History-Makers: Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus

Merry Sinterklaasfeest to all, and to all a good night.
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[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

There's plenty more to unpack with the history and modern reception of the character of Zwarte Piet - seeing as that wasn't the point of this video, I figured it was best to avoid the tangent. But interestingly enough, Dutch culture is currently reimagining the character to be less... well, less of a deliberately racist caricature. New interpretations include "Rainbow Pete" and "Sooty Pete", and they have their own nuances and difficulties as well - but it's worth the investigation if you're curious, because it really is fascinating to see cultural innovation in real time! This is the stuff we talk about happening hundreds of years ago, but this one is happening now!! Anyway Merry Crimbis and stuff, don't get punched by a saint. -B

[@rnanni1048]

And please take into consideration that there are many.. many!! More views about zwarte Piet then being a racist leftover of colonial past! I lived all around the wordt but only in the US the Media outrage was considering it racist to black people. Then it spread to the eu and worldwide As a European I’m truly shocked about the “political” wrong and disinformed statements come from the USA

[@GrimmDelightsDice]

What if the Saint punching is consensual and reciprocal

[@Jasonwolf1495]

Merry Hogswatch Red, Blue, Cyan, Indigo and all other color related family

[@marvintg2002]

In Germany we have a card game called Schwarzer Peter meaning exactly the same as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), which is about avoiding being the last player to have the Black Pete card in your hand. Old versions of the game depict Black Pete as a stereotypical black person, but it has since shifted toward depicting him as a chimney sweep. I wonder if there's some kind of larger identity to Black Pete?

[@HikariTheGardevoir]

Thank you for including that note! If you ask most people who grew up with Zwarte Piet, they'll tell you that they never thought he was actually black, because as children, we're told stories that Black Pete comes through the chimney, ending up being completely covered in soot, but that doesn't take away the fact that he looks quite literally like a deliberate racist caricature, nor the fact that he first appears in Dutch children's literature around 1850 as an actual black man; it just means that over the years, adults have changed the explanation that they give to their children about why Black Pete is so dark (as far as I can tell, it was probably because the black makeup used for Zwarte Piet was much darker than the natural skin colour of actual black people. Even though the makeup became lighter later, the explanation stayed). It's a tradition that is thankfully changing now.

[@Riverbed_Dreaming]

‘Stealth charity’ is probably one of the most threatening ways I’ve heard anyone describe Santa while still remaining somewhat wholesome

[@BennyLlama39]

The words "stealth charity" make me think of someone creeping up on a homeless person and dropping a bag of money at his/her feet, with a vaguely threatening note saying, "Here's a thousand dollars-- take it or else." 😀

[@redwitch12]

@@BennyLlama39 Now I'm just imagining a dude who looks like Joe Pesci, well-dressed yet still sinister, visiting the homeless to deliver food and clothing with genuine kindness at heart, while accompanied by a number of hulking, scowling, scarred-up thug types who clean their fingernails with switchblades while making uncomfortably prolonged eye contact.

[@louisduarte8763]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND Now I'm imagining Solid Snake with a cardboard box full of presents.

[@futurehistoryarchaeologist4480]

@@louisduarte8763 there was a freeware game from a long time ago called Merry Gear Solid that you might like.

[@denverarnold6210]

Could also consider it an "anonymous donation", which isn't technically far off if we consider Santa a pseudonym.

[@timothymclean]

Remember, kids: When throwing gifts of gold through the window, be sure not to smack the recipient in the face. Gold is _heavy,_ that sh*t hurts.

[@josephm5050]

Unless they're a non-trinitarian, then go wild.

[@widmo206]

Remember: _gold is about 20 times denser than duck._

[@mateocabral1660]

@@widmo206 Which means it’s not a witch

[@Luke-ow9ku]

If you can dodge a sack of gold. . .

[@riven5677]

Yup

[@Mirro18]

Sidenote, St. Nick in his original form is celebrated on December 6th in most predominantly catholic countries. In Austria (and Bavaria) he is in the company of not-black-face devil "Krampus" to also judge who's naughty and who's nice. Funnily enough, even though we were never protestant here, in Austria Jesus himself is bringing the presents, while in Germany you got Santa Claus (although often called Weihnachtsmann with no specific name given, although it has of course started to get mixed up with the American Santa Claus so... full circe)

[@Nikolas_Davis]

In Poland, also, Saint Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) is celebrated on December 6th, and on that day he brings candy to children. December 6th is also the name day for people named "Mikołaj" (a name day is the veneration day for the Saint after which the person is named, often connected to the date they were martyred, or held to have been martyred in Catholic & Orthodox tradition). This particular name day happens to fall on the same date for Orthodox & Catholics (they often differ, and some Saints in one have no counterpart in the other). I know all this since I'm a Nicholas born in Greece and living in Poland ;-)

[@daredaemon8878]

And in the Netherlands Sinterklaas is celebrated on Saint Nick's Eve (which, like many such Eves is the evening before the day, aka Dec 5th)

[@Beryllahawk]

Was about to add this in my own comment, as it's one of the few "old world" holidays I know about. My Oma was Lutheran (mostly?) but she absolutely adored St. Nicholas day, which for her always involved making up a huge batch of thumbprint cookies - something she ONLY ever did for this holiday. She'd talk about all the winter festivals from back in Germany too, sometimes telling various Christmas stories that she'd picked up when living in southern Germany. So, 6 December is a day with lots of good memories for me, and St. Nicholas is a figure that I knew a tiny bit about already, hehe Fascinating to learn more from this!

[@lilaboxx]

In Germany you also have baby Jesus bringing presents, I think it's a regional thing ^^

[@twincast2005]

Edit: I really should know better by now than to interact with comments before finishing the video. Revised: While the name Christkind stuck and thus confusingly still implies it being Baby Jesus, Luther et al. quickly changed it to officially being an (at least nowadays usually blond and feminine) angel. It is the height of irony that the Christkind survived in majority Catholic regions, while otherwise fiercely anti-saints majority Protestant countries moved St. Nicholas to Christmas (and then popularized this around the globe through the power of US consumerism). And the saints traditionally in charge of delivering presents to children in Orthodox Christianity as well as Iberia and thus Hispanic countries are the Three Wise Men/Kings on Epiphany on January 6. As for your description of Austria, yes, the Christkind delivers presents on Christmas (Eve), with many people endlessly whining about the growing popularity of the Weihnachtsmann due to US media. But children still get sweets and (small) presents on St. Nicholas's, complete with (usually) men dressed up like him (and Krampus, but he's often cut now as being too scary) visiting elementary schools. And up until a few decades ago, they got as much on December 6th or even more than on the 24th. (This shift is also mirrored in birthdays replacing name days in importance for tangentially related reasons.) Also, we absolutely were Protestant. The Reformation spread across Austria like wildfire until it got brutally beaten back by the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

[@bray2964]

And then Saint Nicolas and Odin did the fusion dance, but due to their vastly different power level, the result of the transformation came out weird and thus Santa was born.

[@gorvarhadgarson5227]

You're out of line but you're not wrong

[@oz18443]

I both hate and love this. But I think it's more if a potara fusion. (their clothes also fused)

[@stephengray1344]

Is there an actual historical source for this/

[@locomotivevoice]

@@stephengray1344 yeah i was there

[@mr.picklethanos7340]

Yes Odin couldn't dream to match THE POWER OF GOD.

[@CozyGuy15]

This was quite interesting and I liked how you included Sinterklaas

[@maxdereus6282]

who knew that throwing gold in poeples homes is now throwing (pepernoten in engels) on the streets

[@Rutgerman95]

At least there was a shot of the non-blackface Pieten

[@rnanni1048]

@@Rutgerman95 why are you happy about that? Truly interrested!

[@VVabsa]

@@rnanni1048 He is being positive.

[@Rutgerman95]

@@rnanni1048 Because no matter how much we've modernized the context it doesn't change that the old make-up looks like an old offensive stereotype. So happy we're moving on from that.

[@Punaparta]

My favourite version of the St. Nick punching a heretic legend has him beat the guy so hard that Mary and Gabriel had to come down to restrain him.

[@gasmasker7409]

"NICK HE'S DOWN, YOU MADE YOUR POINT! CHILL DUDE! YOU WON!" - Gabriel attempting to restrain St. Nicholas

[@Jasonwolf1495]

@@gasmasker7409 "Nah there's 3 rounds in a boxing match just like there's 3 aspects in 1 trinity! Get up you heretic!"

[@gasmasker7409]

Nicholas: "Tag in Krampus!' Krampus: hops the rope and proceeds to execute a German suplex on heretic

[@lewisirwin5363]

And thus was Boxing Day added to the Christmas festivities, in honour of that crazy trinitarian Bishop

[@shyannemarshall7163]

Stealth charity sounds like a skill check for a paladin/rogue class combo, which I believe sums up St Nick

[@asmith8692]

Which fits, since, among other things, he is the patron Saint of repentant thieves.

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

I'm now imagining the smite as burning coal

[@jrodriguez1374]

"our favorite sleigh-riding home intruder" LOVE IT!

[@lukespillman1313]

That time of year when a jolly prowler breaks into your house, and leaves gifts. Like a genie.

[@toddclawson3619]

The best story of Santa Claus that I found out recently is that he apparently delivers a lump of coal personally to Darkseid from the DC universe each year. Just walks straight up to Darkseid, tells him he has been naughty, hands him the coal, and laughs as he evades all of their defenses.

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

Good grief.

[@michaelkaduck1915]

It's nice to see that something meant to be a children's story character did truly have humble origins to inspire people to be selfless. After the past two years, it is still good to remember that people can still do good. (Even with our memeable shortcomings like punching a heretic in the face) Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all! 🎄

[@davidtwainam5656]

Punching a heretic in the face isn't a bug, it's a feature! :)

[@twochocolates4358]

You too!

[@Just_A_Dude]

A joyous yuletide to you, as well!

[@vicenzostella1390]

Exactly. All joking aside, that is actually a really good thing to keep in mind for Christmas: - Instead of just decorating and giving gifts to family members, do some charity work for those in need. Or better yet, call distant and close friends that have nowhere to go and invite them to celebrate with you. One of the best gifts you can give someone is a helping hand and some kindness. - Also remember, if you pull away some of the G-rated stuff, Jesus's birth is not a pretty story: an unwed, pregnant teen travels by donkey with her spouse 90 miles to complete a census that will not help them but will just allow the imperial government to control them better. When they finally get there, she goes into labor and yet every single establishment cannot to house them. So, they are offered to rest and give birth in a stable, which is not at all sanitary. And when The Son of Man finally arrives, He is placed where animals eat. Imagine being so poor that you can't even afford a bed for your baby. Then, He is not visited by a Pharisee or Zealot, but by three astrologers from faraway lands and shepherds, who were seen as outcasts and also would not be welcomed in town. So, even though it is still a Holiday full of cheer and gift-giving and decorating, it should also be a holiday of action against the cruelty of the world around us.

[@noahroangoldwing]

I’m a Catholic, so while I grew up with all the standard Santa Clause iconography, I also was told of Saint Nicholas. Best of both worlds

[@KnightsofGaming2016]

Same here! I always love telling people who said that "Santa isn't real" and pointing out about Saint Nicholas. Merry Christmas, my guy.

[@oldmanwolffe5248]

Bonus points if your parents put stuff in your shoes on Saint Nick’s day

[@hectorlackless]

Did you also had the story of the wizard kings who visited jesus?

[@michaelrips876]

Living close to the dutch border, we have -St. Nicholas on dec 6th, -the mentioned before baby jesus that brings presents on christmas eve, -AND, due to media-globalisation, the Americanised version of Santa that we literally call "christmas man". Really looking forward to explain that mess to my children in a couple of years.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Where I am from they are seperat entities too

[@Flopsos]

as someone from the Netherlands, I see sinterklaasavond as the time for gift giving and being with close famliy/freinds, and christmas as the time for being with and eating with the whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins etc). Both are really fun

[@daanwillemsen223]

Same thing here!

[@vinx.909]

sinterklaas is for het gezin, parents and kids, maybe grandparents, while christmas is for the whole family. (it's so odd that english doesn't have a word for gezin)

[@tahhotep]

@@vinx.909 im guessing but i think we use "immediate family" for that

[@brittzwijnenberg285]

Same here. Presents are for Sinterklaas, family and eating are for Christmas. As a child I was always confused and didn’t get why Sinterklaas came to America on Christmas and not December 5th. Only later I realised they are two different characters

[@Just_A_Dude]

@@vinx.909 I dunno, it seems to be in the translation dictionary. They define it as "household," that is, your immediate family that you live with.

[@entity-36572-b]

For a bit of context on the zwarte Piet/black Pete thing: The original explanation for them painted them as enslaved Moor (ethnicity from south Marocco) sailors which saint Nick had help free in the past; depending on the version of the story you're dealing with, they were either so thankful that they swore to aid him in all his endavours henceforth or Nick realised that, if freed, they would soon be recaptured and thus decided to employ them all on the spot. As their job involved going up and down chimneys to delived gifts, the story goes on to say the soot covered them from head to toe, turning them black (colour not race). Some speculate that this may be a reference to either Odin's or Wodan's ravens. The most common depicting of zwarte Piet was originally just people who were covered in soot or dirt, although rarer depictions as african people did also exist. This state lasted until about the 50s, when the holiday got more commercialised and companies figured selling products depicting dirty people would be harder than those featuring black people. The frizzy hair, bright red lips, golden earrings and silly suit are also all the invention of these companies. A few years back the semblance to slavery was first called out and lead to a yearly controversy... until covid hit. An after effect of this was the replacement of black Pete by white Pete, rainbow Petes, or soot-smear Pete (which people funnily enough thought to be an amazing and new middle ground) in many, but not all places.

[@elif6908]

The thing is the lips and the accessories play so hard to the racist depictions that it’s hard for an outsider like me to see something other. Maybe they should go back to soot and make that clearer

[@Artrysa]

@@elif6908 They already have. When people dress up nowadays they put black smears across the face rather than completely painting it. It's kinda weird how the story that was told and the aesthetic were always strangely disconnected in this way.

[@sogghartha]

no, this is false. zwarte piet was a black person right from the start, old poems explicitly describe him as a n*gro. the whole idea that he was an evolution of the ravens of odin, or that it had to do with soot, was made up after black Dutch people started being more vocal against blackface.

[@xLoLRaven]

I'm glad someone else brought up the fact that wasn't blackface. I love a lot of what Red and Blue do, but they really need to stop projecting their American Left sensibilities onto other cultures. Not everyone wants to deal with the Yank's politics...

[@BJGvideos]

@@sogghartha You do realize "negro" isn't a bad word, right? It literally just means black in many languages.

[@wraithcadmus]

He has a list, he's checking it twice, he knows who's been naughty and nice, and he's coming to town. Wait I'm thinking of Sulla.

[@caseyh1934]

Nice

[@PakBallandSami]

“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” ― St. Nicholas of Myra

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

Philosophy that even the Addams Family abides by.

[@Patch-lz9yi]

"As we celebrate the year-end holiday of Saturnalia - wait, no - Yule! Agh no come on which one is it - Christmas? CHRISTMAS, that one - they all just blend together." It's okay, Blue, all immortal beings who have been around for over two hundred years slip up sometimes.

[@gohanr1271]

imagine being an immortal historian being in an argument with a fellow scholar trying barely holding in your identity and weighing if proving the other person wrong is worth outing yourself (the answer is yes).

[@toddclawson3619]

@@gohanr1271 Reminds me of a scene from Speaker for the Dead (sequel to Ender's game) where Ender is still alive about a thousand years later thanks to traveling by their version of hyperspeed and is currently working as a school teacher. He is teaching about himself and the Formics (aliens that he and humanity killed) and is forced to deal with a bunch of brats that talk about how much of a monster he was and that they would have of course loved the Formics and made peace with them. It seems to have gotten lost in history that the Formics had already invaded Earth twice and humanity had no way of knowing that the Formics weren't planning a third (they realized they were attacking fellow sentient beings and were horrified at what they had done) when humanity launched a counterstrike.

[@Quetzietse]

St Nicholas celebration are long over though, it is celebrated on the 5th or 6th of december and does not have anything to do with Christmas.

[@aikotitilai3820]

Here in Belgium they would have a guy disguised in Saint Nicholas and come in schools to give oranges, candy, and speculoos (and actual gifts if you're lucky). Speculoos are biscuits and often people give Saint Nicholas shaped speculoos to kids. Speculoos are delicious

[@sogghartha]

speculoos? you mean speculaas? speculoos is a brand name for a spread for on bread that is made to taste like speculaas.

[@Silly_Sulky_Seli]

@@sogghartha ye speculoos is the brand idd, but I also mess it up despite being flemish (I'm sure the company picked that name on purpouse xD) and an accurate transulation/explanation to english seems to be spiced bisquit

[@Justic_]

Same here in Germany, although instead of Speculaas, I think nuts, specifically peanuts, are more common alongside chocolate and oranges/tangerines. Also yeah, Speculaas are delicious, especially the spicy ones.

[@pieterfaes6263]

@@sogghartha Iirc 'Speculoos' and 'Speculaas' are very similar, but different products. 'Speculaas' is more common in the Netherlands, as it is made with 'speculaas'-spices (colonialism ahoy), hence the name. Belgium didn't really have a steady supply of those, so over time making something that tastes similar, but doesn't contain the spices, they created speculoos (basically, 'speculaas-loos', as in without speculaas-spices). That spread is a fairly recent Belgian invention based on speculoos-biscuits.

[@finnfruru8299]

All my speculaas is gone by now, I must not have had a lot of sesfcontrole

[@adamkimara6919]

St. Nicholas is one of the most beloved saints of Orthodoxy! St. Nicholas Day is sometimes more popular than Christmas from what I’ve experienced. Thanks for the video!

[@cloudkitt]

The (Orthodox) church I grew up in would have St. Nicholas (in full bishop's garb) visit on his feast day every year. Kids would then bring up toys to give to the local shelter.

[@adamkimara6919]

@@cloudkitt Haha, my home parish does something similar as well! :)

[@itswickie8545]

As someone who lives in The Netherlands and loves the Sinterklaas festivals, I’m happy to see it getting some attention! The whole vibe around Sinterklaas is simply amazing and even a bit magical. It always make me happy to see hundreds and hundreds of children gathered at the port so see the old man arrive. Heck, we even have a special program that reports on the daily life of Sinterklaas and it’s…. eh, it makes some weird decisions sometimes. Oh and for anyone wondering how it went this year: they basically scared the crap out of 1.6 million children. Pretty funny. Anyway, I love Sinterklaas and the whole (not questionable and controversial) part of the festival and 5 December is always a good day here. If anyone in the comment has any questions about the festival and it’s old man on a horse, just ask! I will answer gladly.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Hehe, as another Dutch person. I agree. Ask away! As long as its not asking about the rage we tossed on half the picture

[@camilleschenkenberg6800]

Sinterklaasjournaal is amazing, the trauma they dispense builds character

[@Firegen1]

How do you all feel about Zwarte Piet? An old dutch friend, felt deeply uncomfortable about him. I'm genuinely wondering how he reads overall as Black European.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

@@Firegen1 he's a subject that's being phased out and we can move on from since we have Roetveeg Piet now

[@rnanni1048]

@@Firegen1 most people i know dont feel any shame at all... the stort we learn here is the’re black because they Climb through the chimny. Its American media that is playing the racist card on them, Sadly.... and uninformed...

[@CrimsonBlasphemy]

Shoves all winter religious festivals into a blender. Sprinkles on flakes of Late Stage Capitalism, and proceeds to slurps the slurry we call... Christmas! 🎄

[@adamkimara6919]

Minus the Late Stage Capitalism, which is abhorrent, that was the typical Eastern Christian way of doing things for a millennia. Rather than looking to destroy local cultures, most Christian evangelists in that time tried to tie in the local cultural heritage of their audience to show that Christ, being the True Wisdom, was the completion of the worldly wisdoms and religions that already existed. A much cooler approach to the later approaches by the Catholics (Latinize everything) or the Protestants (colonialism), from my biased perspective.

[@bendover9620]

The Capitalism part was all America's fault. Curse you Coca Cola!!!

[@Elenrai]

@@adamkimara6919 *happy nordic noises* Colonialism or not, we kept most of the good traditions, frankly ending slavery and human sacrifice uh...seems like a pretty progressive thing, then again...nordic... 🥳

[@adamkimara6919]

@@Elenrai I meant more of the phenomena of Western European Protestants trying to spread the religion through the colonizing of other countries, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia. Though in hindsight the way I wrote was likely a bit more polemical than I should have haha. I love all the Nordic Christmas traditions I’ve seen!

[@anoninunen]

In short: Americanized

[@wilfredomartinez2068]

Thanks Blue, Merry Christmas to you too!

[@HHUUUGE]

Now I'm imagining a man enjoying Christmas with his family. The joy interrupted by the sound of breaking glass. Next to a broken window they see a brick with a note tied to it. "Merry Christmas," it says. The brick is solid gold.

[@WateverWatever04]

_"Here's a secret for you: _*_I don't care!"_* This is why I love this channel.

[@TheRWS96]

A note about "Blackface Piet" in the Netherlands Sinterklaas celebration, the last few years there has been a shift happening as we shift away from the black Piet to a Piet with colourful (blue/red/yellow/etc) face paint or a few smudges of brown/soot (as in the story Piet comes down chimneys). This shift is happening slowly but as far as i know, the national arival of Sinterklaas, his arrival in all major cities and also his arrival in almost all villages is now done with a soot or colorpaint piet, there are still black piet around but it becomes less and less every year. (But as you can see from the expected replies it is still a somewhat contentious topic under certain groups)

[@Lilliathi]

Not gonna work in the long run. The pure black made them unrecognisable to kids, now it's clearly just your aunt with some smudges on her. Better to reinvent the character entirely in that case.

[@PlasmaPea04]

Kinda, the story about the soot Piets is that it is the everyday man/woman who volunteers to help sinterklaas and the soot is gained from them training. So them being recognizable somewhat makes sense.

[@faramund9865]

Only state sponsored politically correct one on TV. Everywhere else in the country the tradition (rightfully) remains. Don't mess with things you do not understand, especially not things as sacred as your own culture passed down to you from your ancestors. If you ARE going to mess with it, you better know exactly all the ins and outs and hows and whys.

[@faramund9865]

@@Lilliathi Black pete has always been sootblack. What he wasn't always, was an African. I'm all about going back to just a black face and some wild animal skins and chains and bells and a rod. Make him look like a bear or a wolf or something.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

*Come join us at OSP! In this one video about Santa, we have:* -St Nick being tortured -Santa punching an alleged heretic in the face (it's a meme, you had to be there) -Martin Luther (debatably) being a killjoy -Very unjolly Black Face -Santa helping the troops end slavery in the Civil War *I mean what else could you ask for? This is the true spirit of Christmas right here!*

[@jeremiahardales6597]

Hello there

[@templarw20]

"Here's a secret for you: I don't care." Not a secret, Blue. Also, my third sold story was about how a guy with the same name and the same area is thought to be Santa, and some idiots try to break into his workshop/stash. He's not, and his wife (and the reason he's still alive a thousand years later) is a fay ice queen. Big mistake...

[@christopherrobinhood9802]

Merry Christmas Blue, and Happy Hanukkah (and Christmas) to you Red!

[@e-convoy1783]

I so hope there would be an episode on the monsters of Christmas(Krampus, Yule cat, etc)

[@simonschnedl]

_Krampus wants to know your location_

[@TitanDarwin]

I still love how varied Saint Nicholas' entourage is depending on where you go - in the Netherlands he's accompanied by black caricatures, in the southern Germanic-speaking areas he's got a demon who eats naughty children at his beck and call.... and in North Germany he's accompanied by a dude who'll beat you with a rod.

[@shadowldrago]

@@TitanDarwin ... North Germany has no concept of chill, does it?

[@redwitch12]

@@simonschnedl *Krampus already knows your location*

[@Quetzietse]

Krampus isn't actually assicated with Christmas. Only to Americans.

[@crystallinecrow3365]

Sorry for your loss, Blue. May his memory be a blessing. Thanks for the rad video.

[@misteraskman3668]

Hiya! I just wanted to say that OSP got me this year to actually appreciate christmas. I never got into the cynical capitalist viewpoint, but I do have the SAD thing. It angered me that I felt obligated to be happy when I was not; it felt artificial, fake, forced. But you guys helped me changing that perspective. I've never felt like a part of my family and always felt really alone in these days. But this time I'll just be happy for the heck of it. I'll celebrate being with my family, as fractured as it is , and as not-so-understanding as they are. My mom and dad at least is trying to, and that is enough for me this year. So, thank you OSP. I am excited and feel more festive. Thank you for helping me, literally, understand christmas. Thank you so much.

[@jurtheorc8117]

As a random person on the internet, I wish that the happiness will last and return again and again where needed, for both you and your loved ones. Happy holidays, and may the new year bring good tidings.

[@robyntieman9183]

Sinterklaas being part Odin was not the information I expected but I'm here for it

[@gearedge]

yes and no its more likely part the god Wodan but Wodan and Odin are mostly the same god with most of the differences coming from where they were worshipped

[@Kristiano100]

The only part that is dubious is the Odin part imo, since Odin's horse Sleipnir couldn't fly, and there's established stories separate from anything related to paganism (mostly fairy tales made in the medieval to early modern period) that have Saint Nicholas ride a reindeer that flies.

[@eliburry-schnepp6012]

@@Kristiano100 yes but later germanic mythology places Odin/Wodan as the leader of the flying Wild Hunt, as mentioned in the video

[@manmoy4104]

One of Odin's epithets (divine titles) was 'Jolnir' which could mean 'the Yule one' and the Yule festival of the Germanic peoples did provide much of the aesthetics we commonly associate with Christmas so there's that

[@stephengray1344]

@@manmoy4104 Do you have any evidence that any of our current Christmas aesthetics actually come from Yule?

[@slobad2]

I feel like this was a missed opportunity to spawn a new series called "Christmas-Makers" that would magically find its way into our notifications every year =p Great video though!

[@mirage809]

Resident Dutchman here! Very much appreciating the little tangent about Sinterklaas. That's a thing honestly deserving its own video. On the note of the blackface thing: they were originally meant to be soot stains from jumping down and climbing up a bunch of chimneys to deliver all those gifts. Somewhere along the lines that got turned into "just paint the whole face black" however. Probably because it was easier and more recognizable on TV than some spots. The connection with blackface is (at least in my experience) a more recent connection that some people have latched onto in protest. A lot of these people take it too far however and call for just ditching the celebration in its entirety over this. We're quickly transitioning Black Pete over into Pete with soot stains however, so the whole thing is becoming a non-issue. Sinterklaas also has dope candy. I mean, chocolate letters yo! Look em up, they're excellent. Also, Slash is Sinterklaas and one of our parents in disguise.

[@user-ct6ve8yr1z]

Darn. I was hoping for a summary of The Nutcracker. Not the ballet, the actual story the ballet is based on. Seems perfect for Red's treatment. And then Blue could have done a vid on Hoffman. Oh well, there will be other years, and this is a good pick for Christmas, too.

Yes please!

[@endarkculi]

That dedication at the end hit me right in the heart, especially as I also had a grandfather I truly admired that was named after Saint Nicholas. Hope your Yule was lovely, and may good fortune come your way in 2023!

[@Kyle-qd2sy]

As a nontrinitarian, may I express my deepest thanks to you all for not including the face punch in the holiday tradition😂

[@InquisitorThomas]

👊

[@Jasonwolf1495]

You've set yourself up for this now

[@SixWingZombi]

In celebration of the season, I will fight you, Kyle.

[@jtmartin1170]

Isaiah 9:6 dude.

[@TheDagon12]

Santa Claus punching you: “What the FUCK is up Kyle?”

[@voodoodummie]

about the blackface character, he's called Black Pete and the current story is that he was supposed to be a slave that Sinterklaas bought to free, but pete wanted to stay with him and help out. Why there are multiples is a mystery, but I guess saint nick is the patron saint of cloning tech. Before that there was a lineage of various black-faced bogeymen that was the punishing side to the festival's charity and further back the blackness was just a part of throwing all kinds of shit on yourself like soot, chains, bells, furs, and whatnot to scare children. A different permutation of the same character ended up as Krampus, but generally the modern audience has a more negative response to a blackface character as opposed to an edgy furry.

[@GraveyardMaiden]

I was told he looks that way cause he's covered in soot from chimneys

[@voodoodummie]

@@GraveyardMaiden yeah that is much more common now, but I'm unsure if it is regarded as the "official" story just yet.

[@nightfall3605]

Krampus as Edgy Furry made my day.

[@louisduarte8763]

Or like something that belongs on a death metal album cover. I will always think of Krampus with this exchange in the Venture Brothers Christmas episode: Dr. Venture: "What the hell kind of kinky Christmas spirit is that?!" Dr. Orpheus: "Well, it is Germanic in origin."

[@faramund9865]

The slave part simply isn't true. The bells and soot definitely is. In its current form yes, black pete is dressed up as an African, but not a slave. He is a Moor! However originally this was not the case. It was, as you said, just a completely sooted face, some cowbells and chains and a rod to spank the girls with. Nothing to do with Africans as the tradition predates our first interaction with Africans.

[@kimititan2658]

Imagine of this video was a collab between OSP and Puppet Hisyory considering the latter did a Saint Nicholas episode back in 2020 of I remember correctly

[@eeva_321]

saint nicholas killed--i mean saved--the pickle boys!

[@nutmegsoup54]

An OSP/Puppet History collab would be amazing

[@RamblinPhoenix]

The story of St. Nick resurcting the dead children is sort of metal, and a favorite.

[@PixelTheMushroom]

0:58 and suddenly blue is now my favorite person to exist

[@thecuriousone0680]

Here where I live Santa is a rather recent addition. We have the Three Wise Men/Kings who bring presents on the 6th of January. And for Christmas itself we have the "Tió de Nadal" (Christmas Log), which is a log with a face painted one and sometimes legs that comes to your house at the start of December. You feed it everyday until Christmas and then the children hit its back with sticks to have it poop out presents, traditionally sweets.

[@imketys]

As someone from Belgium, aka one of the low countries where we celebrate Sinterklaas I can gladly tell you that after a lot of anoying "but our traditions" from certain parts of the population the whole blackface thing was replaced with just some smears of soot on the faces of the helpers, supposedly from coming down the chimney.

[@r31n0ut]

It's still receiving a lot of pushback, unfortunately, with such totally not in bad faith arguments such as 'they got their blackface, makeup and golden jewelry from going down the chimney' and 'but it's for kids so it's ok to teach them that black people are servants who will kidnap them if they're naughty'.

[@nonya_bidness]

Apart from literally having black faces, what exactly does this have in common with minstrel shows from the US? Just curious as a foreigner

[@r31n0ut]

@@nonya_bidness The makeup, the clothing, them literally being there as a show, to name a few.

[@eva8270]

Gladly it's changed in the Netherlands too

[@faramund9865]

@@r31n0ut Dat komt omdat het zwarte gezicht juist één der oudste delen van de traditie is. De oorbellen, kroeshaar, rode lippen en het stomme pakje, NIET. Of anders gezegd, het zwarte gezicht heeft VAN OORSPRONG geen donder te maken met Afrikanen. Dus zou liever zien dat het zwarte gezicht blijft en alle andere onzin weggaat. Verder is het van oorsprong ook helemaal geen kinderfeest. De kinderen werd juist de stuipen op 't lijf gejaagd door de zwarte pieten. En in alleroudste vorm waren het jonge ongetrouwde mannen die in de nacht jonge ongetrouwde meiden achterna gingen.

[@CarlosMagnussen]

YESSSS!!! Dutch history made it into one of your video's!!!! I'm so happy! Belgium and the Netherlands are some of the most interesting countries in Europe, but not many people outside the dutch-speaking world seem to know. As for why we have Zwarte Piet (now usually Roetveegpiet): we've begun questioning it as well. It's one of those angry political debates that comes around each year around november/december.

[@Levsa399]

I have a question, because I want to learn more about Dutch speaking areas. Do they speak Dutch or French in Belgium, or something else? And are there any good source books available in English in US that one can find to learn more about the history?

[@simonhamelink3590]

@@Levsa399 In Fleming, the Northern side of the country they speak Dutch, while Wallonia, the southern side of Belgium the people speak French.

[@CarlosMagnussen]

@@Levsa399 Hahaha, oh boy... Belgium is the most complicated country in the world. I live there and I barely understand how it works. What I can say is that Belgium consists of a few different parts. The northern half is called Flanders, that's where I live. In Flanders, we only speak (our version of) Dutch. We're pretty good at English and, supposedly, French, but Flemings hate French for numerous reasons that are hard to explain in a KZbin comment. The southern half of the country is called Wallonia (I think). Most people there speak French, but there's a little German-speaking community in the very east that we "acquired" in the aftermath of one of the two World Wars. Our capital city, Brussels, is bilingual in name, but nearly every language known to man is spoken there and the lingua franca is French. With 20+ languages, 4 governments and 19 mayors, Brussels is by far the most complicated city I have ever heard of. I'm actually not familiar with the English literature on Dutch and Belgian history, but I suspect it won't be hard to find a good starting point via Wikipedia or Google. I'm super glad you're interested! Are you familiar with/interested in the language? Or do you primarily enjoy the historical aspect?

[@Levsa399]

@@CarlosMagnussen thank you! I’m actually writing a historical fantasy and one of my characters is Dutch, so I wanted to be respectful and accurate.

[@CarlosMagnussen]

@@Levsa399 That's so cool! Good luck!

[@Amanda-zn7ox]

"All roads lead to Odin, apparently" -Red, The Wild Hunt

[@jrodriguez1374]

Thank you for another year of excellent informative art, osp crew. We hope y'all have wonderful holidays and an even better new year after this one!

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

My favorite story about Santa is lesser known tale about when a freak meteor hit Santa's sleigh, splitting in in two. In that moment he turned to his helper Elfin Skywalker and uttered his famous phrase: "Not to worry! We are still flying half a sleigh!" He then carried on delivering presents with a jolly laugh, greeting the good people with a "Ho Ho Ho There!" I just find this story so relatable for some odd reason. Perhaps is the impressive beard? Or maybe it's Santa indisputable dominion over the (latitudinal) High Ground in the North Pole? Who can really say...

[@jurtheorc8117]

Now you're making me imagine a Star Wars planet based on the Netherlands where Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet have lightsabers based on the former's bishop staff, and the latter's collection of thin sticks.

[@foldabotZ]

​@@jurtheorc8117 Centuries after their good deeds, they would immortalized as significant figures in intergalactic Life Day celebrations.

[@kirby7294]

Christmas is about giving. Giving what? You may ask. Giving out gold and these hands.

[@Lionstar16]

As I am currently sick with a cough, a OSP video before Christmas is just what the doctor ordered. To all the OSP team, happy holidays :)

[@rulerofeternity7910]

May your grandfather rest in peace, and I hope you have a Happy Christmas and New Year! Can't wait to watch more OSP in 2023!

[@satansdaughter8487]

Sinterklaas actually doesn't have much to do with Christmas besides being celebrated in December. Festivities usually start in November and end on the evening of December fifth. Christmas comes afterwards on the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth with less focus on gifts and more on family.

[@willemketelaars4342]

Sinterklaas was included because the american santa originated from sinterklaas.

[@vinx.909]

christmas and yule are also not on the same date, doesn't mean they're not related.

[@faramund9865]

This is only true on a surface level.

[@Quetzietse]

@@willemketelaars4342 Except that the video is insisting that St Nicholas and Christmas being associated with one another has it's origins in Europe while it is actuallyh a completely novel modern American only invention.

[@mozarteanchaos]

@@Quetzietse is the UK part of north america now?

[@MamaJade2024]

It never fails to make me immensely happy when I get a new OSP video especially one right before the jingliest of holidays

[@Kittykat5kits]

I married a Byzantine Catholic, and for them St. Nick is kinda a huge deal. I did have a priest once insist that as a baby St. Nick refused to breastfeed during Lent because it was dairy. 😶

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

Sounds obvious.

[@kated442]

Your humor is top-notch in that intro!

[@bobaoriley1912]

“Does that make Luther a killjoy?” Yes. I knew that the Protestant Reformation did do things like outlaw plays, but I didn’t know that it did outlaw the St. Nick in Christmas.

[@stephengray1344]

St Nick wasn't really associated with Christmas until the 19th century.

[@sora9138]

Blue I don't know how to tell you this but Sinterklaas is celebrated dec 5th- so as much as I appreciate the "merry Sinterklaasfeest" I do feel the need to point that out 8'D Does this mean the Netherlands gets _two_ holidays featuring different incarnations of the same guy? Yes. Yes it does.

[@Worldbuilder-o1k]

Always fun to trace the evolution of popular figures. Happy Holidays OSP Crew!

[@mtpender69]

Virgin Santa: "Oh boy, milk and cookies! I love my job!" Chad Saint Nicholas: "Get slapped heretic!"

[@Steeghs03]

Happy to see a history on a bit of Dutch culture of one of the few feast we have over here. Sinterklaas may not be celebrated by all but I'm still happy that its there for us all here in the small land of the Nederland's. Wish you all people a warm merry Christmas.

[@Flopsos]

i like how you included sinterklaas, much love from the Netherlands and I wish you happy holidays

[@akkihanachan1]

Happy holidays you guys!! Hope everyone in the rainbow family is safe and healthy and has a great time spending time with family and friends and history textbooks lol

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

On the way to a Passover Seder the night before Easter with my interfaith family. My 5 year old daughter: "Is this the one where all the babies die or the one where they nail the guy to wood?" Me: "Um... never thought of it like that. But this is the one where the babies die. Tomorrow they nail the guy to wood."

[@corvusalbus7276]

My family is basically half catholic, half protestant, so on Christmas Eve my parents told me that both Santa Claus and baby Jesus (“Christkind”) were coming, basically working together. Here in Germany we have also have „Nikolaustag” on December the 6., and usually kids will get like a small present as well as a stocking full of nuts, sweets and fruit (often mandarins).

[@NoGoodNik1]

Great video as always, I'm happy to see someone dispel, even indirectly, the common urban legend that our modern image of Santa Claus was codified by Coca-Cola. Bearded fat man in red was already established canon by then!!

[@Karak-_-]

And what about the red? I've read that before Coca-Cola, his colours would wary.

[@NoGoodNik1]

@@Karak-_- I know his colors did vary for some time, but by the 1930s depictions of Santa in advertising and illustration overwhelmingly used red. Seeing as some of the most famous pre-30s Santa's were shown in red, ie Nast's cartoons and Baum's children's novel, I feel confident saying that coca cola's ads were much more reactions to existing trends than they were trendsetters.

[@timfortune9]

It is more hilarious to think that St. Nicholas showed up uninvited to the Council of Nicaea solely to sucker punch Arius.

[@m.h.7364]

"stealth-charity" **Jean Valjean has entered the chat**

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

Happy Holidays!! Happy Hanukkah, Red

[@mk9650]

In Greece instead of St Nicholas, it is St Basil the Great of Caesaria who brings gifts to children on St Basil's day at the 1st of January. A devout philanthropist, he donated all of his fortune to the poor and built a city, Basileiad, which was used as a poorhouse, hospital, and hospice. It is traditional on St Basil's Day to serve vasilopita, a rich bread baked with a coin inside. The tradition is attributed to St. Basil, who when a bishop, wanted to distribute money to the poor and commissioned some women to bake sweetened bread, in which he arranged to place gold coins. Thus the families in cutting the bread were pleasantly surprised to find the coins. St Basil the great truly was great!

[@DinoTamer-22]

“The man was just born, give him a minute!” 😂

[@shadowldrago]

Happy Holidays, OSP.

[@povertymidas]

This was a very fun summary of a LOT of information, thanks for sharing Blue!! Happy whatever the heck you celebrate.

[@Z33N_THE_HEDGEHOG]

Honestly I feel like this could be a dual side video Blue could go over the Historical side of Christmas and Red could handle the Mythical side of it!

[@mathieuleader8601]

I would love to write a story where Mark Twain meets up with Sinterklass being his pilot on his steamship

[@wouterkessel4852]

The reason behind the pieten (black assistants) was one legend of him saving several coloured children from slavery and giving them jobs, which was then translated into 'He saves people from slavery who assist him out of gratitude/as a job' during the 1800's if I remember correctly

[@owldad5068]

As someone from Belgium, very happy to see representation of a tradition of ours! Luckily, the whole "blackface" thing is being slowly erased out. Currently, the compromise is that they just have dirty smears from chimney ashes xD Still, a magical tradition I'm happy to see in one of your videos!

[@guibin]

2:30 The daughter in green looks terrified by the mysterious man chucking gold balls at them through their window.

[@luigiboi4244]

I always did wonder how my brother’s namesake did become the face of Coca-Cola in December, and now I know why! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

[@holymolymacaroni7503]

The Professor would be proud of this lesson.

[@LaCarchita]

Yes! OSP doet een video over Sinterklaas!

[@lessonslearned2569]

Wow Blue way to make me tear up at the end with that dedication. Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours as well as the greater OSP familia including the kitties.

[@majormoron605]

Pity the punching people in the face didnt make it as a Christmas tradition, would really spice things up

[@redwitch12]

Time for the Christmas free-for-all! *rolls up sleeves* WHO'S BEEN A NON-TRINITARIAN HERETIC LATELY?!

[@moorebear1]

Someones halls are getting DECKED

[@faramund9865]

In fact I recall somewhere in italy this is exactly what they do. Massive street fights while Santa Claus looks upon it agreeingly, even eggs them on.

[@redwitch12]

@@moorebear1 YES.

[@tippydippy6529]

:) thanks for making these videos, I have looked forward to them every Friday for years

[@akiraishin7141]

My condolences for your grandfather Blue. It sounds like he was a good man. Side note, isn't it odd how some people who were named after Saints end up taking saintly characteristics? My name is actually Joel, and I'm a little afraid of it, since Joel was the one who prophesied the plagues. Don't let me preach doom and gloom! And merry Christmas to all!

[@mike954]

4:33 As a kid I was told to leave out milk & cookies for Santa Claus and some carrots for the reindeers.

[@chip-toons]

OH MY GOD i was gonna do a video covering how christmas came to be on the day it is but yall already covered it love yall

[@jjChibi]

As a Dutchie, I picked up some interesting trivia about the Sinterklaas tradition through this video. Cool to see it covered! Kudos for your pronounciation of the name, by the way, I was all too prepared to see you stumble through it but the quality is there as much as it has always has been - Shouldn't have expected otherwise.

[@sprinklesthecat1381]

Merry Christmas, fellow humans!

[@tyrant-den884]

Odin: "I heard about you punching out that non-Trininitarian, that was badass. Up for a little hunting?" St. Nick: "Let's ride."

[@paigesogard2385]

OMG this is perfect timing we just watched this creepy stop motion video about Saint Nicholas in French class.

[@erichfiedler1481]

Santa Claus is Coming to Town or The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus?

[@paigesogard2385]

@@erichfiedler1481 La Legende De Saint Nicolas stop motion

[@leonlee8524]

It's so great to see this channel doing so well, thats a gift for us all!

[@VVabsa]

De goede Sint met z'n stoomboot. Woohoo!

[@SurfingKyogreNL]

Met zijn paard over de daken

[@marty500]

Met de boot vanuit Madrid (ook al ligt Madrid niet bepaald bij de zee)

[@dorkatarmsetcetera9468]

Machi Machi knocks it outta the park to close out our year :D thank you for your art and generosity. it means a lot to us.

[@khicks8799]

Love that twinkle in Santa’s eyes

[@jjwpenguin]

I appreciate the JoCat “SMITE!” Being added in. Top quality content.

[@Nasser851000]

Happy Holidays to OSP and everyone in the comments section :)

[@megamangos7408]

Martin Luther turning Baby Jesus into child labor was not a take I was expecting today, but one I will hold onto forever.

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

“Well, now I wouldn’t say that.” The little man from the draftboard in the classic 1945 animated short subject picture of “DRAFTEE DAFFY”.

[@oneproudukrainian2063]

Fun fact: Saint Nicholas day is still widely celebrated in eastern Orthodox Christian countries and in central and eastern Europe in general

[@ezrathebigmad]

Hanukkah Sameach and Happy New Year to the OSP Team!

[@KnightsofGaming2016]

How does Odin even fit into the inspiration for Santa Claus? Sure, there is the sled/deer/horse thing, but the wildhunt has nothing to do with Christmas as far as I know. Saint Nicholas fits more for the inspiration with his giving of gifts.

[@wgb9960]

5:39 it’s supposed to be ash from going down the chimney but recently theyv’e changement it to coloured paint to avoid the people protesting against it