Santa Claus and Gandalf are descended from the same character - one Bashny.Net

And here the Father of the Gods? ..



According to Norse mythology, Odin - the leader of the gods and the father of Thor, the famous comic book hero. One is all-powerful and is often associated with war, witchcraft, death, wisdom and generally all that may be attributed to the deity.

When one wanted to travel among the mortals, not being recognized, he took the form of a traveler, and was called One-Wanderer. In this role he is often portrayed as an old man with a long beard and a wide-brimmed hat, and with his staff.

In a letter of 1942, and the biography of 1977. George. R. R. Tolkien said that the inspiration for the creation of Gandalf from two sources. The first was a picture of «Der Berrgeist», which depicts an old man with a long beard and a wide-brimmed hat, sitting in a forest. The second source was one - Tolkien once called Gandalf "odinopodobnym a stranger." The name "Gandalf" is also rooted in Scandinavian history: it can be loosely translated from Norwegian as "staff" and "Elf».





Santa Claus - the one who brings gifts to children at Christmas. As is the case with Gandalf, Santa owes its appearance to several sources, the most obvious is the St. Nicholas Greek bishop who lived in the III-IV centuries. St. Nicholas was known as a very generous man who often left alms to the needy. Most likely, because of this generosity and increased belief on Santa's gifts to good children - coal for bad children appeared much later.

For centuries after the death of St. Nicholas developed his legacy and mixed with other traditions. In XVII-th century in the Netherlands, he was known as Sinterklaas and was depicted as an old man with a long beard and his staff. Looks familiar, does not it? Then Sinterklaas has been associated with ancient pagan holiday - Yule. During the winter solstice Sinterklaas rode across the sky on his white horse, octopus and celebrated the defeat of evil. Over time, the horse gradually turned into eight reindeer.





Odin also had eight legged horse Sleipnir name. The Solstice One got into the house through the chimney and rewarded good people. Children put boots before the fire, and one supposedly filled them with sweets. Now the children leave stockings, in which Santa Claus puts toys.

via factroom.ru