Attributes of Santa Claus. Ten differences between Father Christmas and Santa Claus

Even though New Year happens only once a year, we always look forward to this holiday and carefully prepare for it. Children especially love it for its beautiful Christmas tree and gifts. And, of course, any child dreams of seeing Santa Claus with his own eyes on the eve of the holiday and receiving praise and gifts from him.

Naturally, every parent strives to organize the brightest and most unforgettable New Year's Eve for their child. Usually, various companies help with this, from which you can order both Santa Claus and Snow Maiden to your home. They already have a pre-prepared program for communicating with the child and costumes that often do not correspond to reality. In our time, the image of Santa Claus has suffered significantly from European influence and the boundless flight of imagination of our fashion designers. Today you can see a frost suit in blue, green, and other colors of the rainbow.

A legitimate question arises: “how to make a Santa Claus costume real?”

Frost puts on his unique costume only on New Year's Eve, and children will immediately recognize the good wizard grandfather from it.

The Santa Claus costume has many features; every detail of clothing carries its own deep meaning.

First of all, a fur coat; it must be red with a graphic pattern embroidered with silver thread. The fur coat can be long to the toes or reach the middle of the shin. Buttons should not stand out in size or shape. If the fur coat is short with huge silver buttons, then this is a Santa suit, and not Father Frost at all. Also, the frost costume should contain elements decorated with white fur.

Santa Claus ties his fur coat with a white belt, with a red thread, which symbolized in ancient times. Today this has lost its meaning and is only purely functional.

Frost always complements his costume with a red hat, richly embroidered with silver and decorated with pearls. The hat should have a round shape, this was customary back in tsarist times, which symbolized wealth and power. And Santa Claus, in theory, has enormous power over nature. And under no circumstances should you wear a pointed one - you will turn out to be Santa Claus again.

Few people think about what Santa Claus wears under his fur coat. And he is supposed to wear light clothes, namely, white trousers and a light linen shirt, as a symbol of everything bright and pure! Unfortunately, nowadays they wear red pants more often, and this is fundamentally wrong, and, again, based on Santa. Santa Claus's shirt can be embroidered with symbolic geometric shapes or simply white.

To make the image as believable as possible, the Frost costume is completed with white felt boots. After all, Frost lives in the north in cold places. It is welcome if the felt boots are embroidered with silver. If there are none, then the image of Santa Claus can be complemented with red or white boots, but under no circumstances black!

Don’t forget also that Santa Claus wields a staff made of crystal, at the end of the staff there is a tip in the shape of a month. The staff has always served as a symbol of power and was a mediator in good deeds. If you have not purchased a pure tear rock crystal staff, then a staff wrapped in silver foil will do just fine, and the tip in the shape of a month can easily be cut out of cardboard and also wrapped in foil.

Your image of a kind Santa Claus is almost ready. However, we must remember one more very important detail, without which Santa Claus will not be real. This, of course, is a long gray beard and mustache, which symbolize the power, spiritual wealth and wisdom of the most beloved character of all children.

Now all the elements of the costume are in place, and Grandfather Frost can rightfully be called real.

Father Frost and Snow Maiden (Irina Muravyova) during the New Year's performance at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. 1978 Photo by Nikolay Malyshev and Valery Khristoforov

They say that the current Santa Claus is an image that has absorbed the ancient traditions of Slavic mythology, and Christian teaching with the legend of St. Nicholas the Pleasant, and pro-communist stories from the times of developed socialism.

Part one - pagan-fairy tale

In ancient legends it was the pagan spirit of cold Treskun, aka Student, Frost.
Since our ancestors lived in very difficult weather conditions, when cold and frost could cause a lot of problems in life, such as illness, death, and hunger, the grandfather was portrayed as an evil old man, hostile towards people and all living things. Freezing a careless traveler, freezing crops or livestock was a common thing for him.

We all know from childhood Russian folk tale "Two Frosts", where two brothers Frost Blue Nose and Frost Red Nose decided to have fun - freeze people.

Frost Blue Nose got a log from a guy there when he froze his fur coat

“The man looked and began to scold me - he went through all the words, that there are none worse. “Swear!” - I think to myself, - swear! But you won’t survive me!” So ​​he wasn’t content with scolding. He chose a log that was longer and gnarled, and how he started hitting my sheepskin coat! He hit me on my sheepskin coat, but he kept scolding me. I should run quickly, but I’m too stuck in the wool - to get out I can’t. But he’s pounding, he’s pounding! I left by force. I thought I couldn’t collect the bones. I’m still aching to freeze the men.”

Well, there is absolutely no way to correlate such an image with something kind, affectionate, and even with a bag of gifts for the kids.

We all remember how at school we read excerpts from Nekrasov's poem "Frost, Red Nose" (1863).

"There are women in Russian villages..."
And
“It is not the wind that rages over the forest,
Streams did not run from the mountains,
Moroz the voivode on patrol
He goes around his possessions...”

This poem was usually not read to children in its entirety, because it is not at all about the kind Santa Claus, but about the evil Frost the governor, who in this poem killed two characters, first a certain Proclus, who, after standing in a snowdrift, caught a cold, then developed a fever and died, leaving a widow with small children, and then he froze the widow Daria, who after the funeral went into the forest to chop firewood, met this Frost under a tree there, and froze.

And in general, Moroz talks about his habits there:
“I love in deep graves
Dressing the dead in frost,
And freeze the blood in my veins,
And the brain in my head is freezing”
Is it really possible to give this to little children to read? They'll be scared!

Well, this is a typical idea of ​​our ancestors about a certain prototype of Santa Claus at a time when no New Year was celebrated yet, and they were simply afraid of frost.

Well, I think there is no need to explain that such an image has never been a kind grandfather in a red fur coat. He was rather associated with something white (snowy), blue or blue (cold).

Left: V. Pertsov Illustration for Odoevsky’s fairy tale “Moroz Ivanovich”.

On right: Vladimir Konashevich Illustration for the fairy tale by V.F. Odoevsky “Moroz Ivanovich”.

In general, in literary treatment, the image of Santa Claus first appeared in 1840 the year when the famous writer V. F. Odoevsky published his book "Children's Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus." It was dedicated to Santa Claus fairy tale "Moroz Ivanovich", which is still known today. Two girls, the Needlewoman and Lenivitsa, alternately find themselves in the underground kingdom, where in front of his ice house “the old man Moroz Ivanovich, gray-haired, sits; he sits on an ice bench and eats snowballs; shakes his head - frost falls from his hair, dies of spirit - thick steam pours out.”

Our favorite childhood film was made based on this fairy tale. "Morozko." Santa Claus/Morozko was depicted like this in the film.

And here is a 1932 illustration for the fairy tale “Morozko” for the collection “Tales of a Russian Grandmother”, artist Bilibin.

I. Bolshakova Illustration for the fairy tale "Morozko".

Palekh box "Morozko"

Well, it seems that we have sorted out the “evil” pagan image and fairy tales. They didn’t find anything red except the nose; the whole color scheme was white and blue.

Part two - Christmas-Christian-urban

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card. In the process of creating an image, we first see a simple sheepskin coat as clothing

What do we have with a bag of gifts in pre-revolutionary Russia and Santa Claus as a Christmas character?

Almost at the same time when “The Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus” was published, the first advertising notices about the sale of Christmas trees began to appear in Russian newspapers, which indicated the beginning of the adoption in Russia of a custom, until then known only from translated literature and from the homes of St. Petersburg Germans .

Having emerged simultaneously at the turn of the 1830-1840s, Moroz Ivanovich and the Christmas tree, belonging to different cultural traditions, were completely divorced: Moroz Ivanovich came from the Russian village (as an adaptation of the folk Frost), the Christmas tree - from the West (as the adoption of a German custom).

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card

The connection that was missing at first will emerge two decades later, when Odoevsky’s fairy tale is included in the “Christmas tree” texts. At the same time and, it seems, independently of the creation of the image of Frost in literature, a mythological character appears and develops in the urban environment, “in charge” of the Christmas tree and, like the Christmas tree itself, originally borrowed from the West.

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card.

The image of a mythological character “in charge” of a Christmas tree did not take shape easily and over quite a long time. Since the Orthodox Church did not want to change the meaning of Christmas as a holiday, and the German tradition was alien to Orthodoxy, a rather powerful machine of adapting Western characters and realities to Russian reality was turned on, when Russian writers (Sollogub, Mamin-Sibiryak, Kudasheva, etc.) For several decades, they adapted the Christmas tree and the gifts under it to Russian realities.

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card.

During the creation of this Christmas tree mythology, the role of the main character, who provided the children with a Christmas tree, was cast. auditioned for Baby Jesus, old Ruprecht, St. Nicholas or Grandfather Nicholas, Grandmother Winter, Santa Claus, little old men harvesting Christmas trees in the forest, the Yule Old Man, just an old man living in the forest in winter, Yolkich, the Christmas tree grandfather, Christmas grandfather and "ruler" Russian forests" Frost.

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card.

Santa Claus won this fight. No Western Christmas tree character has an analogue to this name.

By the beginning of the twentieth century. The image of Santa Claus has finally taken shape: he functions as a toy on the Christmas tree, the main figure standing under the tree, an advertising doll in shop windows, a character in children's literature, a masquerade mask, a giver of the Christmas tree and gifts. At this time, the opinion about the “originality” and antiquity of this image is affirmed. At the same time, no specific canonical costume was created, sheepskin coats and fur coats of different colors, different hats on the head.

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card.

However before the revolution the idea of ​​Santa Claus existed only in the urban environment, the mythology of which was created as a result of a peculiar processing by the enlightened layers of society of Western traditions and folk beliefs.

In the villages where the majority of the Russian population lived, they knew nothing and had never heard of any Christmas tree or Santa Claus bringing this tree and a bag of gifts to children. In the village, the Christmas tradition was mummers and carols (there will be a separate post about this)

Reproduction from the painting “With a Star” by M. Germashev. Published by the company "Richard", printed in the printing house of the partnership "R. Golicke and A. Wilborg". Petrograd, 1916

Part three - Soviet-Stalinist-New Year's

In the first years after the October Revolution, the attitude of the new government towards the Christmas tree and Santa Claus was quite loyal. But when the anti-religious campaign began in 1927, one of the tasks of which was the destruction of old holidays and the establishment of new ones, the Christmas tree and Santa Claus turned into “religious relics” and one of the forms of “anti-national activity of capitalists.” The XVI Party Conference (1929), having approved the “new mode of work,” introduced a five-day week, as a result of which Christmas Day became a regular working day.

1929 - 1935 - the worst time in the history of the New Year in the USSR. It, like Christmas, simply did not exist. Both December 31 and January 1 were working days, and no holidays were held.

Soviet New Year cards from 1953 (left) and 1956 (right)

The persecution of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus continued until 1935, when Stalin decided that the people needed a cheerful national holiday. The choice fell on the New Year, into which Christmas traditions could be transferred. On December 28, 1935, an issue of Pravda was published with an article by P. Postyshev about the need for the holiday, and the next day the decision of the Komsomol Central Committee was published, ordering Komsomol organizations to organize New Year trees for children. Along with the rehabilitation of the Christmas tree, the denunciations of Santa Claus also ended; after some doubts, his rights were completely restored.

Soviet New Year cards from 1957 (left) and 1959 (right)

Gradually, the appearance of the New Year's wizard took shape, which became canonical - a large white beard, a red or blue fur coat to the toes, tied with a sash, a high hat and mittens of the same color, felt boots (occasionally boots), a large staff, a bag of gifts.

In the first years, Soviet Father Frost provided children with gifts alone or with the help of some animals. Only after the war, when the preparation of scenarios for the New Year holidays began to be entrusted to venerable writers, poets, and cultural figures, new characters began to appear in Santa Claus’s circle. The scripts for the Kremlin Christmas trees were written by Sergei Mikhalkov and Lev Kassil. They also gave New Year's Grandfather a companion - his granddaughter Snegurochka (a character from Ostrovsky's fairy tale and Rimsky-Korsakov's opera).

As we see on the postcards, despite the Soviet government’s love for the color red and attempts to give Santa Claus some kind of revolutionary spirit through a red revolutionary fur coat, blue, white and occasionally yellow still prevailed in folk traditions. (as a light winter option and the legacy of a brown sheepskin coat)

Recently, an exhibition of the collection of Alexander Oleshko “Antique Santa Clauses” opened in Moscow at GUM https://nash-dvor.livejournal.com/1314115.html

I took some photos from there

When I was little, every year I was sent to the New Year tree, and I don’t remember Santa Claus in a red fur coat, he was always in blue or white (snow).

Our TVs back then were black and white, but even from them I remember some kind of light-colored fur coat, something like that.

Entertainer Boris Brunov and pioneer - New Year at the youth ball in the Kremlin, 1968

Although on New Year's greeting cards and in cartoons, the color red was very common. Red revolutionary Santa Claus.

Part four - Russian-post-perestroika.

They are strenuously trying to dress modern Santa Claus in a red fur coat, claiming that red in Russian means beautiful.

Personally, it seems to me, although I can’t prove it with anything, purely intuition, that this is more due to competition with Santa Claus in red pants and a jacket. For quite a few years, through “The Holiday is Coming to Us” from Coca Cola and “Jingle Bells”, through attempts to introduce various SantaCons and through Coca-Cola charity events, they tried to merge the image of Father Frost and Santa Claus together, apparently with the aim of subsequently replacing it with Coca-Cola hero. Therefore, the fur coat simply had to be red. This makes it easier to assimilate.

By the way, back in the Soviet years, the name of Father Frost was translated into all the languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR, and their own New Year’s Father appeared even in the hot Asian republics.

And these days, the Russian Father Frost has new ethnic “relatives” who can no longer be called his copy. This was discussed here.

Holidays are coming, and we all, both adults and children, are waiting for gifts, magic, holidays and, of course, the arrival of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden, an elegantly decorated Christmas tree, a Happy New Year and Christmas! However, few of us have wondered where these mysterious Father Frost and Snow Maiden “came” to us. Why are they dressed this way and not otherwise? Let's try to trace this using an example from ancient history. Let's start with the figure of Santa Claus. His image has evolved over the centuries, each one contributing something of his own.

There are two versions about the origin: Christian and pagan. The first, most popular and widespread - “holiday grandfather” is a prototype of one of the most famous and beloved saints of the world and Russia - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (or St. Nicholas the Ugodnik). There is a legend about how this very real person, being the bishop of Myra in Lycia, gave alms to all those in need. Saint Nicholas helped many, but the most significant in history remains the legend of how Nicholas saved three sisters. This story has become one of the favorites of artists who decorate temples. He learned about the extreme need that one already poor family had fallen into, and decided to help by secretly throwing a bundle of gold to the father of the family. So the old man was able to honorably marry off his eldest daughter first. The fate of the second daughter worked out in the same way (the saint threw a bundle of gold out the window for her), but the third daughter and her father decided to find out who this righteous man was who was so selflessly helping their poor family. Having closed all the windows and doors in the house, they began to wait. Nikolai walked around the house, but soon realized that he could not throw the bag of gold, as he had done before. Then he noticed that smoke was coming from the chimney of the house, climbed onto the roof and threw a third bundle of gold into the chimney. Just that day, the girl washed her socks, hanging them over the fireplace, and the bag fell straight into one of them. Since then, in the West it has been customary to hang socks over the fireplace at Christmas in anticipation of gifts from the Saint.

Another remarkable story is about how Nicholas the Wonderworker secretly rewarded children with sweets, golden nuts, and oranges for the holidays. The saint brought a whole bag to the children of the poor, but since he was wearing a cloak and his face was covered by a monk’s hood, and on his head he had a voluminous hat that looked like a cap, no one could accurately describe his appearance. The most complete idea of ​​this image of the Saint can be found in the city of Demre (Myra) in modern Turkey, where in the garden in front of the temple of the saint stands his monument, surrounded by children. After the death of Nicholas, he was declared a saint. In the 11th century, the church where the saint was buried was robbed, and the relics were taken to Italy. The scandal was international, which caused a lot of noise. Nicholas became the object of universal worship and veneration of Christians all over the world. In the Middle Ages, a custom was established on St. Nicholas Day (December 1900) to give gifts to children in memory of him. After the introduction of the new calendar, Nicholas began to come to children on Christmas, then on New Year. He was called differently: in England and America - Santa Klaus (Faser Christmas - in the UK), Pere Noel - in France, St. Nicholas in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Noel Baba - in Turkey. Santa Claus's colleagues are also: Joulupukki - in Finland, Sander Klaas - in the Netherlands, Vasily - in Cyprus, Babbo Natale - in Italy, Shan Dan Laozhen - in China, Oji - san / Santa O-s - in Japan, Yule Tomte - in Denmark and Greenland, Julebukk - in Norway, Papa Noel - in Spain, Mosh Jarile - in Romania, Ol Temten - in Sweden, and here - Santa Claus. These different names are united by the common spirit of the saint from whom these Santa Clauses “came.”

According to the pagan version, among the relatives of Father Frost is the East Slavic spirit of cold Treskun (Studenets or Frost). Who is he? Our Father Frost is a character from Slavic folklore. For many generations, the Eastern Slavs created and preserved a kind of “oral chronicle”: in the legends of the ancient Slavs there is Zimnik.

He. like Frost, he appeared as an old man with white hair, a long gray beard, bare head, in warm white clothes, with an iron mace in his hands.

The international costume of Santa Claus developed gradually. At first he was depicted in a cloak; at the beginning of the 19th century, the Dutch depicted him as slender, with a pipe, clearing the chimney into which he threw gifts. At the end of the same century, he was dressed in a red fur coat trimmed with fur. In 1860, the American artist Thomas Knight adorned Santa Claus with a beard, and soon the Englishman Tenniel created the image of a good-natured fat man, which was quickly “circulated” in Europe.

The main features of the appearance of Father Frost, according to one of the researchers of his image, candidate of historical sciences, art critic and ethnologist Svetlana Vasilievna Zharnikova, were formed according to ancient mythology and color symbolism: this is a beard and hair of a thick gray (silver) color; Such details of the appearance of the “gray-haired old man” carry a symbolic character, denoting power, happiness, prosperity, and wealth. It is the hair that has not undergone any changes in the transformation of the image of Santa Claus. According to Slavic ideas, the shirt and trousers were white, linen, decorated with white geometric patterns (a symbol of purity); this detail has been lost in the modern concept of costume. Nowadays, Santa Claus's neck is covered with a white scarf, and his pants are sewn in red. The fur coat in the traditional Russian Santa Claus costume should be long, ankle-length or shin-length, red, embroidered with silver (eight-pointed stars, goosenecks, crosses, and other traditional ornaments), trimmed with swan's down. If the fur coat is short or has pronounced buttons, it means that we have Père Noel or Santa Claus. The hat of the domestic Frost is red, embroidered with silver and pearls, in the shape of a semi-oval; Santa has a cap. The Slavic Grandfather is characterized by three-fingered gloves or mittens - white, embroidered with silver (a symbol of the purity and holiness of everything he holds in his hands); three-fingeredness has been a symbol of belonging to the highest divine principle since the Neolithic. The belt in our Father Frost's costume was white and red (a symbol of the connection between ancestors and descendants). Today it has been preserved as a utilitarian belt, having lost its symbolic connection. The Slavic Grandfather's shoes used silver or red boots embroidered with silver with a raised toe and a beveled heel, but in cold weather he wore white boots embroidered with silver; White color and silver for the Slavs are a symbol of the moon, holiness, north, water, purity. A notable powerful detail of Frost has always been a staff - crystal or silver, with the end of a moon (a month) or a bull's head (a symbol of power, fertility and happiness).

The Soviet Father Frost was traditionally dressed in a blue caftan and a blue hat, which is reflected in the whole range of Soviet Christmas tree decorations, New Year's cartoons and films of the 1960s - 1980s, and postcards of those years.

Next to Father Frost was always his granddaughter Snegurochka, sweet and affectionate, a kind helper in arranging the New Year's holiday, decorating the Christmas tree, and distributing fabulous and long-awaited gifts. The Snow Maiden's costume has always been traditional. In folklore, the image is known to us from the fairy tale of the same name - “The Snow Maiden”. There it is considered that the girl Snegurochka was made of snow, and then came to life, but died with the arrival of summer. Several famous artists were involved in the creation of the image: V.M. Vasnetsov, M.A. Roerich, N.K. Roerich. These masters managed to create the author’s image of a fairy-tale beauty. Vasnetsov turned out to be the most Slavic and romantically fragile. The modern image of the Snow Maiden has absorbed the features of the artistic versions of all three masters. She can be in a light long sundress - a dress with a hoop or headband (according to the Slavic tradition); in white clothes woven from snow and down, lined with fur; in a short fur coat and hat; in a short dress trimmed with fur and down. She may have long flowing hair, or one or two braids.

At the beginning of 1937, Snegurochka began acting on an equal footing with Father Frost as a co-host at children's parties. She becomes, as it were, an intermediary between him and the children. Even before the war, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden entered the public life of the country “as obligatory attributes of the celebration of the real New Year. The famous Kremlin Christmas trees could not do without them. Today, Snegurochka still helps her grandfather to amuse the children, play, dance around the Christmas tree, and distribute gifts.

Father Frost and Snow Maiden are invariably beautiful and festive, giving us every year a feeling of miracle, fairy tale and constancy. Yes, their costumes have undergone numerous changes over the centuries. Lately, shorter, brighter, and sometimes louder outfits have become increasingly fashionable. However, nothing can change our warm attitude towards these long-awaited days.

Donskaya, O. Costumes of Father Frost and Snow Maiden / O. Donskaya // Young artist. – 2012.- No. 12.- P.38-40.

“Hello, Grandfather Frost, cotton wool beard! Did you bring us gifts? The guys are really looking forward to it!” – these lines have been familiar to us since kindergarten! Most of us perceive this comrade as a fairy-tale character who appears on New Year's Day and gives gifts to obedient children. Let's take a closer look at who Santa Claus is and where he came from.

When did the image of Santa Claus appear?

The Slavs were able to personify almost all natural phenomena. Moroz was also not deprived of such an honor. He was presented as a white-bearded old man in a fur coat who was master of the cold and winter cold. You can hear Frost in the winter forest, when he “crackles and clicks, jumping from tree to tree.” He usually came from the north. Different Slavic tribes called Moroz in their own way: Treskunets, Morozko, Karachun, Studenets, Zyuzya, etc.

In general, the Slavs held Frost in high esteem, because it was believed that a cold, snowy winter would ensure a good harvest. Therefore, there was a ritual called “Clicking Frost”, when he was treated to ritual food in the form of pancakes and kutya.

A lot of information about Frost can be gleaned from folk art. In many fairy tales, he tested the protagonist, who could be generously gifted or frozen to death.

Many writers of the 19th century described this character in their fairy tales, relying specifically on Slavic mythology. At the same time, he was not associated with the New Year or Christmas, but he already had some attributes of the modern Santa Claus. In the Soviet film “Morozko” you can directly see such a character.

But still, starting from the second half of the 19th century, Santa Claus began to be compared with the New Year holidays. So he began to play the role of “Christmas grandfather,” who, like Nicholas the Pleasant in the West, gave gifts to obedient Russian children.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, Grandfather Frost was very similar to his contemporary, but with an emphasis on Christmas traditions. However in 1929, the Komsomol strictly prohibited the celebration of Christmas and, accordingly, Moroz Ivanovich went on vacation for several years.

The revival of Santa Claus in our usual form took place on the New Year of 1936! At the same time, the first New Year tree in the Soviet Union was officially held, where he appeared together with his granddaughter Snegurochka. It is worth noting that Santa Claus was conceived as a character intended for a children's audience.

By the way, in the USSR they tried to introduce such a character as the New Year Boy, who appeared as the successor of Grandfather.

What does the real Santa Claus look like?

Western culture sometimes makes us confuse the appearance of our Father Frost with the attributes of Santa Claus. Let's figure it out what exactly a Russian New Year's Grandfather should look like.

Beard

A long thick beard has always been an integral attribute of our Santa Claus at all times. In addition to the fact that a beard indicates his age, it also symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Interestingly, the Slavs imagined Frost with a beard down to his feet.

Fur coat

The grandfather must wear a red fur coat, embroidered with silver and trimmed with swan down. Do not forget about the obligatory presence of a traditional ornament, for example, in the form of geese or stars. Today, fur coats of blue, white, and even green are used, but many, including historians, criticize this outfit, insisting that for our Frost, red is canonical.

A cap

Santa Claus wears a semi-oval hat, like a boyar's, but on its front part there should be a triangular cutout. Color, ornament, trim - everything should match the fur coat. All kinds of hats with a tassel are for Santa.

Shoes and other accessories

Today, many Grandfathers wear sneakers and leather shoes, which is completely unacceptable. These must be felt boots or boots embroidered with silver. The belt (not a belt!) must be white with a red ornament, which symbolizes the connection with the ancestors. Mittens should also be white, symbolizing the holiness and purity of what Santa Claus gives from his hands.

Staff

The Slavic Morozko used a stick to make a characteristic knock, later the staff was used to create cold and freeze those who did not pass the test. According to the canon, the staff must be crystal or at least silver to resemble crystal. It has a twisted handle and ends with a stylized image of the Moon or a bull's head.

This is what the famous Father Frost from Veliky Ustyug looks like. The outfit is almost spot on.

A bag with presents

Santa Claus comes to children not empty-handed, but with a whole bag of gifts. Its color is usually red too. By definition, the bag is magical, because the gifts in it do not end, at least while it is in the hands of Grandfather.

Well, now when dressing up as Santa Claus, you will know what to focus on.

Character of Santa Claus

Unlike his Western counterpart, Santa Claus is not an inveterate merry fellow. He is quite stern, but at the same time kind and fair.. Santa Claus still loves to test people and only then give them gifts, but he no longer freezes anyone, but simply finds out how you behaved last year and asks you to recite a poem.

In many cultures, there is a character who gives children gifts for New Year or Christmas. The most famous throughout the world is Santa Claus, who holds the post of good giver in Western Europe and the USA.

We won't make a detailed comparison between Father Frost and Santa, just remember that our donor's sleigh is pulled by a three-piece, he does not climb pipes, does not smoke a pipe and does not wear glasses. In addition, our Grandfather does not associate with elves, because he has a granddaughter, Snegurochka.

A few words about the Snow Maiden

The Snow Maiden does not have a direct analogy with Slavic mythology, although it is believed that this is one of the girls who was frozen by Morozko. The first mentions of the Snow Maiden appear in Russian folklore, where she is described as a revived girl who was made of snow. Later she appears as the daughter of Santa Claus, but in the end the option with a granddaughter took root.

Today, Snegurochka is Father Frost’s indispensable assistant on all New Year’s holidays.

Conclusion

Santa Claus is truly a national treasure, because people from different eras worked on his image. Even in the Slavic tribes, they revered the stern master of the cold, who appears both in oral folk art and in fairy tales of Russian writers. He has come down to us in the form of a kind grandfather who gives children gifts for the New Year.

Very soon, the couple beloved by many generations - Father Frost and Snow Maiden - will begin their triumphal procession through festive houses and apartments to give gifts to children and a good mood to adults. Today we will tell you why the Snow Maiden’s fur coat is blue; why Santa Claus wears a red caftan and what furs the Snow Queen prefers.

Santa Claus is a symbol of winter cold, frost; he is an ancient pagan god who rules over nature for many months. Traditionally, he was depicted in a white or blue fur coat, trimmed with swan down or sable fur, with a staff in his hand. Mandatory elements are three-fingered mittens, a belt with ornamental embroidery, and white felt boots. Moroz's fur coat is long, it is decorated with silver patterns and lined with fur. Watch the fairy tale film “Morozko” - there the formidable god of the winter cold is presented in all his glory.

Traditionally, Santa Claus was depicted in a white or blue fur coat, trimmed with swan down or sable fur, with a staff in his hand

Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are depicted in a red fur coat. Few people know that this is not without reason - St. Nicholas was a bishop, and red is the traditional color for vestments. Santa Claus' fur coat began to “turn red” later - the funniest thing is that almost simultaneously with the emergence of the ideas of communism. After the revolution, the Bolsheviks abolished Christmas trees as a relic of the bourgeois past - children managed to have fun at the New Year holiday only in 1937. The host of the holiday was Father Frost - in a red fur coat. Then, for the first time, Santa Claus has a companion. How did the Snow Maiden, the heroine of the famous fairy tale play by Alexander Ostrovsky, end up not only in the company of a gray-bearded old man, but also as a relative? It is believed that she is the daughter of Vesna and Moroz’s granddaughter, but the version that seems more plausible is that the couple should certainly congratulate Soviet children. The result was a kind of festive version of a worker and a collective farmer. There is also an opinion that Father Frost’s fur coat “turned red” to contrast with the Snow Maiden’s blue and white fur coat.

Santa Claus’ fur coat began to “turn red” later - the funny thing is that almost simultaneously with the emergence of the ideas of communism

Trying on a Snow Maiden costume has been the dream of many women since school days. An elegant blue or white fur coat, muff, boots, a shining kokoshnik or a fluffy hat are things without which the Snow Maiden cannot be imagined. Her traditional costume color is silver-blue, the color of snow and ice. The Snow Maiden's fur coat is trimmed with delicate rabbit fur, and she hides her hands in a rabbit muff. Sometimes mink or ermine fur is mentioned. A luxurious kokoshnik or crown is embroidered with pearls and beads, sometimes decorated with balls of swan's down at the temples. To turn into a real Snow Maiden, you don’t have to wear a kokoshnik - just pick up a luxurious snow-white mink coat that is guaranteed to attract men’s attention.

An elegant blue or white fur coat, muff, boots, a shining kokoshnik or a fluffy hat - things without which the Snow Maiden cannot be imagined

The Snow Queen - a vamp woman from Andersen's fairy tale, the ruler of thoughts and hearts, prefers a long sable fur coat, in which a whole dozen Kays and Gerds can wrap themselves entirely. This luxurious woman wears a heavy, floor-length fur coat and a tall fluffy hat of polar fox fur. Unlike the Snow Maiden, the Snow Queen does not tolerate halftones - only snow-white soft fur, only the most expensive, only the highest quality. You can try on a similar look by choosing a full-length fur coat with a chic collar.

The Snow Queen - a vamp woman from Andersen's fairy tale, the ruler of thoughts and hearts, prefers a long sable fur coat, in which a whole dozen Kays and Gerds can wrap themselves

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas! Good Grandfather Frost will fulfill any wishes - if, of course, you behaved well this year. Let the fur coats, jackets and sheepskin coats of the Moscow Fur Company warm you in the winter cold, and let your family and friends fill your heart with warmth.