Belsnickel, Santa, and American Mumming Belsnickel AKA Pelsnickel is a Wildman gift giver from German folklore. He arrived to America with the PA Dutch. They and other German immigrants from Eastern Canada to the mid-Atlantic US began to celebrate "Belsnickeling" a kind of American Mumming. The tradition largely died out in the area. mostly due to attacks by the NAACP and the East Coast upper class. Decrying the noisy celebrations and accusing the Belsnickel of being Blackface. The tradition of Belsnickeling continues to this day in both the PA Dutch and in the Eastern provinces of Canada. Belsnickel is considered one of if not the original origin of American Santa Claus, with the Name "Kris Kringle" being derived from Belsnickels gifts known as "Grisht-kindle". While Belsnickel is often translated as Nicholas in Furs, an obscure German word for elf may lead to his name being "Hairy Elf" which befits this rather burly origin of the "Jolly Old Elf".-TLK