Secret Santa is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a

gift A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

. The identity of the gift-giver remains a secret until the end when Secret Santas are revealed.

Geography

Deriving from a tradition, the ritual is known as ''Secret Santa'' in the United States and the United Kingdom; as ''Kris Kringel'' or ''Kris Kindle'' in Ireland; as ''Wichteln, Secret Santa'', ''Kris Kringle'', ''Chris Kindle'' or Engerl-Bengerl in parts of Austria; as ''Secret Santa'' or ''Kris Kringle'' in Canada and Australia; as ''Secret Santa'', ''Kris Kringle'', or ''Monito-Monita'' in the Philippines; as ''Angelito'' in the Dominican Republic; as ''Amigo Oculto'' or ''Amigo Secreto'' in Brazil, and as ''Wichteln'' or ''Julklapp'' in Germany. ''Wichteln'' is what a ''Wichtel'', a

wight A wight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more s ...

, does, a good deed. In Poland and the Netherlands, the tradition is not associated with Christmas but with the feast of Saint Nicholas, on the eve of December 5 in the Netherlands, Poland (Mikołajki) and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(Mykolay). In Belgium it is done on Christmas as well. All of these names derive from traditional gift-bringers: the American custom is named after

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, or St Nicholas (Poland and Ukraine), while ''Chris Kindle'' and ''Kris Kringle'' are both corruptions of the original name of the Austrian gift-bringer '' Christkindl'', which means the "Christ Child". Exceptions are the UK (where the traditional gift-bringer is Father Christmas) and the Philippines (which has the

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

). Spain, Portugal and most places in Latin America use ''amigo secreto'' ("secret friend"), ''amigo invisible/invisível'' ("invisible friend"), and also ''amigo oculto'' ("hidden friend") in parts of Brazil.

Related games

Thieving Secret Santa/Stealing Secret Santa/White Elephant/Yankee Swap/Grab Bag

In this completely different game, participants (players) bring one gift each that is potentially suitable or interesting to any of the other participants. The gifts should be wrapped in such a way as to disguise their nature. Ideally, the provider of each gift is not disclosed. Players take turns and can either open a new gift or steal a previously opened gift. This game is more commonly known as the white elephant gift exchange, or Yankee Swap.

Guessing

In this version, each participant brings a gift for their assigned person, along with a letter. This letter may or may not have hints on who the giver might be, depending on the rules participants have established. Each receiver must guess who made the gift.

Secret Casino Santa

In this version, each person buys a gift for a specific amount, not for anyone specifically. Each person also puts a specific amount of money into a pot. Who goes first in gift selection can be determined by random selection. The options are: *Option A: Choose a gift *Option B: Do not choose a gift, and go for money. *Option C: Put your name in to win all the unwanted gifts by those who went for option B. At the end, the gifts that were chosen are opened, and the winner of the money and leftover gifts is drawn.

Conspiracy Santa

In this version, participants engage in a "conspiracy" in which all participants work together to select a gift for a single participant without that participant's direct involvement or knowledge. Conspiracies run concurrently, one for each participant. A common theme of Conspiracy Santa is collectively learning about participants, making it popular for workplaces and schools.

Secret Santa online

The tradition of Secret Santa is also practiced in online communities. Several ''Secret Santa Generators'' tell every participant in a group for whom to buy a gift. This is especially useful for groups that can't meet in person.

References

{{Christmas Christmas traditions Giving Articles containing video clips Santa Claus