12/16/14

We Call Her Mrs. Claus

Have you ever wondered about Mrs. Claus?  Things like what is her first name?  Where and how did she meet Mr. Claus...aka Santa?  Did they have little Clauses?  What color was her hair before it turned white?  You know the usual things people wonder about others.  Oh, you don't do that?  Hmmmm...I guess it's just me! 
Things you might not know about Mrs. Claus:
~First mentioned in a short story "A Christmas Legend", 1849, by James Rees.
~She is best known for making cookies. 
~She is a reindeer veterinarian.
~She is Santa's Bookkeeper.
~Her first name might be Mary, Jessica, Layla, Martha, Gretchen or Santarina.  No one knows for sure.
~Generally depicted as a fairly heavy-set, kindly, white-haired elderly lady.  When not portrayed as elderly and white haired, she is a 'Red Head'.  This is thought to be because red/ginger hair is the color that most commonly fades to white with age.
  
Today Mrs. Claus is commonly seen on greeting cards, in knick-knacks like Christmas tree ornaments, dolls, and salt and pepper shakers....hmmm...that sounds like my collection.  She has appeared in storybooks, in seasonal plays, pagents, parades, and in department store's Santa Lands.
In movies and on television programs and live animated films dealing with Christmas, her personality tends to be fairly consistent as being calm, kind and patient.  This is often in contrast to Santa himself, who can be prone to acting  overly exuberant.
 
I KNEW it!!!  It is NOT just ME!!!  There are others who wonder about such things as "Little Clauses". 

Mr. and Mrs. Claus had a daughter!  At least that is the general consensus of 19th Century story authors, screen play writers, singers and other character developers.

 Her name is Kitty Claus, Holly Claus, Kristin Claus, Rudolfa Claus, Mary, and Annie Claus.  Don't think Santa and the Mrs. escape being parents of a teenager...her name was Jingle Belle.

A number of female singers have appeared in Santa daughter costumes for clips or shows.   Can you picture Mariah Carey and Katy Perry as Santa's Girls?  Other singers have put on the Santa Daughter Suit  to perform 'Jingle Bell Rock' and 'Santa Baby'.

Probably the most definitive and compelling proof of Mrs. Claus' existence comes from It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown.  Charlie Brown's sister Sally writes to Santa and asks, "How is your wife?"   There ya go....Charles Schulz said so.

And if that is not enough...she is listed on Ancestry.com and fits the Profile perfectly.
Best of all...she bakes cookies and brings them to my house year after year!
We call her Mrs. Claus.
We are kind of Christmas Traditionalist that way!

6 comments:

  1. Hi Sue .. lovely .. I hadn't heard those stories ... but I'd Mrs Klaus does the shopping too!! Love the various photos you've given us ... cheers and have a wonderful build up to next week .. Hilary

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    1. Wow...can you imagine her Gift List...all those elves to shop for and finding Santa's size. Reminds me there are only 8 more Shopping Days.

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  2. The knick-knacks and ornaments are lovely.

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    1. Thanks Wendy....I'm a knick-knack nut, but have cut way back over the last few years. Like how many kissing Clauses can you fill with salt and pepper.

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  3. I admit to probably taking Mrs.Claus for granted as far as back story. But I always figured that her behind the scenes work is what makes Santa Claus so successful

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  4. I think you are right! It's the behind every man stands a woman thing!

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