Santa Claus much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. […] Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild, became a leading player on the Christmas stage." In Finland Santa Claus is called Joulupukki (direct translation 'Christmas Goat'). Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from Church history and folklore, notably St Nicholas (known in Dutch as Sinterklaas), merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the character known to Americans and the rest of the English-speaking
Santa Claus melon Santa Claus melon The Santa Claus melon, sometimes known as Christmas melon or piel de sapo (toadskin), is a variety of melon (family Cucurbitaceae, "Cucumis melo", Inodorus group) originating in Spain that grows to about a foot in length and is oval in shape. It has a thick, green-striped outer rind and pale green to white inner flesh with a mild melon flavour and sweetness close to honeydew melons. It has a blotched green peel after which it is named in Spanish ("piel de sapo" translates as "toad skin"). A closely related melon with the same shape, but with yellow