Jack Frost: AKA Santa, Origins
Summary
Jack Frost is the story of Jack Frost, an immortal sprite who is bored and lonely, when he thinks that a human woman named Elisa has fallen in love with him, he gives up his immortality and power to win her love- on the condition that he also has a bag of gold, a horse, and a house by the end of winter.
He is taken in by Elisa’s family, Mama and Pappa. His friends Holly the Snow Gyspsy and Snip the Snowflake Tailor eventually join him, sent down by Father Winter. Jack becomes the town’s tailor and thinks he is winning Elisa’s love- but he had competition, Sir Ravenal Rightfellow, and Kubla Kraus. Sir Ravenal is his immediate competition but Kubla Kraus does manage to kidnap her.
Jack saves her, but has to give up his humanity, and make a deal with Pardon-Me-Pete and Father Winter to keep extending winter. He does eventually defeat and dethrone Kubla Krause, but he is too late. Elisa marries Sir Ravenal, but he does get to kiss the bride.
Location
Jack Frost takes place in January Junction, a Greek town in Northern Bulgaria during Mid 16th Century-17th century, in the second part. The first part is a flash forward to America between 1940 and 1949, which can be seen from the fashion but mainly the cameras, technology.
The purpose of the Flash forward, and flashing back and forth is narrative, but also functional. Jack makes a deal with a Pardon-Me-Pete-esque figure during the Mid 16thCentury-17th Century, a figure which the audience wouldn’t recognize.
So instead it’s updated to the much more recent groundhog incarnation of the extended winter superstition figure. And the tradition goes back several thousand years across cultures- in some it’s rain on a certain day, and some it’s a turtle.
You can tell that the figure Jack Frost makes a deal with is from the Ottoman period and era by fashion, and crops. Married women cover their hair, the male peasants wear vests- but Papa finds a penny so he gets a fur one. What places them in Bulgaria is the pumpkins, Bulgaria is known for growing pumpkins. It’s the only crop seen growing.
And why a Greek town? Elisa is a Greek baby name which means God’s oath, or satisfaction, it’s snowing in Bulgaria, Greeks settled up North or on the coast, and eating leavened bread on Christmas? Exactly like Orthodox communion bread?
And speaking of the Orthodox Church, it never explicitly banned the old gods, called them demons- unlike the Swedish Church. The old gods and dieties, and traditions associated with them would have been adapted, however still alive and well. Traditions such as Father Frost, and his grand-daughter Snow Maiden.
The presence of a Cossack, and former presence of oppressive Cossacks- not to mention the theme of taxes, oppression, and legally being able to kill every Christian in town also point to this time period. Christians had to pay an extra tax for being Christian, and were regularly oppressed willy-nilly.
In Christian Europe it was also impossible to just go off and be a knight- however the Ottomans regularly recruited and registered boys of all religion in their domain for fighting age. Sir Reginald didn’t have much of a choice, or any other of the non-existent young men his age, who could have become trained tailors. Seriously, where was January Junction’s skilled young, civilian labor force?
Sir Ravenal’s timing, and the Cossacks leaving, are also major clues. The Polish-Cossack-Tartar War took place between 1666–1671- wars cost money. A crap ton of other wars between Russia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Christians vs Ottomans, also took place in, and around this time.
They involved almost every country on the European Continent, every empire, every part, mercenary companies were formed, recruited, countries hired them- including Sweden. The automotans that Kubla Jug (a reference to him being a jug head, with stupidly names friends, one is a literal dummy) had left to rely on were also 17thcentury inventions.
Analysis
Themes
“Gold, a Horse, a House”, manhood, growing up are major themes. Jack Frost is childish, slightly effeminate, for ever- and when he thinks Elisa love shim he sets out to become a man. His love for Elisa is of course, unrequited. But in the process he learns about sacrifice, and what true love is.
The person you love hardly ever sees it, in fact it goes unnoticed, but you love that person anyway, it becomes an agape type of love.
Symbolism
Taking place in Eastern Europe/The Balkans under Ottoman rule, and having come out during the 1970s, Communism and Oppression are unavoidable.
The robots, iron, accents, and dislike of Kubla Kraus by his own people is an obvious jab at Communism, Joseph Stalin, the man of Steel, specifically. Joseph Stalin also never had pets and didn’t have real friends- just people he scared into submission.
Also his alacrity for causing poverty, war, being generally brutish and ruthless also didn’t help. But the west and God, athat, Sir Ravenal Rightfellow and Jack Frost eventually save her. There’s also a hint of anti-Ottoman, ergo Muslim sentiment.
Kubla Kraus wants to kill all the Christians, who believe in Santa (In this case referring to Saint Nicholas, whose saint day is December 6th). Who also hoards resources, kidnaps people, holds them hostage. Much like Iran and OPEC were doing to the west.
But love, democracy and freedom eventually win, although not Jack. But Jack’s new found happiness, and appreciation for those great American values lives on. And even today, and for long afterwards Jack would fight…what? You forgot that Santa Claus is Greek, the Swedish Army would have been recruiting, making military connections in the region at this time?
Jack Frost is the origins of, Rankin and Bass didn’t make this labor intensive Stop-Motion Christmas special for no reason.
Santa: Origins
Santa, The Military Brat
Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, who was king of Sweden from 1594–1632, and his successors, who could have legally and religiously been allies, trading partners with a Muslim empire, strengthened Swedish Army with mercenaries, he was called the “Golden King”, like a certain knight. And Sweden Wars against Russia and Poland, and acquiring German, Scottish, all kinds of mercenaries.
There was a particular mercenary company called the Stratioti, or Stradioti, who had a few Southern Slavic members (the ethnic group Bulgarians fall under). They were known for light calvary, horse, tactics, and started in the early 16th century.
Whether or not Sir Reginald was a member, or just an ordinary, gold wearing janissary for the Otttomans, Rankin Bass doesn’t come out and say- either way he could have married Elisa, and come into contact with the Swedish, as part of an allied troop exchange.
Give it 7–8 generations, Elisa and Sir Ravenal’s descendants could have ended up in Sweden in a military outpost, town that was Somber, kind of looked like January Junction. And with immigration, there are name changes, or symbolic ones commemorating a people’s victory. And isn’t it weird that Santa always seems to show up around a war?
But why was baby, the people’s victory in Greek, abandoned? Who said, for Kris, which means Christ, Elisa means God’s Oath, to be a young adult in the late 19th century he would have had to have been born in Mid-November between 1851 and 1860.
A time during which, beginning in 1814, Sweden paired down its military. Military officers and mercenaries would have had to move for work, and bringing a baby on a long sea voyage, uncertain, militant journey?
Luckily for the Claus’s there wa starveling for work to be had, the Crimean war started in 1851, and Denmark was hiring. And so many other, non-baby friendly wars happened. Guess who had to stay behind? You’d think after 7–8 generations of loyal service the government would know who your red haired like Papa and blue eyed like Elisa baby was.
Given this timeline, it would make Santa’s birthday, conservatively Mid-November 1851. And being Greek, Bulgarian in origin, his red hair and blue eyes, and Jessica’s, and Ignatius’s, and Yukon- (there are an inordinate amount of magical redheads in the Rankin Bass Universe), would give him magic powers, and longevity.
Specifically because red hair, in combination with blue eyes, is associated with being a wicth, or wizard, a living strigoi. So if Santa died, he’d come back as a dead strigoi, an immortal vampire. Isn’t it weird that dying and aging badly, and magic, aren’t problems for him or his wife? Who he is probably distantly related to, Vikings were known for taking Slavs as slaves.
Given this date, Santa would be 18–21 years old when he came to town, and 22–48 years old in the second half; 67–79 years old when he first showed symptoms of his latent TB; 68–75 years old in “A Miser Brother’s Christmas”, 77–82 years old when he met baby Rudolph; 95–103 years old when he rescued Frosty, and as of 2017, 166 years old.
But since he’s magical this totally explains it, and his miraculous rescue, not freezing to death in winter, the wind, the…Jack Frost isn’t done with Santa yet.
Jack Frost is the Jack S — t
Remember that kiss Elisa got? It was pretty magical, almost like a blessing a promise, a “I’m still here for you”, kind of thing. Sadly, she died, but her line lived on.
Santa is a pretty magical, fantastic guy on his own, but was he getting help? From a certain immortal sprite? There are a few odd instances, and a lot of dumb luck. Wind, as if by magic, and animals, who can see and hear Jack Frost, guide him to safety to a magical, safe Valhalla, and just love him, unlike a certain Kublah Kraus, he gets past the Winter Warlock ridiculously easily, his operations aren’t unencumbered as Santa, he somehow doesn’t freeze to death on Bergermesiter Meisterberger’s door step in Northern Sweden in winter, is practically immortal- Santa is not an ordinary dude.
Also, a penguin just randomly shows up. And he gets a magic suit, wasn’t there someone who used to be a tailor, and maybe could have helped him out a little, like with a habitable location in the North Pole, warned him about the Miser Brothers- who are probably Jack Frost’s siblings, give an ex-warlock some of his magic back.
Providing him with snowmen friends, and sentimentally, girlfriends for the, are also well within Jack Frosts’s range of powers. Along with other more mundane things, like making elves,
From watching the Rankin Bass Series, it is clear that elves and reindeer die. And undergo uniform changes, that hat and color wise (for the boys), are quite similar to a new, mystery tailor. And appearance wise, are blonde, just like transformed snow spirits, or at least ½, fresh young, non-Kringle, and TB proof. Latent TB can become Active TB (never take off your magical, protective, red coat kids. Rewatch Rudolph), what happened to that doctor, Hermey, who looks very much like Jack Snip, got that dentistry boom from somewhere. That the taller, red headed head elf admonished him for.
And with his red hair, he obviously…so much goes down at the North Pole that we just don’t see, potentially killing your adoptive family/staff must have been terrible, and could also affect your personality. Well, the taller elf sounds like the doctor a, the struggles of having mortal elves.
Accidentally killing your staff because you stopped wearing your magical, protective, red coat aside, Jack Frost makes total sense in the Rankin- Bass cannon. It also explains a lot and isn’t some later, mushy addition. In addition to the fact that Santa consistently lives in the same purple walled, castle house, Jack Frost fills a lot of holes, answers a lot of questions, pre and post it’s time frame, when it comes to the Santa story.
Which is just another reason to love it, and appreciate it for what it is. Seriously though, Kris gives Jessica a doll, Papa remarks that Holly is the size of a doll, what, we’re onto you Rankin and Bass.