Christmas season is in the air! In the spirit of Christmas, we usually do Kris Kringle in our country. We exchange gifts weekly following different categories like something sweet, nasty, memorable, colorful blah blah blah = ) I don't know, but I'm very excited receiving and giving presents. It makes me feel special somehow. I also enjoy looking at people's reactions opening their presents. Some presents are super cool others might be so-so. It's not the amount of gift you're going to get but it's the thought that matters the most. Well anyway, as part of my tradition on my blog. I won't stop discovering the origin of different traditions whether special or unusual as long as it's worth knowing. What's Kris Kringle by the way? I know that Christmas history and traditions came from different sources and have evolved throughout generations. Since, it's very entertaining and worth knowing I tried to collate every piece of information I got on the net.
Kris Kringle originated from Germany and America. It's a name derived from Christ Kindel( Christ-Child). The name Kris Kringle is still popular as the Santa Claus of some Pennsylvania Dutch web pages today. He Carries a tiny Christmas tree and enters the house through a window left open. When he has left the presents, he rings a bell allowing the household to know of his departure. Thus" Kris Kringle" a name deriving from the German Christ Kindel is another name for Santa Claus.
The persona of Santa Claus showed up among the Pennsylvania Dutch in the mid 1820's in the form of Kris Kringle/Belsnickle (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. Anyways, whilst " Santa Claus" is more popular over the world, to some people Kris Kringle( Christ Child) has become used as another synonym for Santa Claus.That's how the story goes guys. I hope you learned something worth knowing today. Let's have a blast on our Kris Kringle!
Sources:
http://www.stcharleschristmas.com/kriskringle.htm
http://www.santaswarehouse.com.au/history_of_christmas/who_is_kris_kringle.shtml
