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Santa Claus, the Yule Elf, and Odin

© Kimberly Moore.

Are your children screaming for Santa Claus? It is perfectly alright. Like St. Brighid, Saint Nicholas was an absorbed pagan deity. Our modern version of this personage is an amalagation of many old personifications of a very old elf. Yes, elf. In ancient times, it was believed that an elf came and delivered gifts to those who left him porridge. Ahh...see the connection between the milk and cookie offerings left by generations of children? Indeed, the popular figure of Santa Claus actually owes more to the god Odin than he does the Christian saint called Nicholas. Take a look. Good old Saint Nick is a very germanic fellow.

Doubtful? He dresses in red, a colour symbolic of the Teutonic Alfs, or elves. He has one eye with which he can give knowledge with a single wink. He has a long white beard and hails from the ancient lands of the frozen north. The the twelve days of Yule are special to him. Nick is one of his many names. Do you see the similiarity? Keep looking and more will just smack you in the face. It doesn't matter if you are comparing him to Santa Claus, Father Christmas, whom ever. Look hard enough and you will see the pagan deity behind. As for how the Yule elf got mixed up in popular culture with this figure, it may be that it was easier to personify this as a single being. The Yule elf was not a single elf. This time of year was in many ways for the Germanic peoples what Samhain was to the Celtics, a time when magic went out into the world, freeing the dead to walk and elves, trolls, gnomes, et cetera were free to roam. The idea behind the offerings of porridge was it was invitation of friendship and goodwill, which is why it was rewarded by the elf leaving a gift for the hosts. Perhaps this is how the idea of the elven workshop came about, as a way to explain who made the gifts.

So when your children cry for Santa Claus, tell them about the Yule elf. Start a tradition of welcoming the local elf in from the cold. Have them leave out their offerings of milk, cookies, or if you wish to be authentic, porridge (also known as oatmeal). Tell them about Odin being also called Nick and how he flies through the skies hunting with his dogs for the twelve days of Yule.Decorate a miniature sleigh led by dogs, and fill it with goodies. Maybe the elf will like knowing that the old ways are not forgotten. After all, I believe in faeries...don't you?

The copyright of the article Santa Claus, the Yule Elf, and Odin in Pagan Homeschooling is owned by Kimberly Moore.. Permission to republish Santa Claus, the Yule Elf, and Odin in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.