View source for Santa Claus

{{Character
|title1= Santa Claus
|image1= Santa Claus.png
|caption1= 
|aka= Father Christmas<br>[[Claus-025]]<br>[[Saint Nicholas]]<br>Saint Nick<br>Sinterklaas<br>Fred<br>[[The Hogfather]]<br>The Fat Man<br>The Bringer of Presents<br>The Lurker at Chimneys<br>The Eater of a Billion Cookies<br>The Bearer of Unearthly Gifts<br>The Burzee King<br>The Slayer of the [[Awgwa]]s<br>The Son of [[nymph|Nymphs]]<br>The Ruler of [[Elf|Elves]]
|born=
|died=
|species= Human<br>[[Clockwork Cherub]]
|gender= Male
|residence=
|occupation=
|romantic_partner(s)=
|creator(s)=
|parents=
|siblings=
|first_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time of the Toymaker (novel)|The Time of the Toymaker]]''
|also_seen_in= [[Santa Claus/Appearances|'''''See list''''']]
|copyright= Public Domain
|index= '''''[[:Category:Featuring Santa Claus|See category]]'''''
}}'''Santa Claus''', also known as'''Father Christmas''' or '''Kris Kringle''', who was sometimes conflated with '''[[Saint Nicholas]]''', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'') giving rise to the alternative monikers '''Sinterklaas''' and '''Saint Nick''', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'') and was also given various other titles such as '''the Bringer of Presents''', '''the Lurker at Chimneys''', '''the Eater of a Billion Cookies''' or simply '''the Fat Man''', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas (short story)|A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas]]'') was a figure central to many winter celebrations in many universes. 

According to [[Pythagoras-858]]'s research, Santa Claus was an interdimensional gestalt parasite, who would first implant itself in a given universe as an idea, before attaining physical reality thanks to the belief of children, occasionally taking the place of a sufficiently similar “real person” in the process. Individual '''Father Christmas entities''' were not necessarily aware of how they had come into existence, however, and most were genuinely benevolent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'')

An incarnation of [[Jenny Everywhere]] named "[[Santa-Jenny]]" had some similarities with Santa Claus.{{source}}

== Description ==
=== Nature ===
[[File:Santa Claus Illustration.png|thumb|left|The [[Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]] viewed the interdimensional Father Christmas gestalt as an eldritch and untrustworthy being with potentially malicious motives. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'')]]According to [[Pythagoras-858]]'s research, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time of the Toymaker (novel)|The Time of the Toymaker]]'') as recorded in [[Cupid Fact File]] #1225, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'') Santa Claus was an interdimensional gestalt parasite, who would first implant itself in a given universe as an idea, before attaining physical reality thanks to the beliefs of children, occasionally taking the place of a sufficiently similar “real person” in the process. Individual incarnations of Santa Claus were not necessarily aware of how they had come into existence, however, and most were genuinely benevolent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time of the Toymaker (novel)|The Time of the Toymaker]]'') The Fact File noted that these “Father Christmas entities” were often “benign”, but highlighted that they were typically immune to [[Cupid Love Potion]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'')

In any case, the mythical Santa Claus was sometimes conflated with [[Saint Nicholas]]; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Winter Quests (novel)|The Winter Quests]]'') the Cupids' Fact File listed “Saint Nicholas”, “Saint Nick” and “Sinterklaas” as aliases of Santa Claus/Father Christmas, alongside “Kris Kringle” and less common names such as “Fred” and [[The Hogfather|a partially-redacted moniker]] associated with a [[Hogswatch|variant of the holiday]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'')

As a supernatural entity, saying his name out loud had power, with the [[Parallax Universe]]'s [[Jenny Everywhere (Parallax Universe)|Jenny Everywhere]] once arming herself with an [[Amulet of Unheeding]] to avoid attracting his attention by accident. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Watch the Skies (short story)|Watch the Skies]]'')

=== Physical appearances ===
Santa Claus typically wore a red coat and tusselled hat. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time of the Toymaker (novel)|The Time of the Toymaker]]'') He was described as “the fat man”

== Biography ==
=== Claus-025 ===
{{main|Claus-025}}
Around the time of [[Christmas]] 2019, a [[Clockwork Cherub]] version of Santa Claus began to manifest in the [[Cupid Homeworld]], under the name of ‘Claus-025’. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Christmas (short story)|Father Christmas]]'') He replaced the original Cherub with that serial number, who seemed to be permanently erased from Time in the process. Claus-025 wore the typical Santa hat and had a pack of reindeer, but [[Pythagoras-858]] prevented him from distributing any presents, tackling him and stuffing him in a burlap sack for the duration of the holiday. When Pythe opened the bag again, Claus-025 had dispersed, leaving behind only a few crumbs of chocolate cake and his hat. Pythe banished these to [[the Void]] before releasing the reindeer in a random snowy wilderness. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time of the Toymaker (novel)|The Time of the Toymaker]]'')

=== Allied with the Great Higher-Ups ===
{{main|Santa Claus (A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas)}}
A demonic, [[eldritch horror|eldrithc]], arrogant version of Santa Claus residing in his own pocket dimension had an alliance with the [[Great Higher-Up]]s of the [[925th Universe]]. Known as “the bearer of unearthly gifts, the Burzee King, the slayer of the [[Awgwa]]s, the son of [[nymph]]s and the ruler of [[Elf|elves]]”, he had a single, pointed horn on his head instead of a hat, and it was often bloodied in battle, staining it red. He was in control of hundreds of the benign “[[Santaform]]s” who acted as the Santa Clauses of various universes in [[the Multiverse]], and could assign them at his own whim. He was immortal, and dismissive of mere mortals. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas (short story)|A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas]]'')

=== In the 925th Universe ===
{{main|Santa Claus (925th Universe)}}
The image of Santa Claus existed in the [[925th Universe]], where a TV ad aired every year without fail for [[Kooba Cola]] depicted his face on a Kooba Cola bus. It was unclear whether he was a real being, although as the [[Great Higher-Up]]s were in contact with an [[Santa Claus (A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas)|interdimensional Santa Claus]] who controlled the “[[Santaform]]s” of hundreds of dimensions, it is likely that he was a real being as one of those Santaforms. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas (short story)|A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas]]'')

=== Santaform borrowed by the Man in Grey ===
{{main|Santaform (A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas)}}
On [[Christmas Eve]] 2022, the [[925th Universe]]'s version of [[the Man in Grey (925th Universe)|the Man in Grey]] borrowed one of the [[Santa Claus (A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas)|eldritch Santa Claus]]'s [[Santaform]]s and brought him to the [[M.F.S. office]] to film a Christmas ad for the [[Multidimensional Finders Service (925th Universe)|Multidimensional Finders Service]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas (short story)|A Very Jenny Over-There Christmas]]'')

=== In Reality Z-25 31-H ===
In [[ Reality Z-25 31-H|one world]] Santa Claus was married to Thura Thorsdöttir, “survivor of [[Ragnarök]], last scion of the [[Asgard]].” ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Christmas Special 2021 (comic story)|Christmas Special 2021]]'')

=== In Kim and Professor Awesome's world ===
{{main|Santa Claus (Parallax Universe)}}
In the [[Parallax Universe]], [[Jenny Everywhere (Parallax Universe)|Jenny Everywhere]] once invited [[Professor Awesome (Parallax Universe)|Professor Awesome]] up to the roof on Christmas night to attempt to spot the “flyover” of the figure she referred to as “the bringer of presents… the lurker at chimneys… the eater of a billion cookies”, and, later, as simply “the fat man”. Seemingly wanting to remain inconspicuous, she had borrowed [[Steven Lucas]] and [[Thoth (Morning After)|Thoth]]'s [[Amulet of Unheeding]] and was careful not to say his name out loud. Two presents were indeed supernaturally delivered to the roof, too fast for Jenny or the Professor to see the giftbringer. [[Jenny Cornelius]] was involved, with the Jenny native to this world claiming that she was “the one driving the fat man this year”, although another possible interpretation of events was that no real Santa was involved and both Jennies had set up the situation to restore the Professor's sense of wonder. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Watch the Skies (short story)|Watch the Skies]]'')

=== Other references ===
Some of the inhabitants of [[Dimension Zeta-32-Orangepeel-Grbbrzkwlkglb]], a [[pocket universe]] that served as a refuge for the survivors of a [[Pandimensional war (The Winter Quests)|pandimensional war]] and their descendants, had “cultural memories of magical gift-bringers who travelled in wooden vessels”. However, because they had warded their universe so efficiently, no form of Father Christmas could actually enter it, any more than [[Madame Tarsa|the Toymaker]] or any other powerful interdimensional entity. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Winter Quests (novel)|The Winter Quests]]'')

{{Incarnations of Santa Claus}}
{{Oz Mythos concepts}}
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Humans]]
[[Category:Public Domain Characters and Concepts]]
[[Category:Males]]
[[Category:Magic Users]]
[[Category:Immortals]]
[[Category:Dimensional Travellers]]
[[Category:Clockwork Cherubs]]
[[Category:Members of the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]