The real Santa Claus

Once again is that magical time of the year when all the Christians gather to celebrate the birth of Santa Claus. Good old Santa, the jolly old fella with a huge white beard, a bag full of presents and a taste for Cola-Cola colored clothing.

Did you know that the jolly fat Santa Claus figure is actually created for the Coca-Cola company in the 1930’s? The original Santa comes from the mythology of Finland and Scandinavia, and has quite a different figure.

The Finnish equivalent for Father Christmas, Santa Claus, St. Nicholas etc, is joulupukki, who has his origin in the pagan Nordic shaman tradition of people dressing up in animal disguises.

Joulupukki was once a symbol of fertility and more of a frightening figure back then than today. He was clad in thick fur-lined coat turned inside out, wearing a mask and a pair of horns on his head. The name joulupukki literally means “Christmas buck” (billy-goat).
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Based on these older depictions, the Michigan-born artist Haddon Sundblom (1899 - 1976) created his well-known Santa Claus figure to be used in the advertisements of the Coca-Cola Company in the 1930’s.

Then of course Christmas, as the name suggests, is blending the Christian tradition of the birth of Jesus Christ to the old pagan mythology.

Most importantly Christmas should be a time of relaxation, and a chance to get together with friends or relatives. We here at the BitBurners hope that you all do just that - disconnect and shut down, and spend some quality time with your loved ones. Afterwards, get quickly back online and come back to tell us what cool stuff you got for Christmas: DVD recorder, Xbox 360….

Merry Christmas and see you in a few days!

Source: Finnish Santa