Legendary Christmas gift-bearing figures including Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christkind, and Saint Nicholas are also often said to depart for their annual journey to deliver presents to children around the world on Christmas Eve, although until the Protestant introduction of Christkind in 16th-century Europe, such figures were said to instead deliver presents on the eve of Saint Nicholas' feast day (6 December).
Legendariske julegavebringere såsom Julemanden, Fader Jul og Sankt Nikolaus, siges også at tage afsted på deres årlige rejse for at give gaver til børnene over hele kloden Juleaften, selvom man indtil protestantismens introduktion af Christkind i det 16. århundredes Europa, sagde af disse personen leverede gaverne på Sankt Nikolaus' dag, den 6. december.