Olentzero, a different Santa Claus

Who says Santa Claus has to have red clothes and a big white beard?

Maybe it is a bit late to write about Olentzero, the basque Santa Claus, but it is such a nice tradition, I'll do it anyway. Olentzero comes from the basque village Bidassoa. He is a coalminer. Right before Christmas, he comes down from the mountain to distribute firewood to poor people, to not have anybody freezing during the Christmas celebration.

Today he still comes, riding on a pottok, a small mountain poney, with candy and gifts for the children. From being a local tradition, it now concerns the whole Pays Basque. Children come by groups, singing and asking for money, with Olentzero as a doll on a chair.

There are of course many variations on the story, one for each village...

The first picture shows what he looked like in a shop window in Hondarribia, on the Spanish side of Pays Basque. The second picture comes from Wikipedia.