Vintage Santa Figurines and Collectibles

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The modern-day American concept of "Santa Claus" emerged around 1863. Of course, the legend of an elderly, bearded winter gift-giver appeared long before that, but he was known by other names—St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas,...
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The modern-day American concept of "Santa Claus" emerged around 1863. Of course, the legend of an elderly, bearded winter gift-giver appeared long before that, but he was known by other names—St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, Belsnickel, and Sinterklaas. The idea of Santa may have originated from an ancient 12-day Norse winter festival called Yule. A god named Odin was believed to arrive on an eight-legged horse in the form of a bearded cloak-wearing old man. Late at night, he would put treats in the children's shoes. Others attribute Santa to the story of a Turkish Greek bishop named Saint Nicholas who is believed to have lived in the 300s A.D. Nicholas of Myra was said to be a wealthy man who gave away every piece of gold he had, even dropping treasure bags into chimneys of the poor. Both Odin and St. Nicholas were depicted as tall, slender men carrying staffs. Stories of solemn St. Nick were popular in Holland, where his name was pronounced "Sinterklaas." In the winter, Sinterklaas was said to travel down chimneys to put presents in children's shoes. But as this mythology spread around Europe, St. Nick got a companion to deal with the unruly, misbehaving children who didn't deserve gifts. Krampus—also known as Knecht Ruprecht, Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), or Cert—was often portrayed as a horned and long-tongued beast. Sometimes Krampus left switches, but other times, he carted off bad children in baskets to torture them until they promised to behave. During the Protestant reformation in the 1500s, Martin Luther railed against the St. Nicholas myth. But European Protestants who wanted to continue the tradition attributed the presents to the Christ Child, or "Christkindl." While the Christ Child was at first depicted as a cherub-like white baby, eventually "Kris Kringle" came to look an awful lot like Old St. Nick. In 15th-century England, stories developed about an old man who personified Christmas and spread the word about the miracle of...
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