How can a single being bring presents to millions and millions of children around the world at Christmas? Well, there's a lot of faith involved. And faith also has a lot to do with what the Christmas figure we know today looks like. Whether it's Papai Noel in Brazil, Santa Claus in the US and Canada, Kaledų Senelis in Lithuania or Babbo Natale in Italy, the bearded gift-bringer is modeled on a third-century bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of children. And not just him. A good 200 years later, another saint with the same name appeared: Nicholas of Sion.

Saint Nicholas, the benefactor

Few historical facts about either of them are still known today, so their life stories have been fused together over the centuries, creating famous Saint Nicholas legends.

There is the story of the gold nuggets: Saint Nicholas is said to have saved three destitute girls from prostitution by throwing gold nuggets through the window of their house at night. That's why Saint Nicholas is often depicted in art with three golden balls or apples. The bishop is said to have had a strong charitable streak and bequeathed his considerable fortune to the poor.

In contrast, the resurrection of three students who were dismembered and placed in a salt barrel is more likely one of the many legends of miracles with which the church has tried to keep people in line since the Middle Ages.

Saint Nicholas versus the Christ Child

The feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated on December 6, the probable anniversary of the death of Nicholas of Myra.

That displeased the famous 16th-century reformer, Martin Luther, who had fallen out with the Catholic Church and thus with almost half the world. He objected to the Catholic worship of saints and wanted to link the Christian bringer of gifts to Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. He wanted to direct people's interest, especially that of children, away from the countless figures of saints and towards Jesus Christ. And so he replaced Saint Nicholas with Christ as the bringer of gifts, which was quickly accepted in Protestant areas.

Since the Reformation, the "Christkind" (Christ Child) has brought Christmas presents in Germany, usually on Christmas Eve, December 24, or a day later, on Christmas Day.

But the custom of Saint Nicholas placing presents in boots on the eve of December 6 did not die out either — after all, gift-giving can be traced back to the story of the three girls and the lumps of gold.

Nowadays, Saint Nicholas Day is still the main gift-giving day in some countries — like Belgium or the Netherlands, where the "Sinterklaasfest" is celebrated.

A sinister companion

In the 16th century, the benevolent Saint Nicholas was joined by a rather malicious antagonist. He was called "Knecht Ruprecht" or "Krampus" in southern Germany, "Hans Muff" in the Rhineland, or "De zwarte Piet" (Black Pete) in Dutch. He carried a rod made of brushwood and was supposed to punish naughty children.

To this day, Knecht Ruprecht accompanies Saint Nicholas — but now only as a sort-of-scary decorative sidekick. The chances of him actually beating children are zero; his real job is to help Saint Nicholas carry the sack of presents and otherwise just scowl menacingly.

The Christkind, on the other hand, comes without a companion, but bears the face of an angel and wings. Although it has Protestant origins, the Christkind is now more common in Catholic areas. Elsewhere, its has been replaced by Santa Claus, a figure whose origin story is a mixture of the legend of Saint Nicholas, the fairy tale of Father Frost — and an incredibly successful advertising campaign.

Father Frost, Papa Noel and Jultomte

Looking at a map of the world showing the different names for the Christmas figure, the regional differences, generally reflecting the linguistic marks of colonial powers, are obvious. The most widespread name is a combination of the words for "father" and "Christmas." In the Spanish-speaking world from Europe to Latin America, for example, there are various spellings of "Papa Noel." In former British colonies and in the United Kingdom, people speak of "Father Christmas" and the French call their Santa Claus "Père Noël."

Santa Claus goes by a few names in South Africa, including Sinterklaas (St Nicholas) and Kersvader (Father Christmas) for those who speak Afrikaans — a legacy of the Dutch colonists. People in Indonesia, which was a Dutch colony until 1949, and other former Dutch colonies such as Suriname or Curaçao, will also know Sinterklaas.

In Eastern European countries and as far afield as Mongolia, people talk of Papa Winter or Father Frost. That figure goes back to a winter wizard from Slavic mythology and is very similar to Santa Claus in its depictions. He is the personification of winter, and to emphasize this, Father Frost also has a companion in some regions — a snowflake in the form of a delicate girl.

Pagan myths from the north

The contemporary Scandinavian version of Santa Claus has various origins, generally predating Christianization, when people celebrated midwinter, called Yule. There is the figure of an old man with a fur cape, hood and beard, who travels through the countryside on a reindeer sleigh and distributes nuts to help people survive the harsh winter. Legend has it that he is a descendant of Odin, the most powerful Norse god.

In Norway and Sweden, there is a story about a house spirit ("Tomte") who watched over the house and yard, but only if he was given enough food. Today, it is the Jultomte or Julenissen who brings presents on Christmas Eve — in exchange for food, of course.

The Finnish Joulupukki was once a nasty figure, half man, half goat, who went around to people's homes demanding food, or he would abduct their children. At some point, however, the horns disappeared (as did the child abductions) and the goat-man became a Christmas-man. That's what he is still called in German — "Weihnachtsmann."

So where does Santa Claus come in?

Why is this Christmas figure called Santa Claus in the US? Dutch emigrants brought their Sinterklaas with them to the US. Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam — today's New York. Sinterklaas then became Santa Claus, the friendly old man in a fur-trimmed coat and cap, with red cheeks and beard.

In the 1930s, Coca-Cola adopted the figure for itself and turned it into an advertising icon that has shaped the image of Santa Claus to this day, aided by movies, songs and TV shows.

However, Santa Claus doesn't bring presents on December 6 like his European counterpart, but on the night from December 24 to December 25. To this day, every American child learns that Santa comes down the chimney with his presents before disappearing into the air again in his reindeer-drawn sleigh — and quickly, so that he manages to bring presents to millions and millions of children all over the world.

This article was originally written in German.