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Santa Claus, elves, and reindeer! Posted by on Dec 20, 2013 in Culture

As the Christmas holiday quickly approaches (Christmas is on December 25th) I thought I’d take some time to write about an iconic figure at Christmas time: Santa Claus. I am also including information about some other characters associated with Santa Claus. Enjoy!

Santa Claus – A legendary and historical figure in western cultures, who is known for bringing gifts to children the night before Christmas. Santa Claus is generally depicted as a large, round, older man, with a white beard and mustache, and rosy cheeks. He is usually thought of as kind and jolly*. He usually wears a red suit and carries his gifts around in a large sack or bag. Santa Claus is known by many names in English, including: Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, and Santa.
Mrs. Claus – Mrs. Claus is Santa’s wife, of course. She is known for making cookies and generally being a kind, older women, who looks after Santa Claus. Mrs. Claus also usually wears red, just like her husband.
The elves** – Christmas elves are small people who work for Santa Claus making gifts in his workshop. Christmas elves usually wear green or red clothing, pointy-toed shoes and long pointy hats. They also have pointed ears (like most elves). They are known for working hard at making toys for Santa Claus to give to children on Christmas Eve.
The reindeer – Reindeer are animals, like deer, but they tend to live in very cold climates. Santa Claus is known for having nine reindeer that all fly! They carry him around in a magic sleigh on Christmas Eve so he can deliver presents to children all over the world. Santa’s reindeer are named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

 

The North Pole – Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, the elves, and reindeer are all reported to live in the North Pole, where they work all year long making gifts.

 

*jolly = happy or cheerful
**elves = elves are supernatural creatures from folk tales, that are usually small with pointed ears and magical powers (the singular form of this word is “elf”)

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About the Author: Gabriele

Hi there! I am one of Transparent Language's ESL bloggers. I am a 32-year-old native English speaker who was born and raised in the United States. I am living in Washington, DC now, but I have lived all over the US and also spent many years living and working abroad. I started teaching English as a second language in 2005 after completing a Master's in Applied Linguists and a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults' (CELTA). Since that time I have taught ESL in the United States at the community college and university level. I have also gone on to pursue my doctorate in psychology and now I also teach courses in psychology. I like to stay connected to ESL learners around the world through Transparent Languages ESL Blog. Please ask questions and leave comments on the blog and I will be sure to answer them.


Comments:

  1. Bao(storm):

    Hello,
    My name is Bao,I live in Vietnam.I love english so much and myself study english and try each day.very difficu but very happy and smile when I wrong english and again.Hope all friend helpful future.I am an engineer but I want to learn english and teaching english help kid and people I love kid so much.I wish I can do English.Have a good day.
    Bao

    • gabriele:

      @Bao(storm) Bao,
      Welcome and I hope you are enjoying the blog. Keep reading (there are new posts a few times a week) and if you have questions feel free to ask them in the comments section.
      -Gabriele