Do you believe in the cryptid Father Christmas ?

Is Santa Claus a cryptid?

You may laugh but think about the similarities between Santa and documented  cryptids.

Cryptids tend to be seen in places with difficult terrain where they cannot easily be tracked or seen. -Santa lives in an icy wasteland.

Santa disappears and reappears. There are stories about bigfoot disappearing before people’s eyes and many cryptids are only spotted at certain times of the year when conditions are right .

Santa flies through the air on a sled with flying reindeer. There are many flying cryptids from thunderbirds to mothman.

Then there are his little helpers –the elves. They could be a descendant or offshoot of the Hobbit skeletons that were found in recent years.

He leaves gifts. There are old stories of wildmen who left food for the starving on their doorsteps.

Santa is rather hairy according to many depictions with flowing beard and locks. Ditto are many cryptids.

He has a distinctive cry-Ho Ho Ho. So do many cryptids including a species of giant bat that is said to make a similar noise.

Santa only exists in folklore stories, so do many cryptids until people start to hunt for them. Nearly all cryptids from the Loch Ness Monster to the Yeti are first discovered in old stories when one looks back at the time line.

So Is Santa Claus a cryptid? Probably not as there is no eye witness testimony to back up his appearances that I am aware of (that does not include your parent in a red dressing gown and Santa hat and fake beard leaving presents at the bottom of the bed) but next time someone scoffs at your belief in cryptids, remind them they believed in Father Christmas once so don’t knock belief in the unknown.