View Full Version : Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny
doodlebug
09-17-2006, 08:47 PM
Are Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny considered myths, fairy tales, or legends? Or could they possibly be all three?
magoo69
09-20-2006, 12:30 PM
I would consider it all 3.
doodlebug
09-20-2006, 03:17 PM
I was just wondering because they are so much a part of American culture, yet they are not commonly mentioned when discussing fairy tales, myths, or legends.
Slashmire
09-20-2006, 08:15 PM
I don't think that anyone would chop your head off if you said they were a Legend instead of a myth or vice-versa, so go with the one you like.
vicki2
09-21-2006, 08:55 AM
All three, I guess. I've always sort of considered them folk tales though. They also vary from region to region and country to country.
TheFolklorist
01-31-2008, 01:25 AM
I would classify Santa Claus as a “legend” because he is based off a real person; St. Nicholas of Myra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas).
The Easter Bunny on the other hand is a bit harder. In Germanic lore there is an “Easter Hase” and some trace the holiday back to the fertility goddess Eostre. I also remember reading in Rosemary Guiley’s The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft about Romanian folklore concerning rabbits and the book having this picture of a female humanoid rabbit totem that was found in England on a fair ground after some gypsies had left. It was kind of creepy looking. Anyway, I would say the Easter Bunny is probably more a product of contemporary folklore than anything else.