The Characters of Christmas

10 Bizarre Christmas Characters From Around The World

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Everyone loves a character who learns the true meaning of Christmas — witness the enduring popularity of one Ebeneezer Scrooge. Groupies come and go, but friends, after all, are forever. The Nightmare Before Christmas Played by: But why should they have all the fun? It should belong to anyone! Not anyone, in fact, but me! Some really long, really skinny pyjamas with little bats on. Jack Skellington was born to celebrate Halloween rather than Christmas.

That face was surely never meant to eat mince pies or sing carols. The Muppet Christmas Carol Played by: Indeed, uncertain planetary origin. Who else, then, than The Great Gonzo, a performer so committed that he regularly fires himself out of cannons with only the most minimal of safety equipment and who engages in groundbreaking live work like eating a rubber tyre to the tune of Flight Of The Bumblebee?

Henry Travers left Distinguishing features: Genial manner; old-fashioned clothes; occasional appearance as small star or twinkle of light. Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? Trying to top yourself on Christmas Eve and leave your family to face disgrace and poverty. No wonder bells are soon ringing and Clarence is soon winging about. Home Alone Played by: Joe Pesci Distinguishing features: Prominent gold tooth; slightly ratlike expression; propensity to rob homes left empty over Christmas.

After all, he greets the advent of the Christmas season with considerable enthusiasm, visiting houses around the neighbourhood and smiling benevolently at the children he meets. Sure, he then burgles the lot — but for all we know he has an ailing granny and sixteen adorable children to support each with puppies! A Christmas Tale Played by: Onni Tommila Distinguishing features: Permanently wary expression; suspicion of anything landing on the roof; reluctance to sleep during Advent season; small stuffed toy he carries at all times.

A safe room that Santa absolutely cannot reach. You all know how kids are supposed to behave in Christmas movies, right? They are there to get excited about presents, visit Father Christmas and possibly fight off determined burglars. Pietari is absolutely petrified of Santa Claus — and with good reason. He holds vigil every night in December, and tries very hard to toe the line or at least get his father to punish his infractions.

Making Disciples Into Disciplemakers

After all, better a bit of parental punishment than abduction by this terrifying spirit of Christmas. A Christmas Carol Played by: Alastair Sim Distinguishing features: Miserly tendency; bad rating from employee feedback anonymised ; good rating from employee feedback on the record ; attractive to ghosts of Christmases.

Post ghosts, an Oxfam Unwrapped goat. James Cosmo Distinguishing features: Large white beard; rides a sleigh pulled by reindeer; heralds the arrival of Aslan; brings dinner. Victory over the White Witch. Not so the Narnia version of Father Christmas: Swords, bows, arrows, knives: Scrooged Played by: Carol Kane Distinguishing features: Wings; sparkly, curly blonde hair; high-pitched voice; ruthless efficiency as a Christmas ghost and violent tendencies. Snowflakes and moonbeams and whiskers on kittens, rainbows, forget-me-nots, misty meadows and sun-dappled pools.

Buddy the Elf

But what really makes us love this Ghost of Christmas Present is her dark side, her violent side. The side that leads her to hit innocent misers over the head with household appliances, the side that gives her a right-hook like an express train. Frank is pretty much putty in her hands even before the big, scary Ghost Of Christmas Future turns up.

James Stewart left Distinguishing features: Natty dress sense; heck of a letter writer; upstanding employee; tendency to get into trouble by doing the right thing. You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth. Writing pad, ink and envelopes.

Absolutely not a musical cigarette box. His attempts to overcome the antipathy between them and get a romance back on track are understated, touching and entirely in keeping with the Christmas spirit — and, as directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch, witty and wise too. Nativity Played by: Marc Wootton Distinguishing features: Puppyish enthusiasm for everything; sticky-up hair; loudness. But when he begins to work with colleague Paul Maddens Martin Freeman on the annual primary school nativity play, his boundless enthusiasm carries his sometimes despairing boss through the experience.

Admittedly, he has a tendency towards excitability that would make a puppy go for a lie-down, but his innocent joy in the Christmas season and, er, penchant for quoting The X-Factor are a continual delight. And hey, he certainly motivates the kids, who seem instinctively to recognise him as one of their own and flock to his knee. Miracle On 34th Street Played by: Natalie Wood Distinguishing features: Adorability; precociousness; penchant for party dresses and extreme Christmas gift demands. And if you can't, you're only a nice man with a white beard like mother says.

A house, a father and a baby brother. Seriously, this kid may be winsome, but she haggles like the Ferengi Grand Nagus himself. Jerry Nelson Distinguishing features: Enormous size; big red beard; tendency to wear robes and a crown made of holly; rapid aging process.

Exhibits A through C: Admittedly, his is a stupendous big red beard at first, but it does eventually turn white by the end of the day. The man is Santa, ladies and gentlemen, but unlike most incarnations of St. Nick, The Ghost Of Muppet Christmas Present can also change size at will, and has been known on occasion to disappear into a glittery cloud of Christmas lights. But that's just one of his many abilities. A Christmas Story Played by: Peter Billingsley Distinguishing features: Blond mop of hair; glasses; tendency to daydream; deep and earnest desire to own an official Red Ryder air rifle.

The food varies across the regions of Italy, but every house leaves her a glass of wine.

Love God. Love People.

In Iceland , there is one of the most bloodcurdling Christmas characters in the world—a cannibalistic, hideous giantess called Gryla. She also has a fearsome cat. Gryla is a troll who has been mentioned in Icelandic folklore since at least the 13th century. At some point, she became more associated with Christmas and has put her nasty talents to festive use. Gryla stalks the children of Iceland during the holiday season.

If she finds any bad children, she stuffs them in her sack and carries them away to devour later. As if Gryla was not sufficiently wicked, she also has a bad-tempered Yule Cat, Jolakotturinn, that acts as a fashion critic at Christmas. The Yule Cat is a huge beast that looks for children who are not wearing new clothes. This is not because it supports the commercialization of Christmas. In Iceland, children who had done all their chores would be given new clothes. Therefore, any child not wearing new clothes must have been naughty. When the Yule Cat spots a child in old clothes, it eats the poor kid.

At some point, Gryla decided that her cat was not sufficiently scary to torment children. So Gryla and her equally monstrous husband produced 13 sons—the Yule Lads. For each of the 13 days before Christmas, a child will leave a shoe under the window. When one of the Yule Lads finds the shoe, he will put some sweets inside if the child has been good that day or a rotten potato if the kid has been bad.

The Yule Lads are now a mischievous set of boys who leave small gifts , but they were not always so tame. In , Icelandic parents were banned from scaring their children with stories of the Yule Lads, suggesting that these characters used to have more than rotting vegetables in their arsenal. Each of the Yule Lads has a name that relates to his obsession. Door Slammer loves to make noise and chaos by slamming doors. Stubby is a short lad who will steal food from the frying pan. Sausage Swiper cannot resist stealing sausages. Every year, you can be sure of one fight at Christmas: Is Zwarte Piet a racist caricature?

Needless to say, the changing standards of the modern world have led to this tradition being reinterpreted as outrageously racist. Some defenders of the Zwarte Piet character say that his dark skin is caused by his climbing in and out of chimneys.

Those who find him offensive say that the big red lips, curly hair, and huge gold earrings are classic racist stereotypes of black slaves. In recent years, the Dutch government has made moves toward getting rid of Zwarte Piet from parades and even the UN has called for Piet to be removed as an outdated relic. The role of Dutch traders in the slave trade is an aspect of their history that many Dutch people seem unwilling to examine.

It seems clear that supporters and opponents of Zwarte Piet will be clashing for many Christmases to come. What could be more traditional at Christmas than a nativity scene of the infant Jesus?

All the characters are familiar—Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, the shepherds, and the animals. Just off to the side of the Holy Family will be a figurine explicitly shown with his pants down in the act of pooping. The origin of the Caganer is not known. It is at least years old and started in farming communities.

Anyone without a Caganer in his nativity scene was sure to have a bad year. One theory is that the Caganer is a representation of a farmer fertilizing his field, if more personally than most agricultural workers. While the original Caganer was a farmer, you can purchase modern figurines caught in the act of defecation which represent a variety of famous people and fictional characters. Should you desire a statuette of the queen of the United Kingdom to add to your Christmas decorations, then you will be able to find a suitable Caganer.

Krampus is undergoing a renaissance.

The Characters of Christmas: Joseph – Obeying the Lord – 12/11/16

Where once the half-goat demon was hardly known outside of Central Europe, he can be found now in horror films, novels, and TV programs throughout the English-speaking world. The previous night is Krampusnacht. While Saint Nicholas visits people to spread cheer and gifts, his companion Krampus comes to punish the wicked or even carry off wicked children.

His origins predate Christianity, and he may be a pagan demon that became incorporated into the Christian tradition. Though the Catholic Church attempted to put down any celebration of Krampus, the festival survived. Now in many places, a Krampus run is held during the holiday season. Men dressed as Krampus run through the streets armed with bundles of birch twigs to beat bad people.

One way to ward off the attention of Krampus is to offer him strong alcohol. Possibly a visit from the police in most countries. But in Wales, you get the tradition of the Mari Lwyd.

A reveler hides underneath a cloth with an animal costume above. In Wales, that costume is just a fleshless horse skull. The occupants of the house will respond with witty verses of their own.

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