This has been stumping me for a while. As a kid growing up in N. America, every holiday season I’d watch the old cartoon classics such as the Rudolph story, Frosty the Snowman, the Baby New Year deal, and some wacked-out tale about a guy in a German village ruled by the evil Burgermeister who hated kids and toys or whatever. Lo and behold, local craftsman Kris Kringle happens along in a red suit and starts dropping toys down chimneys at night and everyone is happy. Ta da. Santa story…sorta.
Now - I am not about to challenge the veracity of this story from a historically correct angle, for sure, but my problem is as follows…
Not a single German person I know of has ever heard of this story. I’ve even been to Germany and threw the subject out and got nothing but blank stares (risky I know but it was Oktoberfest and everyone seemd to be in a decent mood - i ended up looking not as foolish as one might suspect)
I’m Canadian and I heard the whole arctic-circle-is-Santa’s-home thing, and the Rudolph story. Not to suggest it’s true but at least I’ve heard the story that is supposed to come from my neck o the woods.
Why would a story be created for a North American audience that apparently selected Germany as a setting arbitrarily? Was it because in the era people were accustomed to Germans = badguys and the burgermeister was therefore easily cast in such an unfavorable light?
I’ve never heard this Burgermiester story. Are you sure it comes from the U.S.? Maybe it was a story from a book that only sold 38 copies and you got hold of one.
kniz, he’s talking about an animated Christmas show called, I believe, 'Twas the Night before Christmas. It’s been shown on TV in the US every Christmas season for a couple of decades now. It uses stop-motion animation to tell a tale about how Santa Claus came to be.
Paul, I think your guess is right that the Burgermeister was just created out of the post-WWII attitude about Germany as bad guy. And I think most Santa/Father Christmas myths originated in Eastern and Northern Europe, nicht wahr? This isn’t meant to be based on any traditional German story; they just made it up for a TV show.
I don’t have much else to add, other than a few things off the top of my head. For one, I’ve always tended to associate Christmas with Bavaria in my head; images of remote mountain villages, decorated for Christmas, completely covered in snow. I have doubts that image is uncommon, so there’s one German connection. Also, villains in movies are often featured with an accent, and German accents are not uncommon in this, so there’s another semi-explanation, for what it’s worth.
Call me crazy, but I think this probably sold more than 38 copies…
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (1970) Stop-motion special based on the song by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. Narrated by Fred Astaire and featuring the voices of Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, Keenan Wynn as Winter, and Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger. The song “Put One Foot In Front Of The Other” is one of the best remembered songs from the Rankin/Bass holiday shows. The concept of the everything (and everyone) in Meisterbeurger’s town being rendered in black and gray was borrowed for Tim Burton’s vision of New York City at the end of the 18th century in his recent “Sleepy Hollow”.
In the interest on completeness, 'Twas the Night before Christmas was the animated show about the geeky mouse that didn’t believe in Santa Claus but wanted to see how the big clock that heralded Christmas worked. So he climbed up inside and accidently turned things all kerflooey. Then and only then did he understnad the true meaning of Christmas and believe in Santa which enabled him to fix the clock and save Christmas (I think).