In Russia, Santa Clause is known as Father Frost. The Father Frost
character comes from a Russian fairytale titled "Morosko, Father Frost and
the Snow Maiden. This fairytale predates the Santa Claus legend as well as the
Grimm's fairytales.
The Morosko Legend, sometimes spelled Morozko or Mopo3ko
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived an old widower and his
daughter. In due time, the man remarried to an older woman who had a daughter
herself from a previous marriage. The wife's daughter was spoiled and mean,
whereas the husband's daughter was very gentle and kind. The wife only loved her
daughter, and made the other girl work very hard. The poor girl cleaned and
cooked for the wife, and was often beaten as the wife's hatred for her grew. She
found fault with everything the step-daughter did and praised her own daughter
at every opportunity
One day the old woman made up her mind to get rid of the stepdaughter once and
for all. So in the middle of a terrible winter, the wife decided that the girl
should be taken deep into the woods and left there to die. The husband of course
did not want to agree to this and he grieved and wept, but he himself was also
afraid of the woman. So he reluctantly took his daughter into the forest where
he left her. He turned back quickly so that he wouldn't have to see his girl
freeze.
The girl sat helpless and alone under a tree in the snow, with her body
shivering and her teeth chattering! Soon she heard the breaking and snapping of
twigs and branches, and then a voice spoke. "Are you warm my child?" it said.
The girl recognized the ominous voice as that of Morosko(Father Frost) and
replied,"Welcome, my dear Morosko. Yes, I am quite warm," she said, even though
she was cold to the bone.
Morosko repeated his question several times, each time coming closer to the
girl. The girl always answered that she was warm, and then thanked him politely.
At first, Morosko had wanted to freeze the life out of her with his icy grip.
But he admired the young girl's stoicism and showed mercy. He gave her a warm
fur coat and downy quilts before he left.
In a short while, Morosko returned to check on the girl. "Are you warm, dear?"
he asked.
"Welcome again, my dear Morosko. Yes, I am very warm," she said. And indeed she
was warmer. So this time Morosko brought a large box for her to sit on.
A little later, Morosko returned once more to ask how she was doing. She was
doing quite well now, and this time Morosko gave her silver and gold jewelry to
wear, with enough extra jewels to fill the box on which she was sitting!
Meanwhile, back at her father's hut, the old woman told her husband to go back
into the forest and fetch the body of his daughter. "Bring back what's left of
her," she ordered. The old man did as he was told and sadly went back into the
woods. Joy overwhelmed him when he saw his daughter was still alive, wrapped in
a sable coat and adorned with silver and gold!
Upon his return home with his daughter and the box of jewels, his wife looked on
in amazement. The jealous wife then insisted that her own daughter be left in
the forest overnight, hoping that she too would return wealthy.
"Harness the horse, you old goat, and take my own daughter to that same spot in
the forest and leave her there," she said with greed in her eye. The old man did
as he was told.
Again the husband drove deep into the woods, this time leaving his stepdaughter
there. Like the other girl at first, the old woman's daughter began to shake and
shiver. As the night grew long she too heard the voice of Father Frost. "Are you
warm my child?" he asked.
The girl was annoyed with his question and replied,"Are you blind? Can't you see
that my hands and feet are quite numb? Curse you, you miserable old man!"
Morosko was enraged with her reply and sent the coldest frost that there had
ever been.
Dawn had hardly broken the next day when, back at the old man's hut, the old
woman woke her husband and told him to bring back her daughter, adding, "Be
careful with the box of jewels." The old man obeyed and went to get the girl.
When the husband drove into the woods the next day, he returned not with the
girl showered in riches, but with her cold frozen body instead.
A short while later, the gate to the yard creaked. The old woman went outside
and saw her husband standing next to the sleigh. She rushed forward and pulled
aside the sleigh's cover. To her horror, she saw the body of her daughter,
frozen by an angry Morosko. She began to scream and berate her husband, but it
was all in vain.
The man then took his daughter and left his evil wife.
Later, the old man's daughter married a neighbor, had children, and lived
happily. Her father would visit his grandchildren every now and then, and remind
them always to respect Old Man Winter.