Who brings gifts for Winter holidays in your country?

[Jane1]

What mythical figure appears during the Winter in your country, and brings gifts to children?
When do they usually bring gifts?
I couldn't add them all, but you can add your own folkloric gift bringers...

5 Honorable mentions:
1. Julenissen / Jultomten (Christmas Gnome)
2. Saint Basil The Great / Basil of Caesarea
3. Christkind / Baby Jesus / Christ Child / El Niño Diós
4. Joulupukki / Yule Goat / Julbock / Christmas Goat
5. Saint Lucy / Lucia of Syracuse

Santa Claus / Father Christmas / Kris Kringle - Brings gifts on Christmas Eve

Saint Nicholas The Wonderworker/ St Nikolaus of Myra - Brings gifts on Saint Nicholas Day

Grandfather Frost / Ded Moroz / Ayaz Ata - Brings gifts on New Year's eve or on New Year's day

Seven Lucky Gods / Shichifukujin / 七福神 - They bring gifts during the first 3 days of the New Year

La Befana - Brings gifts on Epiphany day

Yule Lads / Yulemen / Jólasveinar - They bring gifts in the thirteen nights before Christmas Eve

The Three Kings / Three Wise Men / Three Magi - They bring gifts on Epiphany Day

[BlueCoyote]

I'm from Switzerland and here it's the Christkind. Like in other European countries, we traditionally celebrate Christmas on the Evening of the 24th.

Parents usually make their children leave the house for a while during the afternoon, so the Christkind can come and drop the gifts (it is supposedly very shy and it needs a calm atmosphere).
When I was a child, my dad used to take me and my siblings on a long winter walk in the forest. During this time, the Christkind (aka my mom who stayed home) laid the gifts under the Christmas tree.
I always loved coming home cold and tired from those walks to a warm, cozy living room with cookies on the table and lots of gifts underneath the tree. In Switzerland we use real tress (spruce-fir) and real candles. The Christkind also used to light the candles while we were gone, so it felt even more festive.

Fun fact:
We also have a Santa Claus in Switzerland (called Samichlaus) but he's quite different from the American dude.
First of all, he traditionally comes on the 6th of December, not Christmas. Secondly, he walks everywhere, he doesn't have a flying sled and no reindeers either, thirdly, he's got an assistant called Schmutzli ("Knecht Ruprecht" in Germany) who is completely dressed in brown clothing made of jute, which makes him look like a medieval peasant. Most importantly, however, the Swiss Santa isn't very nice. Most children are very scared of him and his assistant. Traditionally, Samichlaus and Schmutzli do bring nuts, chocolates, clementines and gingerbread but they are also responsible for punishing children who haven't behaved well throughout the year. In the old days, naughty children had to bend over and Schmutzli would birch them with a rod. Nowadays this isn't allowed/acceptable anymore, so Samichlaus and his assistant just yell at children who didn't behave and intimidate them.

[curiousnorway]

In my country we fortunately don't have a samichlaus who yells at children. Here the parents raise the children and the Santa Clauses only gives presents regardless of if the children are nice or naughty. It's part of the children nature to be both wild and not knowing the difference between right and wrong.

[BlueCoyote]

@curiousnorway
Well, what should I say... I didn't invent this tradition ;-).

[curiousnorway]

In my country Norway it's common to have a father Christmas/Santa Claus similar concept where a man dressed in red clothing, has a white beard and who are old looking gives presents. The Santa Claus we've nowadays gives presents to all the children and don't distinguish between nice and naughty children. It's not violent or mean either. People in modern time knows that every children may be wild at some points, because children are children and that's how child psychology works.

There are also a Nordic folklore that some people believed in the past. They believed in short old looking men with long gray beards and red hats sneaking into people's farm. They demanded food (especially in Christmas time) and their favorite meals were porridge. If they didn't get it, they would harm people and animals or ruin the farm. If they received food, they would help the farmer and be peaceful. They didn't give much gifts in Christmas time, but just behaved very nicely if they got their wishes granted and were more open for requests in winter time.

The real explanation on the "fjøsnisse" phenomena is that both farm animals and beggars could eat the food on the farm. It was more common at the pre-1800s time for poor beggars to wander from village to village. So if a beggar wanted food, s/he could just eat it at night inside people's barns.

[AlienParasite]

DA KINGS

That's the tradition in Spain. Though English movies had spread English culture in other cultures, so for some families Santa Claus bring the all the presents, and some other families split presents and some presents are brought by Santa and the others by The Three Kings. But tradition was just The Kings.

[Femdomina]

In Montenegro we have both Đedo Koleda (Santa Claus for Orthodox Christian Montenegrins), and Đed Mraz (for atheist Montenegrins).

[Catacious]

Why isn't "the Capitalist market in Corporate America" an answer?

[Jane1]

LOL, good question ;)

[Bhragu]

In my country, we get gifts only when we work hard in our lives. No freebies are there for kids or anyone else. If anyone is generous, I desire a watch.

[-Asca-]

Child labor is supposed to be illegal.

[Bhragu]

Yeah it is illegal but bribes work well with police and judges in courts.

[HikerDude]

The SJWs banned Christmas during the Obama Administration, so we just sit around and watch crappy "holiday" movies on Amazon Prime.

[Zorax]

Grandfather Frost - Djed Mraz in Croatia, but he brings presents only to Atheists like me ;)

[Jager66]

Gee.. it's almost like maybe there is an even older origin story for all these?

[NYCQuestions1976]

Can I sign up for all of the above? I could save so much money.

[ImaginativeDreamer]

I'm not religious, so I'm expecting Grandfather Frost to bring me gifts.

[-Asca-]

Both Christkind and Saint Nikolaus, they both have their own days.

[RIVERTAY888]

Fantastic take l get no gifts

[Jane1]

No gifts, but why?

[RIVERTAY888]

l am on my own all my friends died in the past few years one died in may this year l get no Christmas cards l just get used to it there is one girl that says she wants me but l dont even know if she will come to me at Christmas time she said she will l need to wait and see l have not had a Christmas gift to open for over 40 years same at birthday time its crap l have money l just buy my own stuff l have just got used to no one caring about me and l am a very normal kind of guy and l am not a freak or a weirdo l just keep a happy face and pretend everything is good but its not at least l can Express myself on GaG there will be lots of people like me l never asked for things to be like this in my life it just happened money does not buy love

[Jane1]

That's so sad :(

[RIVERTAY888]

Thank you 💐

[Anonymous]

My mum, brother and boyfriend!

[Opinion Owner]

With some help from Amazon, of course!

[omgjassy]

Both sinterklaas and Santa Claus.

[Canadaman99]

My parents aka santa/st nich

[weirdoweirdo]

My parents... No, but jultomten...

[Anonymous]

Originally the goat. But now Santa.

[CaptainSmartass]

Father Christmas brings them.

Simples...

[pizzalovershouse]

Santa clause

[pizzalovershouse]

I also wanted to say good profile picture nakes you look good

[Jane1]

"nakes"? 😮

[Gedaria]

No body its all a con...

[Jane1]

LOL, you think so? :P

[Gedaria]

Its just a money spinner for the retail companies. You only have to look at the tv its full of ads to encourage you to buy. …..

[Cookie8888]

Jultomten does.

[Jansetta]

Ayaz Ata.

[tartaarsaus]

Sinterklaas