Who has not heard about such a winter character like Santa Claus? Perhaps every child in childhood was waiting for him impatiently to tell a verse, to dance or sing a song, and in return to receive a long-awaited gift. Obviously, this is why fairy tales about Santa Claus are so popular, from which it blows with magic and miracle, justice and severe kindness. Each fairy tale is a small instructive story (even in the modern version). So, in this article we will consider the origin of the winter lord, as well as the most popular fairy tales with his participation.
The history of the origin of Santa Claus
Where does our New Year Santa Claus come from, where are its roots? He is considered an ancient pagan deity, most often in those days he was called Morozok, Santa Treskun, Morok and other names. There is a belief that it was in this image that the ancient deity embodied - Karachun. They are very similar in appearance (an old man with a beard), as well as in their actions (freezing everything around).
According to ancient myths, Santa Claus comes to our world after the winter solstice. It is on this day that the Night of the Gods ends, and the Day of the Gods begins. This indicates the beginning of a new cycle. And Santa Claus sums up. He looks through human affairs and punishes or bestows on his merits.
Tales of Santa Claus to some extent reflect all the mythology and beliefs, as well as the appearance of the lord of winter. In each, he appears as an old man in years, who is dressed in an embroidered fur coat to the heels, a warm hat, mittens and a staff. He always acts as a protector or guardian, and is also a force that punishes bad people (and this is manifested not only in the absence of gifts).
The image of the Snow Maiden
Christmas fairy tales about Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden are very popular. Only in the Slavic tradition of winter, the lord is accompanied by a sweet girl, who is his granddaughter. The snow maiden is always dressed in white clothes, a hat or crown on her head. She also has a long braid. It should be noted that, according to some mythological information, the image of the Snow Maiden is the image of Kostroma, whose effigy was burned with the onset of spring.
There is a Russian folk tale about a girl from the snow (it’s called “Snow Maiden”), which melts with the advent of spring. It is believed that she is in some way a prototype of the girl who later began to come on New Year's Eve with Santa Claus.
Tale "Twelve Months"
Often, fairy tales about the winter ruler of Santa Claus are told about the month of January, because in ancient times it was associated with him. And they called him Grandfather Treskun. This state of affairs is depicted in the fairy tale “Twelve Months,” in which the main character, the stepdaughter, meets on New Year's Eve all year round at the winter bonfire. The main month was January.
As the oldest and wise, he gave the green light to small miracles - a piece of spring in the middle of summer. Also, with his permission, there are punishments of evil, greedy and arrogant people. And those who have a good heart, he truly gives. So, the stepdaughter received her generous gifts, and the stepmother and her daughter received punishment.
It should be noted that there are a large number of variations of this tale. Almost every nation has its own version, and some authors of our time rewrote it in a new way. For example, in the territory of the former Soviet Union, the version of S. Ya. Marshak, based on which the film was shot, is very popular.
Fairy tale “Frost”
Another figurative tale about Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden is “Frost”. It traces the image of the granddaughter of the lord of winter - the girl, whom he finds in the forest freezing. And then he takes to himself and in every possible way takes care of and bestows for her kind heart. Of course, there are also negative characters - the grandfather's wife and her own daughter. Having presented herself with the rich gifts of her stepdaughter, she demands that her daughter be taken to the forest, under the same spruce.
Of course, Santa Claus gave a good girl not because she froze. Only her kind, picky and very modest heart made so that the Lord of frost took pity on her and warmed. And then he gave presents. My stepmother’s daughter was waiting for a completely different technique. She was punished for her vanity, arrogance and anger. True, the endings in some versions of this tale are different. One by one, the grandfather brings home a frozen girl, and the other - alive, but with unnecessary gifts.
Other popular fairy tales about Frost
Of course, there is still not one well-known children's fairy tale about Santa Claus. There are quite a lot of them, and they all teach kindness, selflessness, love for one's neighbor. Consider a list of popular and most famous fairy tales.
- "Frost Ivanovich." This is a fairly well-known fairy tale, which tells of two girls - the Needlewoman and Sloth. As can be judged from their names, the first working girl, and the second lazy and idler. And somehow the needlewoman gets into the house to Moroz Ivanovich and begins to serve him - beat up the feather-bed, clean up the house, darn laundry. And as a result, the girl was awarded a whole bucket of silver coins and a diamond pin. Of course, the Sloth wanted the same. But she could not work in the house of Santa Claus, because she did not know how, and did not want to. She could only profit without difficulty, the way she lived until now. Naturally, she did not receive the same award as her sister. She got a fake.
- “Two Frosts”. This is a comic and funny tale. It tells about two Frosts who wanted to freeze a gentleman and a peasant. The one who went for the gentleman froze him very quickly, and the one who went for the peasant, oh, and lured with him. In the end, he swore to contact men.
Tales about animals with Santa Claus
No less interesting are fairy tales about Santa Claus with animals. The action usually takes place in a forest or in a clearing, where the lord of winter comes and arranges a holiday for all forest residents. Consider some tales.
- “New Year's Eve”.
- “Wolf-Frost”.
- “Hare, braid, bear and Santa Claus.”
- “New Year's fairy tale about helping Santa Claus.”
Of course, there are many more such tales, some funny, some good-natured, and there are also instructive ones.
Cartoons about Santa Claus
Very popular are not only fairy tales about Santa Claus, but also cartoons. Before the New Year, it is they who stare at all the children in anticipation of a miracle. Consider the list of the most famous:
- "The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree".
- "Santa Claus and summer."
- "Santa Claus and the gray wolf."
- “When the Christmas trees light up.”
- "Frost Ivanovich."
- “New Santa Claus”.
- “Snowman and the Snow Dog”.
- “The Snowman-mailer.”
- “School of Snowmen”.
- “A wonderful well.”
Each cartoon is imbued with kindness and miracle, not one has lost its relevance. The main character in them, of course, is Santa Claus, who with his assistants always defeats the villains.
Modern fairy tales about Frost
There are also modern fairy tales about Santa Claus for children. In them you can read the same instructive stories, but only on modern motives. They also talk about human kindness and good deeds. Most often, modern tales and stories are funny and perky. For example, a very interesting New Year's fairy tale, “Papa, when will Santa Claus come?”. Posted by Marcus Mayaluoma.
It tells about a family in which children eagerly awaited the advent of Christmas and the arrival of the wonderful wizard Santa Claus with gifts. They began to wait for him since the fall and every few days they asked Dad when he would come. And finally, the long-awaited day came - Christmas (on this day the children of the wizard Frost were waiting).
Father really wanted to make the kids a holiday, but Santa Claus called and said that he could not fly due to the weather. Therefore, he decided to change into a wizard himself. And with it, the neighbor decided to bring joy to the children. In the end, it turned out that two fake, but very loving guys of Santa Claus came into the house one after another. However, then a real magician of this holiday could come. Therefore, the children had a wonderful Christmas!
Conclusion
So, as we see, there are a lot of New Year's fairy tales in the world, such as a fairy tale about Santa Claus and Tishka’s housekeeper, or about the skillful Needlewoman and her sister Sloth. Each such story has an instructive moment. Positive and negative characters talk about kindness and reward for it (not always material), as well as about evil, which is always punishable. The Lord of the Winter Santa Claus always pays his due - in ancient times, this continues to this day. Only in our time has it turned into the form of ordinary toys that parents buy for their children for their obedience.