We have come across a number of legends associated with Christmas, which also entail some interesting characters. These characters of Christmas have their origins in the ancient past, some of which existed even before the birth of Jesus Christ. As time passed by, most of these figures went through several transformations. Santa Claus, for instance, is said to be based upon a 4th century bishop was known as Saint Nicholas, a follower of Jesus Christ who used to deliver secret gifts to the needy. Today, this character is considered synonymous to Santa Claus and also happens to have a special day dedicated to him, known as the Saint Nicholas Day.
The Yule Goat is among the oldest Christmas characters, which has a Scandinavian origin. In the beginning, sacrifices of goats during the Germanic pagan festival of Yule were conducted. Later and till today, the Yule Goat is a goat-like figure made of straw which is kept under the Christmas tree. 'Rudolph' the red-nosed reindeer is another Christmas character which made its first appearance in 1939 in a booklet written by Robert May. The story describes him as a neglected reindeer, which caught Santa's attention because of its glowing nose. He was taken to lead the pack of the reindeers pulling Santa's sleigh. So, all these characters, as we see, have either descended from the past, or were created to entertain children. Irrespective of all, these figures have gained immense popularity over a period of time and have now become an essential part of Christmas.
The characters of Christmas have always been fascinating. Let's know about their origin and history along with all the legends related to them.