DECEMBER 24, 1969

Today, children everywhere are making preparations for an event of world-shaking significance-- the annual visit of Santa Claus. Informed sources report legions of junior citizens are making monumental efforts not to cry and not to pout. Meanwhile, letters by the thousands have been flooding postal facilities at the North Pole.

Yes, indeed. Hundreds of letters were being delivered from children across the globe. Some of them asked for toys, but a lot of them asked Santa some questions. Some of them included questions about why he wore a red suit, why he comes down the chimney whenever they're asleep, and the list goes on and on. But if you were to ask me, I'd tell you that I can answer all of those questions. You see, I'm kind of an expert on the big man's history. There are a few things you should know, first, though.

You see, Santa is a busy man. He has no time to play. He's got millions and millions of stockings to fill on Christmas Day. So, you better write your letter now and mail it right away. Because he's getting ready with his reindeer and his sleigh.

Now then, with that out of the way, you want to know all about Santa, huh? Well, the best place to start is at the very beginning when Santa was just a little baby. Now, don't sound too surprised. You see, everybody's got to be a baby at least once in their lives. Now, this was many years ago. I believe it was around the late 1890's or so.

It was in the country of Germany, you see. It was during the last known influence of the German Empire. And in that country there was a small city called Sombertown. It was a cold, cold place which shivered in the shadows of the strange Mountain of the Whispering Winds. People were often poor and gloomy and barely smiled at each other. Now, the main reason for all this gloom was the mayor, or the Burgomaster. He was an old, stout balding man with grey hair at his sides. He was a mean old grouch who went by Burgermeister Meisterburger.

One night, he was enjoying a feast of a dish called mutton, which is goat meat, when his second-in-command, Grimsley, burst into quarters with a blanket in his arms.

"Herr Burgermeister! Herr Burgermeister!" he called. "Look what was discovered on your front stoop!"

"What? What, Grimsley?" Burgermeister asked. "The milk? The daily paper?"

"No, sir, a baby."

"Oh, is that all?"

After he heard those words, however, the Burgermeister choked on his mutton before coming to his senses. Grimsley then took out a note that was found with the infant and read it.

"Please, sir, take care of my child and protect him from the dangers of the Mountains of the Whispering Winds. He will be exceptional if only given the love he needs."

The Burgermeister would have none of it, however. He even called the notion outrageous. He was curious about one thing, though: the child's name.

"This is the only clue, sir," Grimsley said, pulling out a dog tag from the blanket. "It says: Claus."

The Burgermeister, however, ordered Grimsley to immediately take the young infant to the orphanage. Grimsley obeyed and was soon on his way there with the baby on a sleigh.

Sometime later, Grimsley was on his way during a snowstorm when the sleigh suddenly broke away and was carried away by the wind. That strange wind blew the little sleigh right up to the Mountain of the Whispering Winds. Many of the animals that saw the sleigh ran after it as fast as they could. They knew that they had to get to the sleigh fast. The reason? Well, you see, the mountain was home to the awful, the terrible-- oh, it's hard for me to even say his name. That mountain was the home of the... Winter Warlock. He was the strange magician of the North.

His only companion was a demon-like creature named Sunset Shimmer. She had deep red skin, moderate cyan eyes, red, bat-like wings and fiery yellow-and-red hair that often blew in the wind. She wore a dress that resembled parts of a flame. The dress was yellow, black and red in color. She also wore black-and-red colored boots and she had a weird yellow-and-red colored tail, as well.

The two of them lived in a ghostly palace of ice, with the Winter Warlock practicing his strange spells and snowy incantations while Sunset delighted in frightening travelers with her ominous otherworldly voice.

That's why the animals knew they had to hide that baby as fast as they could. If the Winter Warlock found him, there's no telling what he would do. Once the Winter Warlock passed, the animals took a sleigh up a mountain with the baby on it and started taking it to where it belonged.

The animals traveled just beyond the mountain to a place called Rainbow River Valley. True to its name, the river was indeed a rainbow. And there, by a bend in the magical stream, was the home of a jolly family of little people. Elves, as we might call them. Kringle was their real name. One of the animals knocked on the door knocker in order for someone to notice the baby. They then ran off so they wouldn't be discovered. The door was answered by an elf named Dingle. Dingle Kringle, to be precise. Dingle was the first one to notice the baby and called for his brothers, Wingle, Bingle, Tingle, and Zingle. All of them were enamored by the baby and took it inside.

They brought it to the elf queen, the incredibly kind Tanta Kringle. There were two teenage-looking girls by her side. Despite looking like teenagers, however, these two girls were actually in their mid-eighties, as they didn't age like you and I do. The one on her right had yellow skin, bright blue eyes and pink hair. She was wearing a bright blue-colored dress and even had flowers in her hair. Her name was Fluttershy.

The one on Tanta's left was named Twilight. She had lavender skin, deep purple eyes, and blue, purple and pink hair in strands, with the primary color being blue. She wore a beautiful purple dress, a purple necklace and glasses, as she had poor eyesight. They too were enamored by the baby.

"A baby! What a splendid idea!" Tanta cooed. "He shall live with us, and sleep with us, and drink warm cocoa with us."

"Aw, he's so cute," Fluttershy cooed as she gently tickled him.

The baby giggled upon being tickled by the kind-hearted girl.

"What will we call him, Tanta Kringle?" Bingle asked.

"His license says Claus," Dingle pointed out as the license came out of the blanket.

"Isn't that a strange name for a baby?" Twilight asked.

"Really strange," Fluttershy nodded. "He must be special in some way."

"He looks like a Kris to me."

"I think that's a splendid name, Twilight," Tanta exclaimed. "Kris Kringle."

The little Kringles cheered. They had a new member of their family, now. And they were going to raise him with the utmost love and care that he needed.

Author's Note

I did not own the Family Home Entertainment version of this Rankin/Bass special, for those who are asking. I owned the Golden Books version on VHS. I currently have the special on DVD in my downstairs family room.

The opening VHS commercials are to give the story a feeling of nostalgia for those who owned the Family Home Entertainment Christmas Classic Series VHS tapes when they were young.