Proponents of the Protestant Reformation, starting in 1517, were eager to abolish the Catholic saints from Christian worship—but the Dutch were unwilling to give up their beloved Sinterklaas. Thanks to Martin Luther’s campaign against Saint Nicholas, a good deal of European Protestants simply adopted the cherubic blond-haired blue-eyed Christ Child, or Christkindl, as the gift-bringer. Eventually, this character was absorbed into the St. Nicholas mythology, too, as “Kris Kringle” became another of his names.
In 15th-century England, “Nowell” or “Sir Christmas” emerged as the personification of Christmas, a man who delivered the story of Christ’s birth. By the 18th century, he evolved into a green-cloak-wearing gift-bringer known as “Father Christmas,” a kindly old gentleman full of good cheer, whom Puritans condemned for his Pagan roots. After all, Father Christmas was often depicted bringing the Yule tree, like Odin. The Puritans came to America hoping to establish a holy Christmas celebration free of Father Christmas or St. Nicholas, but the Dutch brought their Sinterklaas to New Amsterdam, now known as New York.
The Germans that settled Pennsylvania, known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought a Germanic version of the gift-bringer, spelled “Belsnickel” or “Pelznickel,” meaning “fur-Nicholas.” This short bearded man, thought to be one of Nicholas’s companions, dressed head-to-toe in fur, a long coat, and a droopy hat or hood. Often his face would be covered in soot, and he’d sometimes wear a mask that made him look similar to the horned and long-tongued Krampus. He was said to visit homes before Christmas to check up on the behavior of children, who would get candy, cakes, fruit, or nuts in exchange for singing or answering a question. Bad kids, of course, would get switched. Papier-mâché Belsnickel candy containers often depict him carrying a birch switch or feather tree, a Victorian-era artificial Christmas tree made of dyed goose feathers tied to wire branches.
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