AMANITA MUSCARIA

AND THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS

• Christianity related the tradition to the 4th
century Turkish bishop, Saint Nicholas of
Bari, who was inspired the character of
Santa Claus, since he used to give gifts to
those in need and especially to children.

• “A cheerful, playful and at the same time

realistic Santa Claus” was the commission
that Coca-Cola gave the illustrator Haddon
Sundblom, in 1931.
the Kamchadales and the Koryaks of
Siberia
AMANITA MUSCARIA
(FLY AGARIC)
• Conveniently, they grow most commonly under
pine trees, so the shaman would often hang them
on lower branches of the pine. As an alternative,
he would put them in a sock and hang them over
the fire to dry.
• Another way to remove the fatal toxins was to
feed them to reindeer— and then get his urine.
• The legend had it that the shaman and the
reindeer would fly to the north star (which sits
directly over the north pole) to retrieve the gifts
of knowledge, which they would then distribute to
the rest of the village.
 He’d climb up to the roof with his
bag, go to the hole in the center of
the roof that acted as a chimney,
and slide down the central pole that
held the yurt up over the fireplace.
Victorian times in England, the traditional symbol of chimney sweeps was a fly agaric
mushroom — and many early Christmas cards featured chimney sweeps with fly agarics.