In keeping with the season, I thought I would string together a few links to sources discussing the evolution of Santa Claus through the years. Santa: Last of the Wild Men The Old Weird Albion Green Man - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cryptomundo Santa = Wildman http://staff.kings.edu/davidjohnson/Sample Chapter _5_, From Whence Santa Comes.pdf That should be a good starting place. Any comments?
Thanx Juan, I always liked the one with the black moor elf that through the bad boys in a bag to enslave them....
Hey Wil! Good to see you! It never ceases to amaze me how different Santa was viewed, even not so long ago, and how he no doubt reflects the social mores of the time and place. One of the sites I looked at had postcards from the late 1800s showing Santa with a young boy tied to a tree, wailing him with a stick. Same site showed Santa stuffing a boy into a sack much like you said. So it seems Santa has a bit more strident side to him as well.