The Legends Of Santa (Christmas Documentary) | Real Stories

[Music] Christmas [Music] the time to search for gifts [Music] and traditionally the time for the family and the time to look for presents [Applause] children all over the world are busy drawing up their lists but who is this character that has become so popular at this time of the year is he the same the world over I guess he didn't such a remote place does he always look the same he has a big beard and uh white mustache he has a big tummy because he ate food and when he went into your house he wasn't beyond playing with the family pet or maybe stealing a turkey leg from the refrigerator has remained somewhat up for grabs there's been a little bit of a battle over who Santa Claus is [Music] our search for Santa begins not in the cold of the North Pole but in the heat of Southwest turkey during the third century his area is claimed was the birthplace of Sir Nicholas but little real evidence survives of his existence according to legend he was unique even as a baby abstaining from his mother's breasts until sundown on Wednesdays and Fridays the early Christian fast days recently excavated from the effects of an earthquake his church in dem ray Nolan Icarus his time as Myra is named in his over the now empty tomb is reputed to weep a manner a fluid which even today's believed to have healing powers and once a year on the 6th of December the day Nicholas died pilgrims partake [Music] Nicholas's election as bishop of marla was unusual to say the least a senior member of the Conclave heard a voice in the night telling him to elect the first person to enter the church about following morning that person happened to be Nicholas and the boy Bishop was crowned [Music] became the patron saint of children after resurrecting three boys who had been slaughtered by a butcher during a period of famine he's also the patron saint of sailors but his most famous exploit deals with a poor man who had three daughters the eldest was passed the marrying age the second was the right age but nobody had asked so far [Music] even today the custom exists in eastern tyre that the father has to provide a dowry for his daughter to get married then remarkably the eldest daughter lost her father to sell her of a slave so that her sisters could be provided with daughters after hearing his eldest daughter of her father was very upset and one day you knows how he prays to God to help his daughters to get married sig Nicholas hears this and in order to help him he throws a bag of gold coins through the window and each other touch over the centuries the tale has evolved into some Nicholas throwing banks of coins down a chimney where they landed in stockings hanging up to dry it was this act of generosity as well as his miraculous healing powers but gave Nicholas his legendary status following his canonization in the 9th century Nicholas became the favorite Saint in the Christian calendar throughout Europe thousands of churches were dedicated to him as turkey came under personal control late in the 11th century sailors from Bobbie initially succeeded in spiriting away his bones and an extraordinary Church was built over his shrine [Music] are the Muslim inhabitants of memory are today proud to be associated with a Christian hero and hold a celebration on sand Nicholas's day [Music] what would Nikolas have made of it all restaurants and gift shops take full advantage of their world-famous inhabit are the Christmas is very important for us and for the world we are very lucky and happy that he is in our country in fact he is a holy man for the whole world today the old reverential statue of Nikolas has been sidelined replaced by a glowing Universal plastic Western Center [Music] our Catholic saint was transformed into a favorite children's character is a journey that spans several continents and fuses many religions [Music] the Rowan's still ruled in Nicholas's time and the emerging Christianity gain converts by blending with existing religions Pope Gregory the first in particular put a great emphasis on the notion that if the people we are Christianizing have got their own traditions destroy their altars destroy their idols replace them with Christian altars and Christian preaching the most famous such celebration was the Roman Saturnalia fils commemorating the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn the god of Agriculture and harvest in mid-december he was a time when the world was turned upside down you might say when the slaves and there were enormous number of slaves in Rome were given their freedom and when their masters wifted on the slaves and the slave is dressed up in their masters both it sometimes became a little over exciting and when we use the word Saturnalia today we generally refer to a rather overblown celebration full of misrule and misbehavior as we proclaim Jupiter with a gentle shouts of yo Saturnalia when you hear this he was like yo Saturnalia I'm Finnish or even you Britons can manage that being held around the shortest day light was an important feature of the pageantry as well as the giving of gifts gifts were believed to secure a rich harvest in the coming year to the population happy to accept any gifts you want to give us [Music] [Applause] long after the Romans Saturnalia persisted as part of the midwinter celebrations in Europe we know that they miss eight castles or the nobles of the Middle Ages that you had Lords of misrule and jesters jolly I thing about the place and overeating and over drinking and whether that was a celebration in honor of the Christ child or was it a kind of folk memory of the Saturnalia is a good point people behaved so badly that when the Puritans came to power they actually banned Christmas there's nothing in the Bible about celebrating the Nativity there's not even a clue about when at what time of year it took place the decision to assign Christ's birthday to the twenty-fifth of December the winter solstice on the Julian calendar was inevitably going to be a compromise even so over the centuries and Nicholas's popularity grew no more so than in the Netherlands every year on a Sunday morning in mid-november the quiet streets of Amsterdam are invaded by hundreds and thousands of people they are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of a very special guest [Applause] [Music] said Nicholas and his servants equal then black Peters arriving from Spain and steamer in the harbor the big city [Music] in the 70 century they started to call him sinter Klass an English Saint sir class and when you pronounce it fast then you guys sympathize the Netherlands where a Roman Catholic country that in the 16th century we have the Reformation and then all the Roman Catholic things were forbidden and and the feast was forbidden - and the children in Amsterdam and other places they were going on the street they make big noises and we won't feel we want at feast and then it was a big excitement in the in the city from around it's not good as rumors and that's bad for it for the for the merger jury and then the tie thing at the money added the Dutchman like that's the money and then there is a compromise they said ok the the center closed fists are still forbidden in the streets but inside in the houses it is not forbidden on the eve of San Nicolas is dare letters with the children's wishes are placed in shoes by the fireplace some much appreciated refreshments can I have [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the children believe that Nicolas is writing on the rooftops listening to their songs originally he wrote alone and was both the bring of presence and the Punisher but then a book of illustrated poems by an Amsterdam teacher gave the role of Punisher to black Peter very naughty ridiculous said to black Peter you get the naughty ones and put them in your sack and then when the party was over then they believe that the naughty ones were taken back to Spain and then after year they coming back and you have very good and very obedient a very hardworking children but in the other countries in Austria and Switzerland and angry st. Nicholas was accompanied this very terrifying persons there were blackamoors that are herring monsters and even Devils to frighten the naughty children as an example for the good ones you have and please may I have a Playstation a Lego train with all kinds of wheels and trains and tracks that would be very nice vertical to purchase a filtration and when the night itself comes the 5th of December we have to wait until after we have eaten as a family and then black Peter knocks on the door last year luck Peter actually came in [Music] after he is not the dog there will be a sack in front of the door with presents and Papa will shout the presence we are not allowed only Papa can do this [Music] [Music] many of the customs surrounding the Christian Sinterklaas are vestiges of an older pre-christian religion checking up on naughty children riding a white horse and children leaving food out of life and all be traced back to the Norse god Odin he too had a long white beard and spent the year in dissin trend in his case Valhalla on the eve of the winter solstice he would come back to earth and seek out evildoers odin would lead the hunt on his great white horse carrying off naughty children in a horror of winged [Music] [Applause] [Music] our journey now crosses the Atlantic [Music] and today Manhattan is probably the epitome of the commercial exploitation of the holiday season but it also had a vital role to play in evolving st. Nicholas into a character that has become recognized all over the world [Music] New York has the legitimate right to lay claim to the invention of the American Santa Claus originally New York was known as New Amsterdam but many Dutch immigrants settled here bringing with the many European customs and traditions there's a long-standing legend one of many st. Nicholas legends that st. Nicholas came to America through the Dutch and of course it's true that the Dutch settled in New Amsterdam now in New York City back in the early 17th century but there seems to be no evidence that they actually brought Saint Nicholas rituals with them [Music] st. Nicholas was reinvented as Santa Claus in New York early in the 19th century by a group of patrician gentlemen who were not Dutch in the least they were all of British stock but they loved to identify with the Dutch they were looking for a set of Legends that they could associate with New York as it used to be and that is to say with America as it used to be one New York resident who wrote about the changing times was Dietrich Knickerbocker the alias used by the great American writer Washington Irving when he wrote the Knickerbocker history of New York it was a book that romanticized the good old days and included a reference to the Dutch tradition of celebrating San Nicolas that got picked up by Clement Clarke Moore he was an extremely wealthy man he lived on a country estate and an area that extended in modern terms from about 18th Street up to about 24th Street the Chelsea district of Manhattan Clement Moore found that his estate was being cut up by a new street system the New York City Council took it by what's called eminent domain Moore reacted to this by writing a tract attacking the rampant uncontrolled urban development of New York saying it meant that the mob was going to take over the city [Music] and then I guess he turned to the same Dutch legends that Washington Irving had introduced just a few years earlier and he wrote a poem the night before Christmas or as he called it a visit from st. Nicholas in which he really put st. Nicholas on the map was the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse someone told me this is the only poem that all American children memorize voluntarily the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that st. Nicholas soon would be there this is the poem that transformed st. Nicholas into Santa Claus when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer [Music] [Applause] [Music] with a little old driver so lively and quick I knew in a moment it must be saved me st. Nicholas lost his Bishop's outfit he lost his Bishop's Authority he just became an elfin jolly character who came not to judge just to leave gifts as I drew in my head and was turning around down the chimney st. Nicholas came with a bound he was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot [Music] there's no threats of punishment there's no fear his eyes how they twinkled his dimples how merry his cheeks were like roses his nose like a cherry his droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow there's no dignified Magisterial figure there's just a jolly old man who comes and brings Christmas gifts [Music] Clement more wrote the night before Christmas in 1822 it got published in a rather obscure newspaper and over the following decade it just swept America but I've heard him explain every drove out of sight [Music] happy Christmas to all and to all a good night by 1840 virtually all Americans knew about Santa Claus who was really the gift of Clement Moore and it was that poem and that new ritual that brought about the modern Christmas that we know and who brought about the Santa Claus that's still with us today could never have predicted that the poem he read to his children on Christmas Eve will become so inspirational leave such a profound legacy in so many languages and have such a commercial impact very good poem in spite of Philadelphia merchants JW Parkinson in 18-49 to hire an actor friend to dress up in fur and drop down a chimney outside his shop Santa's appearance and the cover of his suit was still open to interpretation Parkinson based his figure on an image published in a New York newspaper that year the first exclusive book with illustrations by TC Boyd was published in 1848 Boyd Santa is so small that he stands on a chair to fill the children's stockings and then a German immigrant Thomas nos who each individual image that would later become widely accepted it started out in 1863 when he was working for Harper's Weekly and he drew his first Santa Clause almost as a political figure dressed in his first suit but it had the Stars and Stripes in support of the Union Army of the north [Music] from the political images actually his most famous Santa Claus that he drew was merry old Santa Claus instead of having Santa sack full of toys on his back the sack was actually a Civil War backpack there was a pocket watch which showed midnight which was when Congress had to vote to give the military their pay also there was a toy Trojan horse showing some of the deceit that may have been occurring in the government [Music] nests images of Santa Claus started out with a brown first suit that eventually evolved into a red suit The McLaughlin children's books were not terribly careful with their color and something that was intended to be published as a brown suit often looks reddish and so it was a logical progression to let it evolve into a red suit there wasn't any particular symbolism to that [Music] Nast really modeled Santa Claus off his own self-image masked himself was a shorter stockier man had a large handlebar mustache and beard [Music] he often included his children and scenes from the inside of his house in his Christmas drawings we can see the fireplaces of Villa Fontana his home in Morristown showing up in many of the Christmas drawings Nast introduced the image of Santa Claus leaning over a huge ledger with columns of good boys and girls and naughty boys and girls these images also appeared in double-page Harper's Weekly illustrations that also included Santa Claus at the North Pole peering through a telescope presumably to be watching to make sure that these were good boys and girls and not naughty boys girls prior to this no one thought about where Santa lived but so many people were fascinated with the information they were hearing for the first time about the North Pole that that became the place where Santa came from [Music] another thing that Nast helped to develop was using the US Postal Service as a way for children to communicate with Santa to send their lists of what they wanted for Christmas Nast wasn't the first person to illustrate Clement Moore's poem the night before Christmas but more describes Santa Claus and the reindeer in the sleigh and landing on the rooftop and flying off afterwards into the midnight sky so these were descriptions that Nast used in his early illustrations he just didn't stay with them Nast made Santa Claus grow from an elf he could easily slip down a chimney to a full-grown adult male [Music] Nuremberg in Germany and it's spectacular lantern parade every year thousands flocked to the city to experience the Christmas market they have been flocking here for many centuries originally known as nickel last note today it is known as Chris Kindle market the old st. Nick has not always had a warm welcome here [Music] in the 16th century Martin Luther's Reformation brought about the anti-catholic movement in Germany as Protestants could not have Saints a new Christmas tradition was needed so the baby Jesus became the bringer of gifts the Hyuga truce is infinite and Klein is the holy Christ is actually only a baby hands it made no sense that he could bring the presents neither did it make sense for a stronger young man because that would not fit in with the story of Christmas therefore the holy Christ evolved into a female fairy like friggin odd by the 1900's the Nuremberg Christian tour a golden precede robe based on the Nuremberg golden angel in other German towns and cities the Chris came to wears white and starry wreaths it's a great honor for any girl to be chosen to be the Christians the contents of the letters and drawings are just like those by children anywhere but in many parts of Germany Austria the Czech Republic and Switzerland the recipient is the Christians Eastern is all for I imagine her to have long curly hair and a big I also golden gold and a golden book so bad time has good math the Christian being entertained by Carol about some Nicholas shows how the roles of the religious figures have merged the vine Oxman or father Christmas also features in certain parts of Germany quite so Targus is for know today it is totally different today the Christian comes mainly to the Catholic families so in south and southwest Germany where Catholicism is quite widespread Christian does the present ring and in North Germany in the evangelical areas father Christmas brings the presents so this is a crossover development which is very interesting just like Santa and father Christmas the Christian also visits on Christmas Eve [Music] brings the presents when we are all in church that's on the 24th of December when we come home the aren't allowed into the living room then we are allowed in and there is a decorated Christmas tree [Music] the Christmas tree is a gift that Germany gave to the rest of the world cookies shaken today Santa Claus can be seen alongside the Chris Kent even in the German Christian doll market in urine burger [Music] it's ironic that a variation on the pronunciation of Christine's Kriss Kringle has become another name for Santa Claus in certain parts of America parcel in the hub on the 5th of January and a large expectant crowd has gathered some special guests are expected [Music] Apple name it's in its origin our religious festivities and with the celebrated introduction of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world [Music] in Spain we don't have for the Christmas traditionally we have the three wise man that comes you in tonight from the 5th to the 6th of January and give presents to the little children [Music] [Applause] [Music] the three wanna smell our Melchor that represents Europe Gaspard who represents Asia and passes our represents Africa and aware the three conference known at the time disguise was war [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it is very difficult to track back relola change of the tradition in Spain is been like that all the time and nowadays we're very proud of having the three wise men in contrast to the anglo-saxon tradition of Santa Claus or father Christmas we feel that we are different with that and of course it's not only a tradition in Spain the situation in South America and in the old Spanish colonies all around the world [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] the kids have to write the letters and think about the presence that they want to ask therefore and you have to throw your letters to the poster boxes and of course the Kings are supposed to read all the letters of the kid student the night and prepare the presents for the department the three teams do not just visit Barcelona are is a bit special because in this town the idea of preparing a cavalcade in which you had a parade with the camels and the trees in person was first thought here and first realized in 1886 [Music] [Applause] during the cavalcade they normally gave like 1000 kilos of caramels and candies all around best thing is to receive the presents from the pages what you have is like large letters that are put against the balconies and then you'll have the pages climbing around with big pockets full of presents and toys and then your silly little kids to surrender with all the motion this packages from the real kings and pages [Applause] [Music] and of course if you're lucky enough what you should do is to kiss a real king and the pages will help you to climb to the camel and with her kiss and we also read a lot during the whole year and so it's the account Okoye and yesterday cavalcade is impossible not to believe in the three wise men [Music] [Applause] [Music] the one in Rome on the following morning the sixth of January these Italian children are very excited like all children they are eagerly anticipating opening their presents [Music] stockings are bulging but here the gift-giver is not Santa Claus but a witch called Bafana Bafana is a woman an ugly old woman who looks like a witch with a broom and a pointy black hat she is dressed in old clothes she has a big nose with a mole on it legend has it that the three wise men approached an old woman asking for directions to where Christ was born she didn't know but provided them with shelter for a night she declined that invitation to join them on the search later however she had a change of heart but couldn't catch up with them instead she gave the gifts she prepared for the baby Jesus two children she met along the way similar characters exist in other countries in Russia babushka in southern Germany Florida on the night between the 5th and the 6th of January she can stand through chimney and brings presents to those children that have been well behaved there are documents from 18th century in which the Befana is expected to punish the children they are bad boy [Music] mfana pathetic elbonian but when you think the buff rana brought me cold because I didn't do my homework and I misbehaved I must have been very nasty to my sister today the coal is edible and more of a symbol than an actual punishment mother but also which ambiguity is one of the more important feature of the Befana like a grandmother the Befana is connected to the fireplace the central place of the home in which the deaths and livings or they connected through the chimneys and this is interesting that like santa clauss also Befana come from the chimney that is to say to connect the real world and the other world today in italy also the farmer has to share the limelight with the red-suited center for centuries the Sun has played a crucial role in Northern Hemisphere winter festivities rituals celebrating the shortest day and looking forward to the new are common to Scandinavian and Celtic countries the Mari nuit or gray mare is an ancient Welsh right for the Celtic goddess rehan Mary consists of a mascara fixed to the end of a wooden pole with white sheaths concealing the person carrying the money house or pub where they'd seen several introductory versus punko a battle of wits where the inhabitants in the Maori Party outside exchanged challenges and insults in rhyme at the end of the battle of the Mari demands entry into the house and partakes of the hospitality [Music] similar animal themed rituals this time of the goat are common in Scandinavian countries - it was very common but the teenagers dressed up and one of them was the yearbook and then they moved around to the houses and they made fun and they sang songs and so on miss Aegon and we have the rock carvings in Sweden from the stone and Bronze Age which show people in masks with animal horns and then in the end of the 18th century when we needed someone to come with the Christmas presents or Neil cluck-bana it was the jewel goat or you'll Bakken so he came and knocked on the door and came in with all the parcels and he threw them round and he still made some fun and noise and so on [Music] [Music] a bowl of rice grain porridge for sweden's you'll tompa in Iceland he is known as you're a Shriner and in Norway and Denmark you listen Nissa being a loud form of Nicolas [Music] [Applause] he's a happy little creature only 18 inches tall according to legend Tom tur would chase away the naughty trolls close the doors and settle all the animals sweet children are not afraid when the floorboards creak at night or when the wind murmurs in the trees they know that is just - Tom - doing his rounds on Christmas Eve the father or grandfather of the house says that oh he sent you Tom ton coming soon with all the you'll clap by the presence and he is going to look for him or he is going to buy the paper and he wins out and then knock on the door and that comes you dump them and he said are there any good kind children here and all the children say yes yes yes and then he comes in and he gives away all the Christmas presents undoubtedly Santa Cruz crossed the Atlantic during the first half of the 20th century modern Santa might well have been influenced by Sweden ceilometer as today's universally accepted image is largely due to a Swedish American having something and the well-known soft drinks manufacturer the campaign featuring Santa Claus actually came about as part of a marketing strategy the winter months in the 1930s were not very good selling times for coca-cola so they went to an illustrator named Haddon Sundblom and what distinguished him I think is the fact that he had looked at the work of people like Thomas Nast he looked at the work of Louis praying with the American greeting cards and he built on all of the things that he had seen but his vision was a really specific vision [Music] he really saw this Santa Claus as an outgoing person somebody who really enjoyed the Christmas season and his illustrations capture the very essence of the season itself it's a happy time it's a warm time it's a time to be with family and friends [Music] for Henson blooms Santa Clause was not a dwarf he wasn't elf he was a full-bodied person this was a person who was full-sized if not larger than life there are no bad boys and girls in Sun Bloom's world everybody's good and everybody's gonna enjoy the season because Santa's gonna bring them presents [Music] many people think that the red uniform that Santa Claus wears developed because handsome will work for the coca-cola company in red is our corporate color well that's a really fortunate accident for us but in fact the red-suited Santa had been well-established before son bloom came along to do his interpretation [Music] these illustrations are timeless then not really bound to any chronological period and there is relevant today as they were when they were created some loom Santa has undoubtedly become the norm throughout the world and there's little doubt in these young people's minds about Santa's appearance [Music] as he puts his feet up after another busy year delivering presents around the world children of all ages can feel comforted with Santa's long journey from Turkey through the Netherlands of the United States making the odd detour a long way has landed him safely in the North Pole and even though he has lost some of his status within the church he is well on course to becoming mankind's most universally recognized character [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Real Stories

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Keywords: Full length Documentaries, 2018 documentaries, Real Stories Documentary, Real Stories, christmas tree, Channel 4 documentary, Extraordinary people, Documentary Movies - Topic, tlc, santa claus, 2018, TV Shows - Topic, legend of krampus, Documentary, saint nicholas, 2018 documentary, only human, history documentary, Amazing Documentaries, timeline, Real Stories Full Documentary, BBC documentary, Amazing Stories

Id: crocEiyluyk

Length: 52min 5sec (3125 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 06 2018