You've heard of the goddess of spring and Old Man Winter, of course.

They're the characters that serve as the physical embodiments of the seasons they're named for.

The goddess of spring with her flowing dress and flower garland crown, often accompanied by birds.

Old Man Winter with his long white beard and frosty breath.

Less familiar are figures like Anya, the goddess of summer in Celtic lore,

or Thinaporan, the goddess of autumn from Greek myth. There are many others like them from cultures

all around the world, whether there's some kind of deity or spirit or character. There's one in

particular from ancient Slavic mythology, a wintertime character who may have remained lesser known to the broader world,

a regional folkloric figure, had it not been for a series of events that started in the

19th century, continued into the early 20th with the formation of the Soviet Union, and continues

on today.

Dead Moros, or Grandfather Frost, went from folk tale to fairy tale,

from Beloved Symbol of Christmas to exile and then back to Beloved Symbol,

all in surprisingly short order.

It's a story of ups and downs set against the backdrop of a violent social and political revolution

and which resulted in a strange stint as the

Soviet Santa Claus. I'm Brian Earle. This is Christmas Past.

Dead Moros, and I know that's not an authentically Russian pronunciation, came from the same

sort of folkloric tradition that brought us the images

of Father Christmas and the modern version of Santa Claus. If you squint, you could almost mistake

him for Santa. Fur suit, yes. Long flowing white beard, yes. But there are a few differences. His fur

suit is one of long robes, often blue and white.

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