Santas of Ansalon
Author's Note: This piece is a companion to the article "Celebrations and Festivals" by Stan! Brown, from Bertrem's Guide to the Age of Mortals. Any contradictions and/or retcons are entirely Stan!'s fault, even though this piece was written some years later.
Humans
Humans are boring. Thus, the idea of Santa is of a big, fat git riding around in a sleigh, pulled by reindeer, is utterly ludicrous. It is also about the best the human imagination can come up with. Unfortunately, the other races of Ansalon have picked up on this tradition, to varying degrees.
For the human belief, Santa does not employ elves, however, to create the toys to give away to all the good girls and boys. Many believe he employs gnomes. However, this is merely a false part of the myth, since the majority of gnomes couldn't invent the wheel without screwing it up. Plus, there have been few instances where presents given by parents to their children exploded, killing all in the room.
Elves
The appearance of Santa Claus to the elves of Ansalon is a close approximation to that of Fizban. Or was it Zifnab. One of those old guys who wander around lost, but has a long flowing beard. Elven children will wander the forests they live in, hoping to catch sight of Santa before he returns to his home on Solinari after Yule.
Dwarves
The dwarves believe that Santa Claus does not fly across the sky on Yuletide eve, but burrows through the earth and travels the caves and caverns of the dwarven cities. (Who are these guys kidding?) Many of his presents are made of metals and precious gems. Instead of milk and cookies, dwarven children leave out tankards of dwarf spirits.
Kender
Santa Claus for the kender is an individual that somehow wears even more garishly bright colors than is typical of kender, that is more cheerful than expected, and regards the concept of "handling" as something for amateurs. No, the Santa Claus of kender is a serial thief: stealing the gifts from one kender family, and giving them away to another. True, Santa is only acting in the same manner as all other kender, but Yule is the one time of year where the kender do not "borrow" things from others. And thus, of all the races of Ansalon, only the kender actually have an outright disgust toward Santa.
Of course, with the nature of kender being what it is, these presents will often find their way into the hands of the proper kender children in due time. But that does not make up for the time spent in getting those presents in the first place. If ever captured, the kender promise to torture their Santa Claus by "tickling him 'till he wets himself".
Gnomes
The gnomes do not have a Santa Claus, per se, but they spend the Yuletide season making extra devotions and prayers to the god Reorx, making him as close to a patron saint as one can get on Krynn.
It is also the only time of year when the members of the Toy Makers Committee are allowed out of their part of Mt. Nevermind. Coincidentally, that part of the mountain is also the area that the red dragon Pryo inhabits.
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| Draconians are coming to town! |
Draconians
Draconians are only now coming into their own as a species, and thus their concepts of Yule and Santa Claus are still fairly new. The closest they have is actually their governor, Kang, who is quickly becoming a grandfather figure amongst the new generation of draconians.
The thought that a Sivak draconian could kill Santa Claus and take his form, however, is a disturbing thought. It is also something that has yet to occur to the other races of Krynn, so we won't mention it to them.
Ogres and Minotaurs
Neither the ogres or minotaurs of Ansalon believe in Santa Claus. And they would be as likely to kill him anyways as to accept a gift from the old codger. The only thing ogre and minotaur children would want anyways are weapons of war, and Santa normally doesn't fancy himself as an arms dealer.
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