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This is a pop culture idea that has become very popular in neopagan circles despite the history and evolution of Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus being well attested. The source used in the article currently is Margaret Baker, an author who wrote some books on magical gardening and such with no academic credentials I can find, which I don't believe to be appropriate. Here's articles by actual academics on the subject all stating that this idea is modern and inaccurate.

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired by Odin

Odin Isn't Santa Claus - Youtube video by Dr. Jackson Crawford

Concerning Yule Fwinzor (talk) 16:35, 9 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I spent a couple of minutes looking for a source, and found this:

"Meanwhile in England, where he was known as Old Father Christmas – no doubt inspired by the Scandinavian god Odin – Santa Claus was often dressed in green, and wore a holly crown over his head. That pagan figure appeared in numerous Victorian images."

in Prah-Perrochon, Anne. 2015. “The Invention of Santa Claus.” France-Amérique 8 (12): 32–41.

That adds a layer of complexity. St Nicholas doesn't descend from Odin, but Old Father Christmas might, and if Old Father Christmas was grafted on top of St Nicholas to produce "Santa", then there would be some connection there. I think this is going to require more time looking for scholarly sources. WhatamIdoing (talk) 05:55, 11 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The words "no doubt" are doing a lot of heavy lifting there. There is to my knowledge no historical evidence of that whatsoever, in spite of popular belief to the contrary. Old Father Christmas was not a "pagan figure" – he was, as the name suggests, a personification of Christmas. Read the first two or three sections of Father Christmas (I wrote them, relying on proper scholarly sources such as Ronald Hutton). MichaelMaggs (talk) 09:48, 11 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

May also be of interest: an editor wishes to add to Santa Claus's reindeer an assertion that "The original mythical gift-giver portrayed as riding a reindeer-pulled sleigh was probably the Finnish god Ukko." See Talk:Santa_Claus's_reindeer#Finnish_idea_of_reindeer_(not_Odin). MichaelMaggs (talk) 11:12, 11 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@MichaelMaggs, having thought about this for a very small number of minutes, I've come to a conclusion: If you think anything in this article is wrong, I'd be happy to have you remove it (or tag it, if you think it's redeemable). WhatamIdoing (talk) 05:58, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've been thinking about tackling this article for several years, but have always been discouraged by the time it would take. There's just so much to do. MichaelMaggs (talk) 15:50, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

True, but perhaps just fixing up the Santa Claus#Predecessor figures or Santa Claus#History sections would feel more manageable? WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:10, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In New Zealand today we do not leave sherry/beer/mince pies. We are firmly in the milk and cookies camp. No current references in the article point to why it is believed that New Zealand leave sherry/beer/mince pies - this would possible be a historical thing when we were more closely aligned with Britain. 203.109.193.87 (talk) 10:28, 24 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank your for the note. The entire paragraph is unsourced. I can attest that milk and cookies are a think in the US/in my news feed, but I've no idea about British or Aussie traditions. Let's see: @Casliber or @SHB2000, do you happen to know the Australian tradition? Does Santa really get mince pies and alcoholic drinks in Australia? WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:01, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Back as a kid I used to just put milk and cookies too – no idea if it's changed or if it differs by region, not too sure. --SHB2000 (talk) 06:11, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Milk and cookies seem to be the universal Santa treat. Claus driving drunk in New Zealand may be OR. Randy Kryn (talk) 12:40, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Or maybe it was a thing 50–100 years ago, but isn't any longer?

I'm going to remove the uncited claim, though https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-024-08604-w suggests that leaving out a bit of sherry isn't unknown. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:52, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

errr.....carrots? Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 02:52, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I have heard of people leaving carrots out (for the reindeer). WhatamIdoing (talk) 07:23, 29 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Santa isn't a legendary person, it's only a mythological person just like all the other characters listed i nthis article that are similar to hin Viceskeeni2 (talk) 00:38, 26 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Please gain consensus to make that change. The article lead lists him as a legendary person. Also, please review the talk archives for every previous discussion.--☾Loriendrew☽ ☏(ring-ring) 00:57, 26 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Because Santa is partly based on the real-world figure of Saint Nicholas, that makes him a Legend. That is, no matter how much fiction has been larded on top, if you scrape off all the fiction, there is some tiny speck of actual human history inside it. This contrasts with a mythological person, such as a gnome, or a folkloric person, such as the Tooth Fairy, which don't even have a tiny speck of a real human underneath the stories. WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:09, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]