Santa Claus

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa is a mythical figure with historical origins who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of well-behaved, "good" children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December). The modern Santa Claus is derived from the British figure of Father Christmas, the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, and Saint Nicholas, the historical Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra. During the Christianization of Germanic Europe, this figure may also have absorbed elements of the god Odin, who was associated with the Germanic pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.

Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children. Images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books and films.

Here Comes

Here Comes EP is an EP from the album Up from Below by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Track listings

All songs written and composed by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. 

Here Comes Santa Claus

"Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a Christmas song originally written and performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original version was a top-10 hit on the pop and country charts; the song would go on to be covered many times in the subsequent decades.

Autry got the idea for the song after riding his horse in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade (now the Hollywood Christmas Parade) in Los Angeles, during which crowds of spectators chanted, "Here comes Santa Claus". This inspired him to write a song that Haldeman set to music. Autry's lyrics combined two veins of the Christmas tradition, the mythology of Santa Claus and the Christian origin of the holiday (most explicitly in its mention of the nativity promise of "peace on Earth"). A demo recording was made by singer/guitarist Johnny Bond, whose recording made use of ice cubes to mimic the sound of the jingling sleigh-bells. This inspired the use of real sleigh-bells in Autry's own recording of the song.

Santa Claus Lane

Santa Claus Lane is the debut studio album by American singer Hilary Duff. It was released in the United States on October 15, 2002, by Walt Disney Records. The holiday album contains covers of Christmas songs, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Last Christmas". The album also features guest appearances from Christina Milian, Lil' Romeo and Duff's sister Haylie. Santa Claus Lane peaked at the second position of Billboard magazine's Top Heatseekers and Top Kid Audio charts, and peaked at the 154th position on the Billboard 200. It has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies to retailers. While in Japan in peaked at number 134 on the Oricon chart. Santa Claus Lane received mixed reviews by music critics, who considered the album to not be a Christmas album despite its promotion as such. The title song was featured in the 2002 film The Santa Clause 2.

Background

In 2001, Duff gained fame through her starring role in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire. She became interested in pursuing a music career after attending a Radio Disney concert in 2001. "There were all these pop acts backstage at the concert," Duff explained. "They were all getting ready backstage and warming up, and I was like, 'I want to do this so bad.'" One day, Duff met Andre Recke, who would soon become her manager. She told him of her interest in becoming a singer and briefly performed for him. This prompted him to tell her, "I want to work with you." Recke said of his encounter with Duff, "When I met Hilary, I knew she had something special. Sometimes you just have that feeling, that, 'Wow, she's a star.'"

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Adam DeVine, Ben Platt, John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks. The plot follows Barden University's all-girl a cappella group, The Barden Bellas, as they compete against another a cappella group from their college to win Nationals. The film is loosely adapted from Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book, titled Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Filming concluded in December 2011, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The film premiered in Los Angeles on September 24, 2012. Released on September 28, 2012 in the United States, the film received positive reviews from critics. It became a sleeper hit and earned over $115 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing music comedy film of all time behind School of Rock. A sequel, Pitch Perfect 2, was released on May 15, 2015 and was more financially successful than its predecessor, earning over $286 million worldwide and beating the record set by School of Rock as the highest grossing music comedy of all time. Another sequel, Pitch Perfect 3 was confirmed on June 10, 2015 and is set to be released on August 4, 2017.