Santa Climbing Down the Chimney

About this drawing

Kids often ask how Santa in the chimney could possibly fit, but the idea made perfect sense in the old days. In older homes, the hearth sat at the center of family life. People cooked there, stayed warm there, and told stories there, and the chimney was the one opening that led straight up to the night sky.

That made it the natural doorway for magical visitors. European folk tales told of fairies and household spirits slipping in by way of the fireplace. When the Dutch and German figures of Saint Nicholas blended into the American Santa, he inherited the same route. The 1823 poem we now call The Night Before Christmas sealed it, showing him coming down with a bound and rising back up with a nod.

Santa is hardly the only one who uses this entrance. In Italy, La Befana slides down chimneys on the eve of Epiphany. In the Basque Country of northern Spain, a jolly charcoal burner named Olentzero is said to do the same, which suits a man already covered in soot. As fireplaces disappeared from many modern homes, families came up with fresh explanations, such as a magic key left on the doorstep. Whatever the method, the excitement of hearing a soft thump from above remains the best part.

• santa
• chimney
• gift sack
• rooftop