | Los Reyes Magos on 6 January [26] | |||
| Santa Claus | |||||
| Uzbek: Ayoz Bobo (Frost Grandpa), Uzbek: Qor Bobo (Snow Grandfather) | |||||
| Spanish; Castilian: San Nicolás (St. Nicholas)[28] | Spanish; Castilian: El Niño (The Child) | Spanish; Castilian: Reyes Magos (The Three Wise Men) | |||
| Vietnamese: Ông Già Nô-en (Old Man of Christmas) | |||||
| Father Christmas, Santa Claus; Welsh: Siôn Corn[29] in Welsh (literally Chimney John)[30] |