St. Nicholas

Title: St. Nicholas

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Alex is a Dartmouth 20 from London. He is 20 years old and he is not religious, however still celebrates Christmas with his family.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: Almost everyone who celebrates Christmas has a Christmas story that they believe in. These are typically told to children around the holiday times in order to create a festive mood and make everyone excited for Christmas. As the kids grow up, they begin to lose their belief in these legends because they start to realize that there parents were the source of the gifts. However these legends remain a large source of the classic Christmas symbols and festive decorations for all ages even though the legends are no longer believed to be true.

Cultural Context: The “Father Christmas” figure varies greatly between different cultures – changing primarily due to religious and geographical differences. In the United States it is typically Santa, though people from other cultures who have parents from other cultures may also believe in a different legend.

Item:

Alex’s Christmas legend is the same as the classic American Santa legend except for the name. St. Nicholas brings his presents instead of Santa. However, he still is portrayed as the same large man wearing a red suit with a white beard.

Collector’s Comments:

While the body of the legend is the same, the name is different. This is due to the fact that Santa is an evolution of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas is the patron saint that all of the Christmas legends are derived from, so it makes sense that the folklore of the holiday would remain somewhat constant.

Collector’s Name: Alec Vaules

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive