Azizi wrote, "Also, I remember reading somewhere that there Saint Nicholas {Santa Claus} has a Black helper who brings bad children stones instead of toys."

The story is from German and Austrian folklore. Saint Nick's assistant is called Krampus (or sometimes Grampus, although Grampus is also the name for a killer whale) and he leaves lumps of black coal for little boys and girls who have been naughty. The whole scenario is to teach children about the Final Judgement, when God the Father (also a white man with a white beard) will welcome the righteous into Heaven, while the Devil (like Krampus, black as an iron kettle) will take the sinners down below. Coal is the perfect symbol for Hell. It is black, it burns, it comes from deep under the ground, and, if it is the high sulphur variety found throughout Europe, it smells really bad when it burns.