Who is ... Julenissen?

His name literally means ‘The Christmas Man’ in English. According to where you’re from, this could refer to Santa Claus (USA, Australia), Father Christmas (UK, India), Père Noël (France) and so the list goes on …

Do these names all refer to the same man? Actually there are so many stories and legends that, over time, they have become mixed together. Luckily, I’m going to give you a brief summary of some of them. So, if you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll begin.

Legend has it that a baby, Nicolaus, born way back in the third century, in neither Lapland nor Greenland but ... wait for it … Turkey, grew up to become the bishop of Myra. He was rather wealthy and saved a family from poverty by throwing money into their window at night. Is it starting to sound familiar? He also had the handy talent of saving sailors from wild storms. This talent secured him a place in the hearts of shipping folk for centuries to come. Incidentally Dutchmen referred to him as Sinterklass, and when they moored in New York, this morphed into the American Santa Claus.

So why isn’t he called Saint Nicolaus? In Norway, after the reformation, people weren’t supposed to believe in saints. But the new Lutheran church found it difficult to get rid of this particular holy man because he had become so popular. They dropped his bishop’s hat, and as Sankt Nikolaus’s death coincidentally occurred in the month of Christmas, called him Julenissen. The trick was played so well, that the population didn’t even notice!