The spirits of Yuletide

The huge diversity of personifications, spirits, deities, and other entities that are associated with Yule and Christmas is astonishing. There are multiple versions of Father Christmas (aka Santa Claus); there’s Krampus, Black Peter or Sooty Piet, Perchta, Lucia, Frau Holle, Befall, the Yule Goat, the Yule Cat, and many more. Not forgetting the three Dickensian ghosts from A Christmas Carol, and the spectral protagonists of many a festive ghost story.

Old Father Christmas (England)

Old...