In many parts of Germany the secret delivery of gifts on Christmas Eve is attributed not to Santa Claus but to the Christkind (“Christ Child”)—or, in diminutive form, Christkindl. The idea that the baby Jesus is responsible for such a service originated with the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who wanted to shift the association of gift giving away from St. Nicholas. Up until this point in history, gifts were exchanged in St. Nicholas’s name on his feast day, December 6; this was the major gift giving holiday, which children especially looked forward to. Luther, however, promoted December 24 as the primary date of gift giving, to link the receiving of good things with the receiving of the greatest thing: God in Christ, a savior.
Since Luther’s time the popular conception of the Christkindl has evolved from a little blonde-haired boy (a Germanized Jesus) into a feminine angel, whose relationship to Jesus is unclear. Some say the Christkindl is a messenger of Jesus; others say she is simply one who demonstrates Christ-like virtue. The angelic representation of the Christkindl likely arose as a combination of characters from nativity plays and Christmas parades, in which the Christ child is attended by angels.
On Christmas Eve night children are told to wait in their rooms for the arrival of the Christkindl, who announces her 
delivery by ringing a bell. By the time the children run out of their rooms to greet her, she is gone, and the living room is filled with freshly laid gifts, which the children proceed to open right then (rather than waiting till the morning, as in America). In some homes it is the Christkindl who sets up the family Christmas tree, or is at least the one who decorates it.
Like Santa Claus, the tradition of the Christkindl is just as readily embraced by nonreligious families as by religious ones. Also, even though the figure was conceived as a reaction against the Catholic veneration of saints, Catholics have latched on to it and are now one of the foremost groups to observe the Christkindl’s coming.
In vintage Christmas postcards (ca. 1880–1920) from Germany and surrounding countries, there are a range of visual interpretations of the Christkindl. Gender is one variable, though female is the predominant choice. The age of the Christkindl also varies, from about two years old to twenty-two. Her head may be adorned with a star headband, holly, a halo, or some combination of the three.
One constant in the iconography is the Christkindl’s journey through a snowy landscape, bearing gifts. Sometimes she is
shown as a wingless human with a hooded fur coat. But more frequently she is shown as an angel. Often she is accompanied by a deer who helps her carry a 
basketful of fruits and toys and a Christmas tree. Sometimes, though, she pushes her goods in a wheelbarrow. When she arrives at a destination house, she may enter through a window or through the front door. Either way, she is quiet and stealthy, so as to avoid being noticed. Occasionally she is assisted by one or more other angels, with no apparent hierarchy between them. On other occasions she clearly exercises leadership over a team of . . . elf-angels?