Where to look for the real Santa Claus?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Santa Claus - he's Yolkich, he's Christmas grandfather, he's Moroz Ivanovich, he's Morozko. It is believed that he lives in Veliky Ustyug, but there is information that he is inclined to change attendance.

According to the latest information, he settled in the Lapland Nature Reserve and entered into a festive conspiracy with the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company. The main goal is to celebrate the New Year merrily and merrily. So, the operation "Santa Claus is wanted" has been announced throughout the country.

My address is Veliky Ustyug

Today, everyone seems to know that Santa Claus lives in Veliky Ustyug, where both big and small fans can come to him. Live in a comfortable mansion, walk along the path of fairy tales, look into a smithy or a cafe. But Father Frost settled in Veliky Ustyug quite recently, in 1999. Where was his residence before that?

And the fact is that there was no residence. There was (and is) an ordinary house in which Grandfather works all year round, preparing for the holiday. So we will go in search of him.

A Christmas tree was born in the forest … More details are needed

For a start, it would be good to figure out where Santa Claus comes from and how long has he been conducting his festive activities.

It is known that we celebrate the onset of the New Year on the night of December 31 to January 1 thanks to Peter I. But the tradition of putting up a New Year tree took shape about 120 years later. At first, the celebrants limited themselves to "decorations from the trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper" - branches.

It was only in 1817 that the first of the famous trees was installed - the future Emperor Nicholas I wanted to please his bride Alexandra Fedorovna, nee Princess Frederica Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia. The tradition of setting up Christmas trees among the Germans who lived in Russia invariably remained, and in the 19th century they began to gradually adopt it. By the way, Nicholas I himself did not like this custom: as his daughter Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna recalls, “he was always against the trees,” he was afraid of a fire from candles. But what can't you do for the sake of your family.

Since the 1830s, … confectionery shops have begun to trade in Christmas trees. They sold already decorated trees, with candles and sweets, and they were very expensive. Since the 1840s, artificial trees were considered special chic, but ordinary men also realized their benefits. They began to cut trees and take them to the city for sale, and then "Christmas trees" finally became available.

In 1852, a public Christmas tree was erected in St. Petersburg at the Yekateringofsky railway station, and they gradually began to organize holidays: in meetings of the nobility, gymnasiums, and institutes.

For some time, the trees competed with the traditional Christmas holidays, but in the end they won. Although in the houses of priests and in peasant huts, the trees were never erected. "Barskaya city fun", but so nice. After all, Chekhov's Vanka also recalls: “At the tree for the gentlemen, the grandfather always went to the forest and took his grandson with him. It was a fun time! And the grandfather quacked, and the frost quacked, and looking at them, and Vanka quacked."

But they remembered in 1914 that this was fun not only for the master, but also for Germany. At first, they took up arms against the tradition, and then the trees were completely forbidden to be placed everywhere. Although the ban was violated, I wanted a holiday even in difficult times of war.

The next ban was no longer associated with the German, but with the Christmas character of the symbol. Under Soviet rule, trees were again banned, but not for long. In 1935, Pravda published a short article by Pavel Postyshev, a candidate for membership in the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. He asked: “Why do we have schools, orphanages, nurseries, children's clubs, palaces of pioneers depriving the children of the working people of the Soviet country of this wonderful pleasure? Some, not otherwise than the "left", benders denounced this children's entertainment as a bourgeois venture. " The trees are back, but, of course, not Christmas, but New Year's.

Who? Where? How many years?

Santa Claus in his traditional festive form turns out to be slightly younger than the Christmas tree. Sometimes it is believed that this is a kind of modification of Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, but Santa Claus still has other roots. With good Santa, he is, perhaps, related, but distant.

For the first time, under the name Morozko, he appears in a folk tale, which Vladimir Odoevsky retells in 1840. In the collection "Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus" there is a story about Moroz Ivanovich, who lives in a deep well. First, the Needlewoman accidentally gets to him, who whips up the feather bed, and puts things in order in the hut, for which she receives a reward. The second in the hut appears Sloth, who, of course, does nothing and gets icicles and icicles.

So far, no gifts and wishes. It looks more like an educational parable, but the tale gained fame and was included in various children's anthologies.

Over time, special postcards were printed in Russia for Christmas. At first, they were just tracing paper from foreign ones - they took the same picture, but made an inscription in Russian. A European old man with a bag of gifts needed a name. They called him Yolkich, Christmas grandfather, then they gave the good old man the name Moroz Ivanovich. Gradually, it transformed into Santa Claus.

By the way, Yolkich was not forgotten either. For example, Fyodor Sollogub has a story with this name, and there the girl Sima talks about a forgotten character like this: “Small, small, with a newborn finger. And all green, and it smells of tar, and he himself is so rough. And green eyebrows."

And Santa Claus has become a full-fledged and main character of children's parties since the mid-1930s, when the tree again became the main attribute of the holiday. Since then, he settled on the Kola Peninsula, near Murmansk.

The investigation established …

Name: Father Frost.

Codename: "The King of the North" or "God of the Cold" - under these names he is known by the indigenous people of Lapland, the Sami. They brought him gifts, asked for a successful winter hunt and mitigation of the fierce frosts.

Place of residence: Murmansk region, Kola Peninsula, Lapland nature reserve, Chunozyorskaya estate.

Birthday: November 18th. It is at the end of autumn that grandfather celebrates his birthday, and on this day in the Chunozero estate, a holiday is traditionally held with the first lights on on the tree. After that, Santa Claus begins his journey through the possessions of the reserve. And by the way, Grandfather's age has not been established, the investigation continues.

Special signs: actively uses a reindeer team. And all because the city of Olenegorsk is located next to his estate.

Assistants and Companions: Herman Kreps, a geobotanist, zoologist and ecologist, founded the northern patrimony of Santa Claus back in the 1920s. Since then, Grandfather has been living and working here for many years, and in Veliky Ustyug he has a kind of “southern branch”. The second faithful assistant to Grandfather is the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company (MMC), which supplies him with everything he needs all year round.

Habits and lifestyle: Contrary to popular belief, Santa Claus works all year round, taking mail from children and preparing for the December days. You can write to him at the Forest Post Office at: Laplandsky Nature Reserve, per. Green, 8, Monchegorsk, Murmansk region. Many tourist routes in this region pass by the house of Santa Claus, and he is always glad to have guests.

Hobbies: Santa Claus is also a great scientist, and this is another reason why he lives on the Kola Peninsula. The polar ecosystem is preserved here, and scientists are still discovering new species of animals and plants. Scientists who work on the protection of the local nature help the fabulous grandfather in the study of eco-culture.

For example, if in 2003 114 species of lichens were recorded on the territory of the reserve, today there are already 629. The nature conservation of the northernmost and oldest residence of Father Frost is supported by the Kola MMC.

And by the way, Santa Claus is already preparing to go on a big trip across the country. But now you know everything about him … Or almost everything?