I hadn't realized that Germans had grafted a British/American style Santa Claus onto their previously Very Christian St. Nicholas as "Weinachtsmann." Literally Christmas Man. Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, and I must strike Christmas into their hearts. The carol "Tomorrow Comes The Christmas Man" does not help with this.
@y6nH Thanks for the help!
I don't know the history of British Santa, but American Santa came from Germanic St. Nick via the Pennsylvania German and New York Dutch communities. It spread outside those groups to the wider US culture through "Knickerbocker's History of New York" by Washington Irving in 1809 and "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (aka "'Twas the night before Christmas") by Clement Clark Moore in 1823
@StormyDragon since I grew up Jewish, all I can do is look on in confused wonder.
It is a wild ride how *really* European takes on St. Nikolai somehow wound up as this incredibly American cultural figure. It's like if Paul Bunyan was actually Ogier Dansk mythology or something.
I only know this because I'm Pennsylvania Dutch (which is what the English called the German speaking Pennsylvania cultures because they misheard "Deutsch") heritage and "we invented Santa Claus" was a big deal growing up
@Leucrotta It's more complicated than that... St. Nick comes on the 6th of December and gives chocolate to children who have clean shoes. Then Christmas Man delivers to the Northern part of Germany on the 24th, while Baby Jesus himself delivers to the South. There's also Knecht Ruprecht, who has the naughty list and gives out treats or punishments accordingly, and the demonic Krampus who deals with bad children in some Southern areas. So it's a whole superhero gang.