# Why Santa Claus is nicknamed "Kris Kringle" in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775 "2000-11-11T06:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/1 "2000-11-11T06:23:08Z")
Im from France where we has Pere Noel and, I know Santa Claus is shorté for Saint Nicholas but, where does he get the name Kris Kringle? Je ne pas comprende. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/2 "2000-11-11T06:38:42Z")
Actually, Kriss Kringle isn’t Santa Claus. The name actually means “Christ child” in, I believe, Dutch ( **Coldfire** , could you lend a hand here?). According to some legends, Jesus doesn’t relegate the gift-giving to Santa, but does it himself. Once the legend got to America, though, it got a bit mangled, and folks figured that Kriss Kringle was just another name for St. Nick. By the way, welcome to the Straight Dope! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/3 "2000-11-11T07:14:24Z")
Soyez le bienvenu, **Uniball**! We need more French people here. “Kristkindlein” or “Christkindlein” means “little Christ child” in German. The Lutheran church may have invented the idea of the Christ Child delivering presents, because they wanted to downplay the importance of saints like St. Nicholas (Sinter Klaas in Dutch). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/4 "2000-11-11T07:27:14Z")
> [@](#): > > In the [Martin] Luther household, there were gifts for the children from St. Nicholas till 1545 when they came from the HolyChild - the Christkindl (Kris Kringle). > source: [http://www.seanet.com/~eldrbarry/heidel/grinch.htm](http://www.seanet.com/~eldrbarry/heidel/grinch.htm) Christkindl (and many variations of the name) is known in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/5 "2000-11-11T07:43:15Z")
There are a lot of sources on the web to help you. The explanation I have heard for Kris Kringle is found at the following websight:[ul][ALL ABOUT SANTA CLAUS](http://www.religioustolerance.org/santa.htm).[/ul] > [@](#): > > St. Nicholas was superseded in much of Europe by Christkindlein, the Christ child, who delivered gifts in secret to the children. He traveled with a dwarf-like helper called Pelznickel (a.k.a. Belsnickle) or with St. Nicholas-like figures. Eventually, all three were combined into the image that we now know as Santa claus. “Christkindlein” became Kriss Kringle. Hope that answers your question. ~~Baloo ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/6 "2000-11-11T07:53:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uniball \* > \*\*Im from France where we has Pere Noel and, I know Santa Claus is shorté for Saint Nicholas but, where does he get the name Kris Kringle? Je ne pas comprende. \*\* Je ne comprende pas. Especially about the shorte bit. (Don’t know how to do the accent aigu - sorry.) How sad, I don’t know the Kris Kringle thing (except that I think it is something that was only invented for a film/movie - one of those nice feel-good films, and I also find that I don’t know even a basic bit of French, so I am quite ignorant on both counts. All the same, I do wonder about the French language phrase in the O.P. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/7 "2000-11-11T12:46:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Don’t know how to do the accent aigu - sorry. The é is made by using ALT 0233. ---
**Author:** ![Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/8 "2000-11-11T14:07:39Z")
I think the name Kriss Kringle was used in the film Miracle on 34th Street and that’s where whoever is two messges above me is thinking of… ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-santa-claus-is-nicknamed-kris-kringle-in-america/40775/9 "2000-11-11T15:25:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Don’t know how to do the accent aigu - sorry. > > The é is made by using ALT 0233. > \*\* I remember hearing Kris Kringle’s mention in two times. During a Master Thespian bit in Saturday Night Live with Jon Lovitz, and during a part of Weird Al song The Night Santa Went Crazy.