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→Some Well Known Traditions
However, other religions and cultures influenced traditions and elements surrounding Santa Claus. Wodan, an important Norse/Germanic god, is an inspiration for several aspects of Santa Claus. Wodan would ride in the sky during the period of Yule which is somewhat similar to Christmas. Santa's reindeer live in and around the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia like Wodan. The god also had a long white beard. Santa Claus is, in essence, a Turkish/Germanic/Nordic hybrid.
In 1809, Washington Irving's <i>History of New York</i> merged different traditions of the English Father Christmas and Dutch <i>Sinterklaas</i> that had developed over time to give a more modern version of Santa Claus. What made modern Santa Claus was the 1821 poem that is now know to us as 'The Night Before Christmas,' which characterizes the figure, describes his reindeer, and gives the story of him dispersing presents to children (Figure 1).<ref>For more on Santa Claus and his origins, see: Urban, C. W. (2011).<i> Nicholas: the Fantastic Origin of Santa Claus</i>. Booklocker.com, Inc. </ref>
[[File:1870 ChristmasTree byEhninger HarpersBazaar.jpeg|thumb|left|300px|Figure 2. Christmas trees were first decorated with candle lights.]]
