The Model For Nast’s Santa..
The startling fact is, Santa Claus is not the Bishop St. Nicholas –
but his Dark Helper!
In
certain German children’s games, the Saint Nicholas figure itself is
the Dark Helper, a devil who wants to punish children, but is stopped
from doing so by Christ. [48]
Black
Pete, the ‘grandfather’ of our modern Santa Claus. Known in Holland as
Zwarte Piet, this eighteenth-century German version, is—like his
ancient shamanic ancestor—still horned, fur-clad, scary, and less than
kind to children. Although portrayed as the slave helper of Saint
Nicholas, the two are, in many villages, blended into one character.
This figure often has the name Nikolass or Klaus, but has the swarthy
appearance of the Dark Helper. [49]
Artist
Thomas Nast is rightfully credited for conceiving the image of our
modern day Santa, but Nast’s model for Santa was not the Bishop St.
Nicholas but his dark companion, the evil Pelznickle.
[IPS Note: Nast was an immigrant from Bavaria and was familiar with Pelznickle]
The
Christmas demon Knecht Rupprecht first appeared in a play in 1668 and
was condemned by the Roman Catholic as being a devil in 1680. . . To
the Pennsylvania Dutch, he is known as Belsnickel. Other names for the
same character are Pelznickle, "Furry Nicholas," and Ru-Klas, "Rough
Nicholas." From these names, it is easy to see that he is looked upon as
not merely a companion to St. Nicholas, but almost another version of
him. [50]
In Thomas Nast: His Period and His Pictures, biographer Albert Bigelow Paine, documents that Nast’s Santa was Pelznickle.
But
on Christmas Eve, to Protestant and Catholic alike, came the German
Santa Claus, Pelze-Nicol, leading a child dressed as the Christkind,
and distributing toys and cakes, or switches, according as the parents
made report. It was this Pelze-Nicol – a fat, fur-clad, bearded old
fellow, at whose hands he doubtless received many benefits – that the
boy in later years was to present to us as his conception of the true
Santa Claus – a pictorial type which shall lone endure. [51]
Santa
historian and author, Tony van Renterghem also documents Nast’s Santa
Claus was not Saint Nicholas, but the evil Black Pete–the devil.
Thomas
Nast was assigned to draw this Santa Claus, but having no idea what he
looked like, drew him as the fur-clad, small, troll-like figure he had
known in Bavaria when he was a child. This figure was quite unlike the
tall Dutch Sinterklaas, who was traditionally depicted as a Catholic
bishop. Who he drew was Saint Nicholas’ dark helper, Swarthy, or Black
Pete (a slang name for the devil in medieval Dutch). . . [52]
Santa researcher, Phyllis Siefker, echoes Renterghem’s conclusion:
It
seems obvious, therefore, that Santa Claus can be neither the alter
ego of Saint Nicholas nor the brainchild of Washington Irving. . . If
we peek behind the imposing Saint Nicholas, we see, glowering in the
shadows, the saint’s reprobate companion, Black Pete. He, like Santa,
has a coat of hair, a disheveled beard, a bag, and ashes on his face. .
. In fact, it is this creature, rather than Irving’s creation or an
Asian saint, who fathered Santa Claus. [53]
By
the way, St. Nicholas did not come down the chimney. It was his
fur-clad, dark companion that came down the chimney. One of the reasons
his sidekick was called the "Dark One" or "Black Peter" was because he
was normally covered in soot and ashes from his chimney travels. The
"dark companion" also carried the bag, distributed the goodies and
punished the bad boys and girls.
Children
[in Holland] are told that Black Peter enters the house through the
chimney, which also explained his black face and hands, and would leave
a bundle of sticks or a small bag with salt in the shoe instead of
candy when the child had been bad. [54]
It
is significant that Black Peter, Pelze-Nicol, Knecht Rupprecht and all
of St. Nicholas companions are openly identified as the devil.
To
the medieval Dutch, Black Peter was another name for the devil.
Somewhere along the way, he was subdued by St. Nicholas and forced to
be his servant. [55]
In Denmark, Sweden, and Norway creatures resembling both the Schimmelreiter and the Klapperbock
are or were to be met with at Christmas. . . People seem to have had a
bad conscience about these things, for there are stories connecting
them with the Devil. A girl, for instance, who danced at midnight with a
straw Julebuk, found that her partner was no puppet but the Evil One himself. 56]
Thus,
in parts of Europe, the Church turned Herne into Saint Nicholas’
captive, chained Dark Helper, none other than Satan, the Dark One,
symbolic of all evil. [57]
One of the bizarre jobs of St. Nick’s devilish helper was to "gleefully drag sinners" to hell!
On
the eve of December 6, the myth told that this bearded, white-haired
old ‘saint,’ clad in a wide mantel, rode through the skies on a white
horse, together with his slave, the swarthy Dark Helper. This reluctant
helper had to disperse gifts to good people, but much preferred to
threaten them with his broom-like scourge, and, at a sign of his master,
would gleefully drag sinners away to a place of eternal suffering.
[58]
The shocking truth is Santa Claus originated from a character identified as the devil or
Satan.
The Miracle Plays
This section is almost entirely excerpted from Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins.)
Something
else that fashioned our modern day Santa was the popular medieval
Christmas plays of the tenth through the sixteenth century. These miracle, moral, mystery and passion
dramas acted out scenes from the scriptures and the liturgy of the
Roman Catholic Church. Combining humor and religion, they flourished
during the fifteenth century. It is significant that St. Nicholas was a
dominant theme among these plays. Much of the myth and outlandish
miracles of St. Nicholas originated from these dramas. And much of the
bizarre characteristics of Santa were planted in these Christmas plays.
In the classic, Teutonic Mythology, author
Jacob Grimm provides us with some revealing detail into St. Nicholas’
transformation into Santa. Notice in the following excerpt from Teutonic Mythology where
Nicholas converts himself into the Knecht Ruprecht [the devil], a "man
of Clobes" or a "man of Claus." Grimm states, the characters of
Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht "get mixed, and Clobes [Claus] himself is
the "man."
The
Christmas plays sometimes present the Saviour with His usual attendant
Peter or else with Niclas [St. Nicholas]. At other times however Mary
with Gabriel, or with her aged Joseph, who, disguised as a peasant,
acts the part of Knecht Ruprecht. Nicholas again has converted himself
into a "man Clobes" or Rupert; as a rule there is still a Niclas, a
saintly bishop and benevolent being distinct from the "man" who scares
children; the characters get mixed, and Clobes himself acts the "man."
[59]
From Grimm’s account, in the early 1100’s, the transformation of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus from the de
vil Knecht Ruprecht was in full throttle.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
There
is not enough space in this book to adequately document the influence
and inspiration of the medieval plays into the making of Santa, but let
us examine Santa’s trademark "Ho! Ho! Ho!". Most people have no idea
where this came from, and more importantly whom it came from. In The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch, author
Frank Ireson, describes the popular Miracle Play. Notice the
description of the devil as "shaggy, hairy," etc. (as Santa), and notice
the devil’s trademark "exclamation on entering was ho, ho, ho!":
Besides
allegorical personages, there were two standing characters very
prominent in Moral Plays—the Devil and Vice. The Devil was, no doubt,
introduced from the Miracle Plays, where he had figured so amusingly;
he was made as hideous as possible by his mask and dress, the latter
being generally of a shaggy and hairy character, and he was duly
provided with a tail: his ordinary exclamation on entering was, "Ho, ho, ho! what a felowe [sic] am I." [60]
Siefker also collaborates the devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho."
In these plays, the devil’s common entry line, known as the "devil’s bluster," was "Ho! Ho! Hoh!" [61]
The
devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho" was carried over from the early
medieval Miracle Plays to the popular old English play "Bomelio," as
the following lines from the play verify:
What, and a' come? I conjure thee, foul spirit, down to hell! Ho, ho, ho! the devil, the devil! A-comes, a-comes, a-comes upon me,. . . [62]
[IPS Note: In
the above instance it is probable that the Ho, ho, ho is being used
much as it is in the Bible in Zechariah 2:6,7. The Hebrew word
translated Ho is [hôy ] and means oh! ah, alas, O, woe. IN other words the person is saying ‘Alas! The devil comes].
Author
Tony Renterghem, concludes his extensive research into the origin of
Santa with the following statement: [Emphasis Added]
I can only conclude that the original ancestor of our modern Santa Claus is none other than the mythological Dark Helper-a faint memory of Herne/Pan, the ancient shamanic nature spirit of the Olde Religion. [63]
Note: Herne or Pan is the horned god. It is common knowledge that Pan and Herne are popular names for Satan. The Satanic Bible lists Pan as one of the Infernal Names of Satan. [64]
After researching scores of books and material on the origin of Santa Claus, by far, the best book on this subject is Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, authored
by the late University of Kansas associate, Phyllis Siefker. This is
no child’s book, but a scholarly exploration into the origin of Santa
Claus. It is published by the prestigious McFarland Publishers, a
leading publisher of reference and academic books. This book carries no
Christian bias, but is simply a secular, non Christian scholastic
study. With that in mind, the following analysis by Siefkler is even
more alarming [Emphasis Added]
The
fact is that Santa and Satan are alter egos, brothers; they have the
same origin. . . On the surface, the two figures are polar opposites,
but underneath they share the same parent, and both retain many
of the old symbols associated with their "father" . . . From these two
paths, he arrived at both the warmth of our fireplace and in the flames
of hell. [65]
Santa.. The Name
An Anagram?
Much
has been said about ‘Santa’ being an anagram for ‘Satan’. While I am
not sure how much importance to attach to this, the fact that
Sanat Kumara
is obviously an anagram for Satan gives me pause for thought.
According to some of the teachings derived from modern Theosophy, i.e.
the teachings of Alice A. Bailey, C. W. Leadbeater, Guy Ballard,
Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Geraldine Innocente, Sanat Kumara is the
Lord or Regent of Earth and of humanity. It is believed by some that he
is the founder of the Great White Brotherhood, and that he lives in a
city on the etheric plane called Shamballa located above the Gobi
Desert in Mongolia.
Whatever the truth behind the legend, it is one further step in the whole sorry saga of ‘Santa’.
A host of supernatural beings and spirits who exist between earth and heaven. . . Fairies [Elves] are fallen angels. When God cast Lucifer from heaven, the angels who were loyal to Lucifer plunged down toward hell with him. [71]
Some fairies [elves] were said to suck human blood like vampires. [72]
elves, "love to visit new born babies of mortals. . ." [72]
"Many contemporary Witches believe in fairies [elves] and some see them clairvoyantly." [73]
Notes:
[48] Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 105
[49] Ibid p. 98
[50] Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, pp. 93,94
[51] Paine, Albert Bigelow. Thomas Nast: His Period and His Pictures. New York: Chelsea House, 1980, p. 6
[52] Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, pp. 95-96
[53]
Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and
Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc.,
1997, p. 15
[54] "Saint Nicholas," Wikipedia Encyclopedia. < en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas>
[55] Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 44
[56]
Miles, Clement A. Christmas in Ritual and Tradition Christian and
Pagan. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912, p. 202
[57] Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 97
[58] Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 111
[59]
qtd. in Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The
Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland &
Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69
[60] Ireson, Frank. "The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch." 1920. Also http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/culture-44.shtml
[61]
Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and
Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc.,
1997, p. 69
[62] Dodsley, Robert. A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VI. The Project Gutenberg Ebook.
www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/7oep610.txt>)
[Also
http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Select-Collection-of-Old-English-Plays-Volx54484.html
[63] Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 93)
[64] LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon Books, Inc., 1969 p. 144
[65]
Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and
Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc.,
1997, p. 6
[66] Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, p.650. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins
[67]
Walter W. Sleay, Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, p. 304. As
Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins
[68] Oxford English Dictionary Vol III D-E. As Quoted in Santa Claus The Great Imposter by Dr. Terry Watkins
[69] Brewer's Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Phrase and Fable, p. 334
[70] Lori Mealey. Martin Luther and Christmas. http://german-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/martin_luther_and_christmas
[71] Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 115
[72] Ibid p. 116
[73] Ibid p. 117
name of Kriss Kringle which is German for "little Christ Child".
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