As soon as the New Year is approaching, the helpers of Santa Claus are actively beginning to carry out their work. All the kids probably want to know who is helping the grandfather give gifts and get ready for the holiday, because he himself will not have time to do so many things.
Every child wants to receive a diploma of the assistant to Santa Claus. It is not so easy to do this, so you will have to try hard. If the children behaved well throughout the year, then along with the diploma they will definitely receive the costume of the assistant Santa Claus. This matter must be treated with special attention and seriousness. But first you need to find out what assistants already exist.
Helpers of Santa Claus in Veliky Ustyug
Despite the fact that grandfather is a real wizard, he cannot be in several places at the same time. Therefore, he has several residences in which various assistants of Santa Claus work hard. In Veliky Ustyug they help him:
- Snow Maiden;
- grandmother Aushka;
- Baba Zhara;
- Rustling;
- bunny family;
- owl;
- snowman;
- New Year's boy.
Each of them does its job. Thanks to such a team, Santa Claus manages to do his job and congratulate all the children on the holiday.
Snow Maiden
The first in the list of Santa Claus helpers is, of course, the Snow Maiden. This character is rather ambiguous, since initially she appeared as Morozkoβs granddaughter, and already in 1937 she began to be called the companion of Santa Claus. Its main tasks are:
- respect grandfather;
- hold contests;
- cheer up everyone around;
- give presents.
Grandma Aushka
Modern children, unfortunately, do not know what the names of Santa Claus helpers are; therefore, they have no idea about their functions. Although in reality all these characters are very important in the winter holidays. For example, grandmother Aushka helps people lost in a dense forest to get out of the way. She, like a good housewife, herbalist and storyteller, will never leave the rest of Santa Claus's helpers hungry, sick and sad.
Baba Zhara
In addition to the grandmother of Aushka, Baba Zhara can also feed deliciously. Her concoction can be called magical, because thanks to her other characters are gaining strength and are charged with positive, because getting ready for the New Year and handing out gifts with sadness on her face is no good.
Rustle
Shurshik - an assistant to Santa Claus, who is a strange creature, picked up in the forest. He likes to rustle with cones, leaves or Christmas tree needles. It is impossible to find another such mischievous as Shurshik. He is never bored with him. In addition, the little assistant is always aware of what is happening in the forest, so he can restore order there in two ways. For this, Santa Claus is very grateful to him, because not every character can do such a difficult job.
Hare family
Small and cute bunnies are an example of a real family. They play with the guests of their grandfather, have round dances, tell good tales and arrange funny competitions. Without their help, a holiday would hardly have been so fun and memorable.
Wise Owl
This character acts as the main adviser to Santa Claus. A wise owl always gives practical advice not only to the main wizard, but to all people. Therefore, driving past the Great Ustyug, you must definitely visit her.
Snowman
To understand why Grandfather needs a Snowman, just remember the school tree. It was there that he helped drag a bag of gifts to Santa Claus and his granddaughter.
On the one hand, the Snowman, or the Snow Woman, is a relative of the Snow Maiden, as he is molded from snow, after which he comes to life. In ancient times, he could easily be a symbol of sacrifice for the harsh winter spirit. On the other hand, this character could well act as a pagan totem depicting the most snowy spirit. It was from here that duality appeared in his name - either "he" or "she".
The sex of this creature was determined in Soviet times, when he had just begun to appear on New Yearβs performances and appear on television. Then his appearance was established. Today, the Snowman consists of three snow balls of different diameters, located on each other, as well as a nose-carrot and eye-coals. The creature must have a broom in its hands, and a bucket on its head.
It is worth noting that the broom is one of the oldest attributes of the Snowman. With its help, he could spin snowstorms or fly, since it is this device that is considered the most popular aircraft. But we should not forget that all this was a very long time ago, and now the snow man is the most faithful and reliable assistant to his grandfather, who most often pulls Snegurochka out of various troubles.
New Year's boy
Almost the most basic assistant, who is our compatriot, always accompanies Santa Claus. He is a little boy, without whom not a single winter holiday has taken place. He is quite handsome and quick-witted. Even though the baby has just hatched from nothingness, his mind amazes everyone around. New Year's boy is a curious but calm character. He does not have to worry, because the treasured time is about to come.
Other helpers of Santa Claus in different countries
In other countries, different peoples have different Christmas and New Year customs than in our area. Foreign colleagues of Santa Claus radically differ from him in their special characters and their statements at the winter holidays. Their assistants are also completely different, although they perform functions similar to our characters.
American helpers
Santa Claus is assisted by fewer characters in organizing the celebration, although they are doing very well with all their tasks. In total, the American grandfather has three assistants:
- A deer named Rudolph. In Santa's team he drives as many as nine deers, but the best of them is Rudolph. It features a red nose illuminating the path.
- Elf. Every child knows about this character, because he is described in different tales and shown in almost all New Year's cartoons. Together with his team, the main Elf helps to collect gifts, guards Santa and entertains him after a hard night of work.
- Mrs. Klaus. Grandfather's faithful wife and companion takes care of the wizard's house. Mrs. Klaus began to gain popularity not so long ago, although in fact her role is very important.
Dutch Black Pete
In the Netherlands, the main wizard is Sintaklaas, and his only assistant is Black Pete. This rather exotic character is either a chimney sweep or an Ethiopian - it's hard to understand. He always accompanies the wizard and carries with him a special book, which records all the deeds of children for the year. Black Pete punishes the kids for bad actions, and of course encourages them for good ones.
Muori in Finland
In a country like Finland, Joulupukki delivers gifts. The assistant is his faithful wife named Muori. It represents winter, and every Finn is associated with a New Year. Together with her, the wizard is helped by the gnomes who know about all the good and bad deeds of the kids.
Magic goat in norway
Yulebukk congratulates the children living in Norway on the main winter holiday. He always declares for a holiday on his magic goat, which is engaged in the distribution of gifts. Children, instead of their guests, put oats in their shoes to thank the goat with her favorite treat.