The origins of Santa Clause

[infectedcarbon]

I was listening to a bit by Terence Mckenna the other day and he postulated a very interesting version of santa clause that i haven't heard before. Aminatas Muscarias is native to Siberia, among other places, a region in which reindeer are abundant. Santa Clause is red and white, the obvious iconographical colors of the most popular and recognized aminitas species. Santa Clause is the master of the reindeer, an animal which, apparently, would butt one out of the way for a chowdown at the yellow snow when one is pissing. The active compound in aminitas is not broken down by the body, thus it is excreted in the urine and evidently, these animals are hooked on these mushrooms. Santa Clause's main workers are elves, a hallucination which is commonly associated with psychedelics (*note that aminitas it not a psychedelic, but is an easy mistake), especially mushrooms. Santa Clause brings gifts to children, the way it seems psychoactive plants bring gifts to their users. The trees associated with Christmas, spruce or pine, are specifically the trees that Aminitas populates beneath on the trees dead needles. Along with that note, the gifts are delivered underneath the Christmas tree. Santa flies. Santa seems to warp time. If you aren't yet convinced that santa comes from people tripping on aminitas, I'd sure like to hear your reason then.
peace love

Reputation Comments on this post:

good point about seeing elves while tripping

[rocksmokinmachine]

Interesting read...

Though I was always under the impression that the origin of Santa Claus, came from the abrieviated form of Saint Nicholas (keep saying it fast! lol).

For those who don't know the story of Saint Nicholas, he would climb down the chimneys of the poor people and leave bags of gold. This is how the legend started. So Santa was actually a real person.

[MrG]

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp

Santa Claus is perhaps the most remarkable of all the figures associated with Christmas. To us, Santa has always been an essential part of the Christmas celebration, but the modern image of Santa didn't develop until well into the 19th century. Moreover, he didn't spring to life fully-formed as a literary creation or a commercial invention (as did his famous reindeer, Rudolph). Santa Claus was an evolutionary creation, brought about by the fusion of two religious personages (St. Nicholas and Christkindlein, the Christ child) to become a fixed image which is now the paramount symbol of the secular Christmas celebration.

In 1804, the New York Historical Society was founded with Nicholas as its patron saint, its members reviving the Dutch tradition of St. Nicholas as a gift-bringer. In 1809, Washington Irving published his satirical A History of New York, by one "Diedrich Knickerbocker," a work that poked fun at New York's Dutch past (St. Nicholas included). When Irving became a member of the Society the following year, the annual St. Nicholas Day dinner festivities included a woodcut of the traditional Nicholas figure (tall, with long robes) accompanied by a Dutch rhyme about "Sancte Claus" (in Dutch, "Sinterklaas"). Irving revised his History of New York in 1812, adding details about Nicholas' "riding over the tops of the trees, in that selfsame waggon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children." In 1821, a New York printer named William Gilley issued a poem about a "Santeclaus" who dressed all in fur and drove a sleigh pulled by one reindeer. Gilley's "Sante," however, was very short.

On Christmas Eve of 1822, another New Yorker, Clement Clarke Moore, wrote down and read to his children a series of verses; his poem was published a year later as "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" (more commonly known today by its opening line, "'Twas the night before Christmas . . ."). Moore gave St. Nick eight reindeer (and named them all), and he devised the now-familiar entrance by chimney. Moore's Nicholas was still a small figure, however — the poem describes a "miniature sleigh" with a "little old driver."

Meanwhile, in parts of Europe such as Germany, Nicholas the gift-giver had been superseded by a representation of the infant Jesus (the Christ child, or "Christkindlein"). The Christkindlein accompanied Nicholas-like figures with other names (such as "Père Noël" in France), or he travelled with a dwarf-like helper (known in some places as "Pelznickel," or Nicholas with furs). Belsnickle (as Pelznickel was known in the German-American dialect of Pennsylvania) was represented by adults who dressed in furry disguises (including false whiskers), visited while children were still awake, and put on a scary performance. Gifts found by children the next morning were credited to Christkindlein, who had come while everyone was asleep. Over time, the non-visible Christkindlein (whose name mutated into "Kriss Kringle") was overshadowed by the visible Belsnickle, and both of them became confused with St. Nicholas and the emerging figure of Santa Claus.

The modern Santa Claus derived from these two images: St. Nicholas the elf-like gift bringer described by Moore, and a friendlier "Kriss Kringle" amalgam of the Christkindlein and Pelznickel figures. The man-sized version of Santa became the dominant image around 1841, when a Philadelphia merchant named J.W. Parkinson hired a man to dress in "Criscringle" clothing and climb the chimney outside his shop.

In 1863, a caricaturist for Harper's Weekly named Thomas Nast began developing his own image of Santa. Nast gave his figure a "flowing set of whiskers" and dressed him "all in fur, from his head to his foot." Nast's 1866 montage entitled "Santa Claus and His Works" established Santa as a maker of toys; an 1869 book of the same name collected new Nast drawings with a poem by George P. Webster that identified the North Pole as Santa's home. Although Nast never settled on one size for his Santa figures (they ranged from elf-like to man-sized), his 1881 "Merry Old Santa Claus" drawing is quite close to the modern-day image.

The Santa Claus figure, although not yet standardized, was ubiquitous by the late 19th century. Santa was portrayed as both large and small; he was usually round but sometimes of normal or slight build; and he dressed in furs (like Belsnickle) or cloth suits of red, blue, green, or purple. A Boston printer named Louis Prang introduced the English custom of Christmas cards to America, and in 1885 he issued a card featuring a red-suited Santa. The chubby Santa with a red suit (like an "overweight superhero") began to replace the fur-dressed Belsnickle image and the multicolored Santas.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Good info
	funny point about how it quickly switches between religious and secular

[Perception Addict]

Here's an article that sums up the amanita/santa claus theories:

Why do Santa’s reindeer fly? The role of ancient mushroom-using shamans

These red and white mushrooms, Amanita muscaria, were found in an alpine forest around Creede, Colorado. A. muscaria was the “sacred mushroom” used by the ancient tribal peoples of pre-Christian northern Europe. Its bright coloring suggests the colors of Santa’s garments and of holiday lights.

Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian northern Europe.

The sacred mushroom of these people was the red and white Amanita muscaria, also known as “fly agaric.” This mushroom commonly is seen in books of fairy tales and usually is associated with magic and fairies. It contains potent hallucinogenic compounds once used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences. Most of the major elements of the modern Christmas celebration, such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees, magical reindeer and the giving of gifts, are originally based upon the traditions surrounding the harvest and consumption of this most sacred mushroom.

The World Tree

Ancient peoples, including the Lapps of modern-day Finland, and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes, believed in the idea of a World Tree. The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis onto which the planes of the universe are fixed. The roots of the World Tree stretch down into the underworld, its trunk is the “middle earth” of everyday existence, and its branches reach upwards into the heavenly realm.

Amanita muscaria grows only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens. The cap of the mushroom is the fruit of the larger mycelium beneath the soil which exists in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree. To ancient people, this mushroom was literally “the fruit of the tree.”

The North Star was also considered sacred, since all other stars in the sky revolved around its fixed point. They associated this “Pole Star” with the World Tree and the central axis of the universe. The top of the World Tree touched the North Star, and the spirit of the shaman would climb the metaphorical tree, thereby passing into the realm of the gods. This is the true meaning of the star on top of the modern Christmas tree, and also the reason that the super-shaman Santa makes his home at the North Pole.

Ancient peoples were amazed at how this magical mushroom sprang from the earth without any visible seed. They considered this “virgin birth” to have been the result of the morning dew, which was seen as the “semen of the deity.” The silver tinsel we drape onto our modern Christmas tree represents this divine fluid.

Origin of phrase, “to get pissed”

The active ingredients of A. muscaria are not metabolized by the body, and so they remain active in the urine. In fact, it is safer to drink the urine of one who has consumed the mushroom than to eat the mushroom directly, as many of the toxic compounds are processed and eliminated on the first pass through the body.

It was common practice among ancient people to recycle the potent effects of the mushroom by drinking each other’s urine. The mushroom’s ingredients can remain potent even after six passes through the human body. Some scholars argue that this is the origin of the phrase “to get pissed,” as this urine-drinking activity preceded alcohol by thousands of years.

Reindeer were the sacred animals of these semi-nomadic people, as the reindeer provided food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. Reindeer are also fond of eating the mushroom; they will seek it out, then prance about while under its influence. Often the urine of tripped-out reindeer would be consumed for its psychedelic effects.

This effect goes the other way too, as reindeer also enjoy the urine of a human, especially one who has consumed the mushroom. In fact, reindeer will seek out human urine to drink, and some tribesmen carry sealskin containers of their own collected piss, which they use to attract stray reindeer back into the herd.

Legend of the flying reindeer and modern image of Santa

The effects of the A. muscaria usually include sensations of size distortion and flying. The feeling of flying could account for the legends of flying reindeer and legends of shamanic journeys included stories of winged reindeer, transporting their riders up to the highest branches of the World Tree.

Although the modern image of Santa Claus was created at least in part by the advertising department of Coca-Cola, in truth his appearance, clothing, mannerisms and companions all mark him as the reincarnation of these ancient mushroom-gathering shamans.

One of the side effects of eating A. muscaria is that one’s skin and facial features take on a flushed, ruddy glow. This is why Santa is always shown with glowing red cheeks and nose. Even Santa’s jolly “Ho, ho, ho!” is the euphoric laugh of one who has indulged in the magic fungus.

Santa also dresses like a mushroom gatherer. When it was time to go out and harvest the magical mushroom, the ancient shamans would dress much like Santa, wearing red and white fur-trimmed coats and long black boots. These peoples lived in dwellings made of birch and reindeer hide, called “yurts.” Somewhat similar to a tee-pee, the yurt’s central smoke-hole is often also used as an entrance. After gathering the mushroom from under the sacred trees where they appeared, the shamans would fill their sacks and return home. Climbing down the chimney-entrances, they would share out the mushroom’s gifts with those within.

The mushroom needs to be dried before being consumed; the drying process reduces the mushroom’s toxicity while increasing its potency. The shaman would guide the group in stringing the mushrooms they gathered and hanging them around the hearth-fire to dry. This tradition is echoed in the modern stringing of popcorn and other items.

The psychedelic journeys taken under the influence of the amanita were also symbolized by a stick reaching up through the smoke-hole in the top of the yurt. The smoke-hole was the portal where the spirit of the shaman exited the physical plane.

Santa’s famous magical journey, where his sleigh takes him around the whole planet in a single night, is developed from the “heavenly chariot,” used by the gods from whom Santa and other shamanic figures are descended. The chariot of Odin, Thor and even the Egyptian god Osiris is now known as the Big Dipper, which circles around the North Star in a 24-hour period.

In different versions of the ancient story, the chariot was pulled by reindeer or horses. As the animals grew exhausted, their mingled spit and blood falls to the ground, forming the mushrooms.

St Nicholas and Old Nick

Saint Nicholas is a legendary figure who supposedly lived during the fourth century. His cult spread quickly and Nicholas became the patron saint of many varied groups, including judges, pawnbrokers, criminals, merchants, sailors, bakers, travelers, the poor, and children.

Most religious historians agree that St Nicholas did not actually exist as a real person but was instead a Christianized version of earlier Pagan gods. Nicholas’ legends were mainly created out of stories about the Teutonic god called Hold Nickar, known as Poseidon to the Greeks. This powerful sea god was known to gallop through the sky during the winter solstice, granting boons to his worshippers below.

When the Catholic Church created the character of St Nicholas, they took his name from “Nickar” and gave him Poseidon’s title of “the Sailor.” There are thousands of churches named in St Nicholas’ honor, most of which were converted from temples to Poseidon and Hold Nickar. (As the ancient pagan deities were demonized by the Christian church, Hold Nickar’s name also became associated with Satan, known as “Old Nick!”)

Local traditions were incorporated into the new Christian holidays to make them more acceptable to the new converts. To these early Christians, Saint Nicholas became a sort of “super-shaman” who was overlaid upon their own shamanic cultural practices. Many images of Saint Nicholas from these early times show him wearing red and white, or standing in front of a red background with white spots, the design of the mushroom.

St Nicholas also adopted some of the qualities of the legendary “Grandmother Befana” from Italy, who filled children’s stockings with gifts. Her shrine at Bari, Italy, became a shrine to St Nicholas.

True spirit of Christmas

By better understanding the truths within these popular celebrations, we can better understand the modern world, and our place in it.

Many people in the modern world have rejected Christmas as being too commercial, claiming that this ritual of giving is actually a celebration of materialism and greed. Yet the true spirit of this winter festival lies not in the exchange of plastic toys, but in celebrating a gift from the earth: the fruiting top of a magical mushroom, and the revelatory experiences it can provide.

Instead of perpetuating outdated and confusing holiday myths, it might be more fulfilling to return to the original source of these seasonal celebrations. How about getting back to basics and enjoying some magical mushrooms with your loved ones this holiday season? What better gift can a family share than a little piece of love and enlightenment?

http://animamrecro.wordpress.com/200...d-santa-claus/

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of negative speculation about these theories, and the idea that amanita enthusiasts are too quick to make connections, just because of the red and white suit and the idea that santa laughs heartily. I recently read a book called Shroom, and the very educated author of that work was also quite skeptical about this theory. While elements of it are interesting, I currently regard it as no more than a kinda cool thought, but as it's so cool would love to see strong evidence to the contrary.

Reputation Comments on this post:

so cool that you want to Believe until you see strong evidence to the contrary? ha ha. nice read.

[rocksmokinmachine]

Originally Posted by Perception Addict

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of negative speculation about these theories, and the idea that amanita enthusiasts are too quick to make connections, just because of the red and white suit and the idea that santa laughs heartily. I recently read a book called Shroom, and the very educated author of that work was also quite skeptical about this theory. While elements of it are interesting, I currently regard it as no more than a kinda cool thought, but as it's so cool would love to see strong evidence to the contrary.

It is indeed a different, interesting theory, but it is a well known fact that Santa Claus oringinates from Saint Nicholas.

[Perception Addict]

I tend to agree.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Who or what do you agree with?

[Infinite I]

I heard a theory that he was an illuminati creation, change the letters and you get satan, he can slow down time he comes into your house in the middle of the night he has little helpers elves/demons? lol Myebe there trying to push him as a good guy. Then theres his red suit which was from the coca cola company, sure it was David Ickes books but cant be certain sorry for no sources just an idea id read a while back, not that I didnt love him when I was a child, actually seen him one night !

[rocksmokinmachine]

Yes Santa Clauses red and white suit was a creation of the Coca-Cola company.

As for the illuminati conspiracy....hmm

[Cakes]

but it is a well known fact that Santa Claus oringinates from Saint Nicholas.

not that you are wrong, but there ARE an awful lot of well known "facts" that just happen to contradict each other. and i'm not just talking santa stories.

Santa = Saint
Shaman = Holy person
say santa but use a short a both times. to me it sounds a bit like shaman. and it makes me wonder about other languages and what came before latin.

Lots of old stories feature guys making that north star flight. i think those stories must be symbology for us circling that north star. like for the solstice/seasons and to keep track of when planting time comes>same as the stone monoliths like Stonehenge. you know the Solstice is on the 21st usually but never any later than the 25th of december.

Wotan had that circling flight pattern and so did Osiris (god of the sun worshipping egyptians). Osiris celebrated his birthday on December 25th and his followers all exchanged gifts by placing them under cedar trees. and Osiris flew in golden armor (like the sun) as he circled.

Thor, aka Donner, flew in a golden chariot and was pulled by Cracker and Knasher (his two goats).

When Odin spun with the earth, he had an eight legged steed.

it makes sense (to me) that seasonal lore like this would be the type of
bread and butter stuff that got told by the Shaman on his holy solstice day as he talked about how important that day was as a seasonal marker. and a thought about the amanita>the winter day is the ONLY Solstice or Equinox that a Shaman can actually party on since all the others are at very busy times of the planting season. so this is a time when a Shaman actually COULD take some shrooms and relax...

and if he did go visiting in the olde snow country, then he would have to use the secondary entrance
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and this may be a bit of a reach, but a Shaman would be in charge of medicinal plants and there are some people who see a link between these two symbols:
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each resembling the other as a symbol of the drugs to be found beneath it.

Interesting thing about modern amanita culture> the kids are rediscovering the old way. they aren't actually growing the mushrooms to full size, they are culturing the mycorrhizal fleece on grape juice. When it rises to a good size, then the "Living Bread" is washed clean of it's psychoactive innards, the liquid collected in a cup and drank. Before drinking, the liquid can be further purified AND made more psychoactive by subjecting it to fire.

never settled on one size... (they ranged from elf-like to man-sized)

hoho. i thought that part was really funny.

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