Who is Kris Kringle?

Question

I thought Santa Claus was St. Nicholas, but some of the Christmas movies have been contradicting that. When did Kringle come in the picture?

Answer 1

Kris Kringle refers to ((Wikipedia.com definition))

- an American (mis-)pronunciation of Christkindl or Christkindel, the German Christmas gift-bringer

- another name for Santa Claus, by assimilation in America of the separate German tradition

- another name for Secret Santa, a gift exchange deriving from the Christkindl tradition

Answer 2

Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, St. Nicholas (St. Nick), and Santa Claus are all psudonyms for the same person.

Answer 3

The figure of Santa Claus first begins to show up among the Pennsylvania Dutch in the mid 1820s in the form of Kris Kringle, or as he was also known, Belsnickle. Belsnickle is a derivative of the German "Pelz-nickle", which means "Nicholas in Furs ".

Belsnickle would travel the Pennsylvania countryside ringing his bell looking for good children to give out his small gifts of cakes and nuts to. If Belsnickle came across a child who had not been behaving in the past year, he would warn the child to be good or else he might give them a smack with his rod.

http://www.stcharleschristmas.com/christmashistory.htm

Answer 4

Different countries call St. Nicholaus or Santa Claus by different names, Kris Kringle is just another one. The dutch call Sinter Klaus. Go watch Miracle on 34 th Street, the original b/w one. And enjoy the holiday!

Answer 5

Kris (Chris) Kringle is santa claus. See the movie miracle on 34 th street.

Answer 6

Kris Kringle is to Santa who Clark Kent is to Superman

Answer 7

Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore merged with the British character Father Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

The name Santa Claus is derived from Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for the character based on St. Nicholas. He is also known there by the name of Sint Nicolaas which explains the use of the two fairly dissimilar names Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas or St. Nick.
Folk tale depiction of Father Christmas riding on a goat. Perhaps an evolved version of the Swedish Tomte.
Folk tale depiction of Father Christmas riding on a goat. Perhaps an evolved version of the Swedish Tomte.

In other countries, the figure of Saint Nicholas was also blended with local folklore. As an example of the still surviving pagan imagery, in Nordic countries there was the Yule Goat (Swedish julbock, Norwegian "julebukk", Finnish joulupukki), a somewhat startling figure with horns which delivered the presents on Christmas Eve. A straw goat is still a common Christmas decoration in Sweden, Norway and Finland. In the 1840's, the farm gnome in Nordic folklore started to deliver the Christmas presents in Denmark, but was then called the "Julenisse", dressed in gray clothes and a red hat. By the end of the 19th century this tradition had also spread to Norway and Sweden (where the "nisse" is called Tomte), replacing the Yule Goat. The same thing happened in Finland, but there the more human figure retained the Yule Goat name.

Answer 8

i guess because in countreys they say santa clause differently and that santa claus has so many names i guess that the word Kris Kringle is in another countrey but it is the same word as santa claus

Answer 9

kris kringle is just another name for santa clause. don't worry about it. it's still the same guy who brings the presents!

Answer 10

santa was raised by the Kringles