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, Arizona its remailing service opportunities and, as of 2005, all U.S. mail addressed to Santa Claus is sent to Santa Claus, Indiana. In 2006, Santa Claus, Arizona, was noted as being abandoned and likely to become another lost American highway icon. In that same year, videographer Matt McCormick retraced and filmed the steps of his family road trip through Santa Claus in 1956. The resulting three-minute movie, "Fifty Years Later" (2006), included clips of Santa Claus in 1956 and comparison clips from the town in 2006. Presented at the 2007 Northwest Film and Video Festival, the film reveals the significant changes