According to folklore, back before the Germans converted to Christianity, they celebrated Yule, a pagan religious festival, surrounding the winter solstice, that ran from late December to early January. At the time, it was believed that the god Odin the wanderer, or Wodan, would host his annual Yule hunting party with fellow gods and travel the skies at night with his horse, Sleipnir. Children in the villages below, would fill up their boots with straw, carrots or sugar and place them near the chimney so that Sleipnir could come down to eat during his midnight rides. Odin would then reward these kind children by replacing the food with gifts and candy treats. Sounds very similar to Sinterklaas, don't you think. The striking difference between these two legends is in their physical appearance. Odin, like Sinterklaas, was
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