The age of Santa Claus is an idea of how old the main winter wizard of Russia has turned. Meeting with their favorite magician, children often ask him the question: "Grandfather, how old are you?" Santa Claus from Veliky Ustyug, as a rule, answers as follows: "I am as old as white light is worth."
For example, during the period of self-isolation on Instagram, there was an online broadcast of Santa Claus with children from different parts of Russia.
The wizard answered many tricky questions about his life-being in Veliky Ustyug.
And the girl Nastya, who lives in the south of Russia, in Krasnodar, asked:
- Santa Claus, how old are you?
To this question, the wizard, scratching at the back of his head, replied:
- That's the question! I am as old as white light has existed, several millennia, but even though I am old, the power in me is magical. I lead a healthy lifestyle, I go in for sports.
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The reality of Santa Claus
The character came from Slavic mythology. He appeared in proverbs and fairy tales as an old man with a gray beard who causes frost. Then it was called "Studenets", "Treskunets". How old the wizard is, no one knows. If we start counting from the Slavic myths about the spirit of cold, then Santa Claus is about two thousand years old.
Now he is presented to people rather as a character in the fairy tales "Morozko". It was first mentioned in literature in 1840 in the fairy tale "Frost" by Vladimir Moroz Ivanovich ".
In it, the character lives in a kingdom, where you can get by going down the well, while holding spring under a snow feather, treats the children who come to him fairly. The needlewoman is given silver for diligent work, and the Sloth for laziness and arrogance - gold, but not simple, but one that will melt in a few minutes. It turns out then he is about 179 years old. When did it become a symbol of the New Year and Christmas?
Santa Claus as a Christmas grandfather began to take shape in the XIX century. After the revolution, he is again temporarily forgotten when the persecution begins on religious holidays.
However, around 1935, Santa Claus returned as a symbol of the New Year. If we count the birthday from this date, then the main winter storyteller is 154 years old. The character was so fond of the new generation that he was no longer allowed to go.
Clarification of the age of Santa Claus
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| Now 7,522 years since the Creation of the world |
Let's try to clarify the age of your favorite wizard, based on his own words. So, we know that it is exactly as much as the white light, as the grandfather specified, "several thousand years old." Is the age of white light known? Yes, I know.
The determination of the age of white light, and hence Santa Claus, can be approached from two points of view, which in fact do not contradict each other. One point of view is biblical and the other is a natural science, which is easily reconciled.
According to the Bible, it is now the year 7,522 from the Creation of the world, which corresponds to the year 2020 from the nativity of Christ.
At the same time, according to scientists, the age of the Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years. But there is no contradiction between 7.5 thousand and 4.6 billion years, if we again turn to the Bible, which says: "... the Lord has one day, as a thousand years, and a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day (2 Peter: 3, 8)
Thus, the exact age of Santa Claus in 2021 is 7,521 years or 4.6 billion years.
An Alternative View of the Wizard's Age
There are alternative ideas about the age of the grandfather, which are not widely recognized. These hypotheses are based on the desire of researchers to take as a starting point dates that are important for the history of Santa Claus but have little to do with his age.
For example, 500, 1840, 1936. Nevertheless, for the objective sanctification of the issue, we will consider them.
The age of Santa Claus as a hero of Slavic myths
The website reads: “So how old is Santa Claus right now, in 2021?" The answer may surprise you! (I hope you are sitting).
"Quick answer: Santa Claus is 1751 (but it's a young age for an elf! Even for a grumpy old elf like me!)"
Historical science accurately identifies the Slavs on the territory of Europe from about the V-VI centuries AD. By the same time, the appearance of Slavic myths should be attributed. A number of researchers consider Santa Claus a mythological character of the ancient Slavs. Therefore, the modern wizard is now more than one thousand five hundred years old.
Frost in Slavic mythology usually acts as an evil spirit. Different tribes had different names: Students, Karachun, Zimnik, Treskun. The cold spirit was to be appeased so that it would not freeze too much and bring misfortune. Adherents of this view argue: the modern wizard is more than one thousand five hundred years old.
However, as established by the authors of the Encyclopedia of Santa Claus, no typological features peculiar to the modern wizard-giver, the winter spirits of the Slavs do not have. Therefore, their connection with Santa Claus is far-fetched, which means that the age of the wizard, derived from the myth, is incorrect.
Santa Claus was born in the XIX century
Some researchers believe that the wizard appeared in 1840, and, therefore, he is now 180 years old. In the 40th year of the XIX century, the Russian writer Vladimir Odoevsky published a book of literary "Fairy Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus", which is based on the processing of folklore material.
One of the stories reveals the image of Moroz Ivanovich, which should be considered the archetype of modern Santa Claus.
This opinion is well-founded. But it is wrong to take 1840 as the starting point for the grandfather's age since this contradicts the assertions of the master himself.
The age of the wizard should be counted from 1935
An interesting point of view, which has strong arguments. Indeed, the final formation of the image of Santa Claus as we know it today takes place in the 30s and 50s of the last century.
At the end of the 30s, the wizard-giver became a full-fledged participant in New Year's performances, festive traditions were rapidly formed. The role of the grandfather as the main character on the Christmas tree was affirmed, without which the holiday itself is impossible to imagine.
But if he was born in 1935, now he is 85 years old. Of course, the age is solid. But for the mighty lord of blizzards and blizzards, not serious. Did beautiful patterns on the windows of houses appear only in the 30s of the XX century? And who painted them in the XVIII or XIX centuries?
In the 30s after the lifting of the ban on the Christmas tree (read more) the Christmas or Christmas grandfather, as he used to be more often called, turns into a modern wizard-giver. But this has nothing to do with the age of Santa Claus.
Summing up the results of a small study of the age of the winter sorcerer, in our opinion. It is necessary to believe the words of the grandfather himself, who testifies: "I am old, how much is the white light."
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