What's wrong with "Merry Christmas"?

[Christian Stubø]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Goddlefrood" wrote:
[snip]
> (iv) Eight reindeers - Probably due to Odin's horse having 
> had 8 legs. 

No.  The eight reindeer are due to the 1823 poem "An Account of a 
Visit from Saint Nicolas", otherwise known as "The Night before 
Christmas."  Reindeer have little or nothing to do with giftbringing 
in Scandinavian Christmas tradition.  

In Swedish tradition Santa will have a single sled or toboggan with 
the sack of presents on it, which he most often pulls himself, but 
sometimes a single goat will pull the sled for him.  In Norwegian 
tradition Santa Claus is mostly envisioned with the sack slung over 
his shoulder.  If he uses animals, it'll most often be a horse 
pulling a sleigh, but not flying.

Sleipner has no connection with Jól-celebrations in the Norse 
religion or with later folkloristic elements of Scandinavian 
Christmas.  The tradition of going yulebucking, however, may owe 
something to the two bucks Tanngnjost and Tanngrisne that pulled 
Thor's wagon.  To go yulebucking is somewhat reminiscent of going 
trick-or-treating, though traditionally it was done by adolescents 
and not the younger kids, and one tended to bring a live goat, or 
else someone dressed up as a goat.

> (v) FC's clothing - due to a coca cola advertising campaign 
> of the 1930s, iirc.

A Norwegian newspaper recently noted that New York Times had 
described the uniformity of how Santa Claus was imagined - portly 
man, with white beard, red trousers and coat with fur trimming, and 
black boots - in an article predating the Coca Cola campaign.

Christian Stubø