Santa Sold Shrooms
The Origin Story Of the World’s Most Famous Person
By Tero Isokauppila
Once you unwrap this humorous and mystical story of Santa Claus, you will forever celebrate a new, but historic view of our most famous character known to people around the world.
The story is told by the fireside, to a young daughter, by her father. However, the story was first told to the dad by his mother, who soon joins in to narrate the full story to both her son who has forgotten some details and the granddaughter who can’t get enough of this classic tale.
The father, Sven, explains to his daughter that Saint Nicholas was actually a Turkish bishop who was famous for secretly giving gifts to those in need. The legend then spread to Western Europe, where the person known as Saint Nicholas would later become Santa Claus.
The daughter, 10 years old, having known this story, points out St Nick was based on an old story about ‘Old Man Frost.’
The father goes on to tell the tale as his well-versed daughter corrects him or adds details to this classic story.
However, Dad has a few informational tricks up his sleeve and teaches his excited daughter new insights of the story's origin.
Santa was the spiritual leader of the Sami people. The Sami believe all things have a spirit. Santa was considered to be a shaman by the Sami. He performed solstice ceremonies at everyone's house. For these ceremonies, Santa would use nature's pharmacy to become the bridge to the underworld.
Here we discover that the Sami winter ceremony is the ancestor of Christmas. It became known as Joulu, which then became Yule in German-speaking areas, which later turned into what we all know now as Christmas.
However, when telling the story, Sven left out some details that his mother, Grandma Mamma Brigitta, a crazy hippie grandma, would pop into the room to help fill in the gaps. The pharmaceutical that nature would provide for the ceremonies, a detail that Sven left out when telling his daughter the story, was the mushroom Amanita muscaria.
Much like a present, the mushroom grew under spruce and pine trees, which would be picked and then dried on branches. The shaman would then bring the magical mushroom home and complete the drying process by hanging them in socks over the fireplace.
Mamma Brigitta would go on to explain how the reindeer that roamed the land of the Sami also had a diet of amanita mushrooms, and this gave them the ability to fly. It also gave the people of Sami the ability to fly, along with their shaman.
When it comes to Santa Claus coming down the chimney, Mamma Brigitta said that the Sami lived in homes, huts called kotas, that in the winter, only had one entrance, which was the fireplace opening at the top. There was a ladder leading up and out of or into the kotas. This is where the shaman would come down into their homes and perform the ceremony.
Here is where Mamma Brigitta takes over telling the story from her son and correlates Santa Claus, Jesus, and the use of magical mushrooms. I don’t want to give away the complete story so that you can continue this journey and share the magic of Christmas with the family members you love about a holiday and a character that has become known around the world and is celebrated every winter season.
You don’t have to be a psychonaut or even a person who celebrates Christmas to enjoy this book. Whether or not you are, I highly suggest you pick this book up and take the trip yourself and find out the (possible) genuine history of Ol’ Saint Nic. Take it from me, this book is worth RAVING about!
You can pick up a copy of Santa Sold Shrooms by Tero Isokauppila at Avantpop Bookstore or at avantpopbooks.com
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