A number of
Midwinter or
Christmas traditions in
European folklore involve
gift-bringers. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian
hagiography, even before the modern period. In Slavic countries, the figure is mostly
Father Frost. In Scandinavia, it is an
elf-like figure or
tomten who comes at
Yule (and who sometimes also takes the form of a
goat). In Western Europe, the figure was also similar to an elf, developing into
Father Christmas in the modern period in Great Britain. In German-speaking Europe and Latin Europe, it became associated with the Christian
Saint Nicholas.