Previously, I thought that Santa Claus was the universal gift-bringer. Doesn’t he fly around the entire world? It turns out, I could not have been more wrong. The classic Santa Claus figure was only recently invented in the United States in the 1800s, and Christians around the world have very different ideas about who brings all those Christmas gifts.

Emilia Friebe ‘27 explained that in her hometown of Cologne, Germany, “You go into a separate room and close the door. There are no gifts under the tree at that point. Bells are sitting there, and when the bell rings, that is when Christkind is there and brings the presents.” Christkind is a young, feminine angelic figure in parts of central and western Europe. 

  In Spain, Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) is the major celebration. 12 days after the birth of Jesus, three kings brought gifts to him. To commemorate this story, kids in Spain wake up to gifts on January 6. 

Leyre Cabrera ‘27 from Zaragoza, Spain, shared their holiday tradition: “We have a special breakfast [dish], which is called Roscón. It is basically a cake. You get to cut it, take however big a piece you want – but if you get [a plastic figurine of] baby Jesus in your piece, you have to pay for [Roscón] next year.”  

Gift bringers vary even further within Spain. Ane Garcia ‘29 from Madrid, Spain, gets another round of Christmas gifts in addition to Día de los Reyes Magos. 

She explained, “On [Dec.] 24 evening, everyone goes upstairs and then suddenly you’ll hear a bang on the door. Then you go down and all the presents are there.” This special gift-bringer, popular in Northern Spain, is called Olentzero, a figure similar to Santa Claus, but originating from the pre-Christian winter traditions of the Basque people. 

In the warm Southern Hemisphere, kids from Campinas, Brazil, open their presents from Papai Noel, the Portuguese Santa Claus, at midnight. Junior Artur Carbonieri Salgado said, “We don’t have chimneys. So at night, he will pass by the house. When you go outside to try to find him, sometimes we hear noises, but we never actually see him. Then you come back in [the house]; the presents are always there.”

While Santa Claus appears to be the “only” gift-bringing figure — at least in all the popular media I grew up with — many cultures have their own fascinating stories. For that reason, talking with people around the world can broaden everyone’s worldview.