Christkind

The Christkind (German "Christ-child", pronounced [ˈkʁɪstkɪnt]) is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of northeastern France, Upper Silesia in Poland, parts of Hispanic America, in certain areas of southern Brazil and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. In Italian, it is called Gesù Bambino, in Portuguese Menino Jesus ("Jesus Boy"), in Hungarian Jézuska ("Little Jesus"), in Slovak Ježiško ("Little Jesus"), in Czech Ježíšek ("Little Jesus"), in Latin America "Niño Dios" ("God Child") or "Niño Jesús" ("Jesus Child") and in Croatian Isusić or Isusek ("Little Jesus").

Promulgated by Martin Luther, explicitly to discourage the figure of St. Nicholas, at the Protestant Reformation in 16th-17th-century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. A gift-bringer familiar to children in Central Europe, the Christkind bears little resemblance to the infant of Bethlehem. The Christkind was adopted in Catholic areas during the 19th century, while it began to be gradually replaced by a more or less secularized version of Saint Nicholas, the Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas, Santa Claus) in Protestant regions.