Santa And His Helpers

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s dance down nearer hands joined, cast up round 3s to 2nd place own side (2s step up 3-4); 2s+1s+3s turn partner 1½ right hand staying in middle ready for...
9-16 All dance Allemande, Bars 15-16: 1s set pulling back LSh to face opposite sides
17-24 1s+Corners set as Double Triangles (4 bars), 1s dance 12 diagonal reel of 4, RSh to 3rd corner to start and end in Double Triangle position, 1M facing up, 1L facing down
25-32 1s+Corners set as Double Triangles (4 bars), 1s dance ½ diagonal reel of 4, RSh to 4th corner to start
33-40 1s dance reels of 3 on own sides, LSh to 3rd corner to start (1M up, 1L down). 213

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Santa And His Helpers - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

His image and story developed from the folklore surrounding Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop renowned for generosity and secret gift-giving. Over time, this figure merged with Father Christmas in England and similar traditions across Europe, producing the modern character recognised today.

Santa is usually portrayed as a stout, cheerful man with a white beard, dressed in red clothing trimmed with white fur, wearing a black belt and boots, and carrying a sack of presents. The popular depiction was shaped in the United States during the nineteenth century, influenced by Dutch settlers who brought the legend of Sinterklaas to New Amsterdam. The 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas described him arriving in a sleigh drawn by flying reindeer, establishing many features of the modern image. Later illustrations by Thomas Nast in the 1860s reinforced the association with the North Pole and the familiar red suit.

Santa's helpers are central to the tradition. In North America and much of Europe, elves are said to work in his workshop, making toys and preparing gifts. These elves are often imagined as small, industrious beings who assist in the organisation and production of presents. The reindeer, first named in the 1823 A Visit From St Nicholas - Poem, are depicted as pulling Santa's sleigh through the sky. Their names include Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen, with Rudolph added in 1939 through a story written for Montgomery Ward and later popularised in song.

Different cultures have their own versions of helpers. In the Netherlands and Belgium, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by figures known as Pieten, while in French and Swiss traditions he is joined by Père Fouettard or Schmutzli, who were originally tasked with punishing misbehaving children. In Germanic folklore, earlier winter gift-bringers included the Yule goat and figures linked to Odin, whose long beard and midwinter rides may have influenced later depictions of Santa.

Santa's household has also expanded in modern accounts. Mrs Claus, first mentioned in American writings of the mid-nineteenth century, became a regular character by the late nineteenth century, often portrayed as managing domestic life at the North Pole. Stories and popular culture frequently describe Santa's residence as a workshop or village, staffed by elves and surrounded by snow.

The image of Santa and his helpers has been reinforced through literature, advertising, films, and charitable traditions. From the Salvation Army's fundraising Santas to department store grottos, the character has become a central part of Christmas celebrations.

Talking of image; Santa Claus was depicted in a variety of colors during the 19th and early 20th centuries, with green often associated with the British Father Christmas tradition and its ties to nature. In the United States, illustrator Thomas Nast helped shape the modern image by gradually shifting Santa's coat from tan to red in his Harper's Weekly drawings beginning in the 1860s. The choice of red also reflects the robes of St Nicholas, who was a bishop. Coca-Cola later reinforced this red-suited image through its advertising, but the color was already well established long before their campaign.

Santa is now almost universally depicted in red, with green and other colors surviving only as historical or alternative traditions. The red suit has now become so ingrained in popular culture that seeing Santa in any other color looks unusual.

Santa's helpers - usually imagined as elves - are still most often depicted in green outfits, sometimes accented with red or other festive colors. The green links them to woodland folklore, while the red ties them visually to Santa himself.

Joyeux Noel, Santa In A Purple Robe, Being Pulled On A Sled By Two Elves, c. 1900-1910

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