document_title: FIFA World Cup awards

question_text: who won the golden ball of fifa 2018

question_tokens: who won the golden ball of fifa 2018

text: FIFA World Cup awards

text: Awards[edit]

text: There are currently five post-tournament awards, and one given during the tournament:[1]

text:
the Golden Ball (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Ball") for best player, first awarded in 1982;
the Golden Boot (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Boot", previously known as the "adidas Golden Shoe" from 1982 to 2006) for top goal scorer, first awarded in 1982;
the Golden Glove Award (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Glove"; previously known as the "Lev Yashin Award" from 1994 to 2006) for best goalkeeper, first awarded in 1994;
the Best Young Player (currently commercially termed as "Hyundai Best Young Player") award for best player under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, first awarded in 2006;
the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team that advanced to the second round with the best record of fair play, first awarded in 1970;
the Man of the Match Award (currently commercially termed as "Budweiser Man of the Match") for outstanding performance during each game of the tournament, first awarded in 2002.

text: Two other awards were given between 1994 and 2006:[2]

text:
The Most Entertaining Team award for the team that has entertained the public the most, during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public;
An All-Star Team comprising the best players of the tournament chosen  by the technical study group.

text: Golden Ball[edit]

text: The Golden Ball award is presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner voted for by representatives of the media. Those who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball awards as the second and third most outstanding players in the tournament respectively. The current award was introduced in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, sponsored by Adidas and France Football, though fifa.com also lists in their player articles as "golden ball winners" Kempes, Cruyff, Pelé, Bobby Charlton, Garrincha and Didi for 1978, 1974, 1970, 1966, 1962 and 1958 respectively.[3] Barcelona is the only club whose players have won the Golden Ball a record 3 times (Johan Cruyff in 1974, Romário in 1994, Lionel Messi in 2014).[4]

text:
Golden Ball[5]

World Cup

Golden Ball

Silver Ball

Bronze Ball

1930 Uruguay

 José Nasazzi

 Guillermo Stábile

 José Leandro Andrade

1934 Italy

 Giuseppe Meazza

 Matthias Sindelar

 Oldřich Nejedlý

1938 France

 Leônidas

 Silvio Piola

 György Sárosi

1950 Brazil

 Zizinho

 Juan Alberto Schiaffino

 Ademir

1954 Switzerland

 Ferenc Puskás

 Sándor Kocsis

 Fritz Walter

1958 Sweden

 Didi

 Pelé

 Just Fontaine

1962 Chile

 Garrincha

 Josef Masopust

 Leonel Sánchez

1966 England

 Bobby Charlton

 Bobby Moore

 Eusébio

1970 Mexico

 Pelé

 Gérson

 Gerd Müller

1974 West Germany

 Johan Cruyff

 Franz Beckenbauer

 Kazimierz Deyna

1978 Argentina

 Mario Kempes

 Paolo Rossi

 Dirceu

1982 Spain

 Paolo Rossi

 Falcão

 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

1986 Mexico

 Diego Maradona

 Harald Schumacher

 Preben Elkjær Larsen

1990 Italy

 Salvatore Schillaci

 Lothar Matthäus

 Diego Maradona

1994 United States

 Romario

 Roberto Baggio

 Hristo Stoichkov

1998 France

 Ronaldo

 Davor Šuker

 Lilian Thuram

2002 Korea/Japan

 Oliver Kahn

 Ronaldo

 Hong Myung-bo

2006 Germany

 Zinedine Zidane

 Fabio Cannavaro

 Andrea Pirlo

2010 South Africa

 Diego Forlán

 Wesley Sneijder

 David Villa

2014 Brazil

 Lionel Messi

 Thomas Müller

 Arjen Robben

2018 Russia

 Luka Modrić

 Eden Hazard

 Antoine Griezmann

text: Golden Boot[edit]

text: The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe Award goes to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. While every World Cup had a ranking of the goalscorers, the first time an award was given was in 1982,[6] under the name Golden Shoe.[3] It was rechristened Golden Boot in 2010.[7] FIFA sometimes lists the top goalscorers of previous Cups among the Golden Boot winners.[8]

text: If there is more than one player with the same number of goals, since 1994 the tie-breaker goes to the player without a penalty goal, if none has a penalty then the tie breaker goes to the person with more assists - with the FIFA Technical Study Group deciding whether an assist is to be counted as such.[9][10] If there is still more than one player, the tie-breaker since 2006 goes to the player who has played the least amount of time, which translates to a higher goal average.[11]

text:
Top Goalscorer[12][13]

World Cup

Top goalscorer

Goals

Runners-up

Goals

Third place

Goals

1930 Uruguay

 Guillermo Stábile

8

 Pedro Cea

5

 Bert Patenaude

4

1934 Italy

 Oldřich Nejedlý

5[a]

 Edmund Conen Angelo Schiavio

4

None

—

1938 France

 Leônidas

7[b]

 György Sárosi Gyula Zsengellér Silvio Piola

5

1950 Brazil

 Ademir

8[c]

 Óscar Míguez

 Alcides Ghiggia Chico Estanislau Basora Telmo Zarra

4

1954 Switzerland

 Sándor Kocsis

11

 Josef Hügi Max Morlock Erich Probst

6

None

—

1958 Sweden

 Just Fontaine

13

 Pelé Helmut Rahn

1962 Chile

 Flórián Albert Valentin Ivanov Garrincha Vavá Dražan Jerković Leonel Sánchez

4

None

—

1966 England

 Eusébio

9

 Helmut Haller

6

 Valeriy Porkujan Geoff Hurst Ferenc Bene Franz Beckenbauer

4

1970 Mexico

 Gerd Müller

10

 Jairzinho

7

 Teófilo Cubillas

5

1974 West Germany

 Grzegorz Lato

7

 Andrzej Szarmach Johan Neeskens

5

None

1978 Argentina[17]

 Mario Kempes

6

 Teófilo Cubillas

 Rob Rensenbrink

5

Golden Shoe[8]

World Cup

Golden Shoe

Goals

Silver Shoe

Goals

Bronze Shoe

Goals

1982 Spain

 Paolo Rossi

6

 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

5

 Zico

4

1986 Mexico

 Gary Lineker

 Emilio Butragueño Careca Diego Maradona

None[18]

1990 Italy

 Salvatore Schillaci

 Tomáš Skuhravý

 Roger Milla  Gary Lineker

4

1994 United States

 Oleg Salenko[d] Hristo Stoichkov[e]

None

—

 Kennet Andersson Romário

5[f]

1998 France[20]

 Davor Šuker

 Gabriel Batistuta Christian Vieri

5

None[g]

2002 South Korea/Japan[21]

 Ronaldo

8[h]

 Miroslav Klose Rivaldo

2006 Germany[23]

 Miroslav Klose

5

 Hernán Crespo

3[i]

 Ronaldo

3[i]

Golden Boot[8]

World Cup

Golden Boot

Goals

Silver Boot

Goals

Bronze Boot

Goals

2010 South Africa

 Thomas Müller

5[j]

 David Villa

5[j]

 Wesley Sneijder

5[j]

2014 Brazil

 James Rodríguez

6

 Thomas Müller

5

 Neymar

4[k]

2018 Russia

 Harry Kane

 Antoine Griezmann

4[l]

 Romelu Lukaku

4[l]

Notes

Jump up ^ FIFA initially credited Nejedlý with only four goals, which would make him joint top scorer with Angelo Schiavio of Italy and Edmund Conen of Germany. However, FIFA changed it to five goals in November 2006, making Nejedlý the outright top scorer.[14]

Jump up ^ FIFA initially credited Leônidas with eight goals. However, in November 2006, FIFA confirmed that in the quarter-final tie against Czechoslovakia, he had scored once, not twice as FIFA had originally recorded, meaning he had scored only seven goals in total.[14]

Jump up ^ There was controversy regarding the number of goals Brazilian Ademir had scored in 1950, as a result of incomplete data concerning the Final Round game Brazil vs. Spain (6–1). The 5–0 goal had been credited to Jair, but is now credited to Ademir.[15][16]

Jump up ^ Salenko is the only player to win the award playing for a team that were eliminated in the group stages. His six goals are the only international goals he ever scored.

Jump up ^ Despite the assist tiebreaker, Salenko and Stoichkov remained tied with 6 goals and one assist each, and both received the Golden Shoe.[9]

Jump up ^ Romário and Andersson surpassed the other two players with five goals (Jürgen Klinsmann and Roberto Baggio) by having three assists each.[9][19]

Jump up ^ Both runners-up had the same number of assists, and each received the Silver Shoe.

Jump up ^ During the tournament, after the group stage match against Costa Rica, Ronaldo logged a protest against the crediting of a goal as an own goal, and FIFA granted him the change.[22]

^ Jump up to: a b Eight players had scored three goals. Ronaldo, Crespo and Zinedine Zidane stood out for having one assist, and then the two recipients were determined by less playtime (308 minutes for Crespo, 411 for Ronaldo, 559 for Zidane).[24]

^ Jump up to: a b c Müller, Villa, Sneijder and Diego Forlán tied with five goals. Müller won by virtue of having more assists (3) than the rest (each had one). Villa won the Silver Boot due to playing fewer minutes than Sneijder, and Sneijder won the Bronze Boot due to having played fewer minutes than Forlán.[25]

Jump up ^ Neymar, Lionel Messi and Robin van Persie all had four goals in the tournament. Neymar received the Bronze Boot for playing fewer minutes than his competitors (480; Messi played 693 minutes, and Van Persie, 548).[26]

^ Jump up to: a b Griezmann, Lukaku, Denis Cheryshev, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé tied with 4 goals. Griezmann won the Silver Boot by virtue of having more assists (2) than the rest (Lukaku had one, the rest had zero). Lukaku won the Bronze Boot due to having more assists (one) than Cheryshev, Ronaldo or Mbappé (zero).[27]

text: Golden Glove[edit]

text: The Golden Glove Award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The award was introduced with the name Lev Yashin Award in 1994, in honor of the late Soviet goalkeeper.[6] The FIFA Technical Study Group recognises the top goalkeeper of the tournament based on the player's performance throughout the final competition. Although goalkeepers have this specific award for their position, they are still eligible for the Golden Ball as well, as when Oliver Kahn was awarded in 2002. In the event of a tie, the Golden Glove Award goes to the goalkeeper who progressed furthest in the competition. The next tiebreakers are saves made, then minutes played.

text:
World Cup

Golden Glove

1994 United States

 Michel Preud'homme

1998 France

 Fabien Barthez

2002 Korea/Japan

 Oliver Kahn

2006 Germany

 Gianluigi Buffon

2010 South Africa

 Iker Casillas

2014 Brazil

 Manuel Neuer

2018 Russia

 Thibaut Courtois

text: Although the Golden Glove Award was first awarded in 1994, every All-Star Team in World Cups prior to 1998 except 1990 included only one goalkeeper.

text:
World Cup

All-Star Goalkeeper

1930 Uruguay

 Enrique Ballestrero

1934 Italy

 Ricardo Zamora

1938 France

 František Plánička

1950 Brazil

 Roque Máspoli

1954 Switzerland

 Gyula Grosics

1958 Sweden

 Harry Gregg

1962 Chile

 Viliam Schrojf

1966 England

 Gordon Banks

1970 Mexico

 Ladislao Mazurkiewicz

1974 West Germany

 Sepp Maier

1978 Argentina

 Ubaldo Fillol

1982 Spain

 Dino Zoff

1986 Mexico

 Jean-Marie Pfaff

1990 Italy

 Luis Gabelo Conejo Sergio Goycochea

text: Best Young Player Award[edit]

text: The Best Young Player award was awarded for the first time at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and given to Germany's Lukas Podolski.[28] The award is given to the best player in the tournament who is at most 21 years old.  For the 2018 World Cup, this meant that the player had to have been born on or after 1 January 1997. The election took place on FIFA's official World Cup website with the help of The FIFA Technical Study Group.[29]

text: FIFA organised a survey on the Internet for users to choose the "best young player" of the World Cup, between 1958 and 2002, named the best young player of each tournament.[30] With 61% of the overall vote, the winner was Pelé, who finished ahead of the Peruvian Teófilo Cubillas, the best young player at Mexico 1970, and England's Michael Owen, who reached similar heights at France 98.[31]

text:
YPA[32]

World Cup

Best Young Player

Age

1958 Sweden

 Pelé

17

1962 Chile

 Flórián Albert

20

1966 England

 Franz Beckenbauer

20

1970 Mexico

 Teófilo Cubillas

21

1974 West Germany

 Władysław Żmuda

20

1978 Argentina

 Antonio Cabrini

1982 Spain

 Manuel Amoros

21

1986 Mexico

 Enzo Scifo

20

1990 Italy

 Robert Prosinečki

21

1994 United States

 Marc Overmars

1998 France

 Michael Owen

18

2002 Korea/Japan

 Landon Donovan

20

2006 Germany

 Lukas Podolski[28]

21

2010 South Africa

 Thomas Müller[33]

20

2014 Brazil

 Paul Pogba[34]

21

2018 Russia

 Kylian Mbappé[35]

19

text: FIFA Fair Play Trophy[edit]

text: The FIFA Fair Play Trophy is given to the team with the best record of fair play during the World Cup final tournament since 1970. Only teams that qualified for the second round are considered. The winners of this award earn the FIFA Fair Play Trophy, a diploma, a fair play medal for each player and official, and $50,000 worth of football equipment to be used for youth development.[36]

text: The appearance of the award was originally a certificate. From 1982 to 1990, it had been a golden trophy based on Sport Billy, a football-playing cartoon character from 1982 who became an icon for FIFA Fair play.[37][38] Ever since 1994, it is simply a trophy with an elegant footballer figure.[39] Peru was the first nation to win the award after receiving no yellow or red cards in the 1970 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico.[40]

text:
World Cup

FIFA Fair Play Trophy Winners

1970 Mexico

 Peru

1974 West Germany

 West Germany

1978 Argentina

 Argentina

1982 Spain

 Brazil

1986 Mexico

 Brazil

1990 Italy

 England

1994 United States

 Brazil

1998 France

 England France

2002 Korea/Japan

 Belgium

2006 Germany

 Brazil Spain

2010 South Africa

 Spain

2014 Brazil

 Colombia

2018 Russia

 Spain

text: Man of the Match[edit]

text: The Man of the Match award picks the outstanding player in every game of the tournament since 2002. While the inaugural two editions were chosen by the technical group,[41][42] the Man of the Match is since 2010 picked by an online poll on FIFA's website.[43][44]

text:
World Cup

Most Man of the Match wins

Wins

2002 South Korea/Japan

 Rivaldo

3

2006 Germany

 Andrea Pirlo

3

2010 South Africa

 Wesley Sneijder

4

2014 Brazil

 Lionel Messi

4

2018 Russia

 Antoine Griezmann Eden Hazard Harry Kane Luka Modrić

3

text: Total awardsAs of 15 July 2018

text:
Rank

Player

Country

MoM

WC with awards

1

Arjen Robben
 Netherlands
6
2006, 2010, 2014

Cristiano Ronaldo
 Portugal
2010, 2014, 2018

Lionel Messi
 Argentina
2010, 2014, 2018

4

Luis Suárez
 Uruguay
5
2010, 2014, 2018

5

Eden Hazard
 Belgium
4
2014, 2018

Keisuke Honda
 Japan
2010, 2014

James Rodríguez
 Colombia
2014, 2018

Miroslav Klose
 Germany
2002, 2006

Park Ji-sung
 South Korea
2002, 2006, 2010

Thomas Müller
 Germany
2010, 2014

Wesley Sneijder
 Netherlands
2010

text: By CountryAs of 15 July 2018

text:
Rank

Country

MoM

Players

1

 Brazil
22
14

 Germany
12

3

 France
17
11

4

 Spain
16
10

5

 Argentina
15
8

6

 England
14
12

7

 Mexico
12
10

 Netherlands
3

9

 South Korea
11
7

 Portugal
6

 United States
7

text: Most Entertaining Team[edit]

text: The FIFA Award for the Most Entertaining Team is a subjectively awarded prize for the team that had done the most to entertain the public with a positive approach to the game, organised through public participation in a poll[6] starting in 1994.[7]

text:
World Cup

Most Entertaining Team Award

1994 United States

 Brazil[23]

1998 France

 France[23]

2002 Korea/Japan

 South Korea[45]

2006 Germany

 Portugal[46]

2010 South Africa

 Germany[47]

2014 Brazil

 Colombia[48]

text: All-Star Team[edit]

text: The All-Star Team is a team of the best performers at the respective World Cup finals. The ways in which the FIFA All-Star team members have been chosen has varied from year to year.  A technical study group consisting of journalists - mostly from Europe and South America - and experts has historically chosen the team.[49] However, in 1994 FIFA decided to add an official squad, chosen by the FIFA technical group and under the brand name MasterCard All-Star Team.[50] For 1998, 2002 and 2006, substitute and reserve members were also nominated for full 22 and 23-player squads. The All-Star team wound up dropped prior to the 2010 tournament - coincidentally, three years after FIFA changed its sponsorship from MasterCard to Visa.[51]

text:
All Star Team

World Cup

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

1930 Uruguay

 Enrique Ballestrero

 José Nasazzi
 Milutin Ivković

 Luis Monti
 Álvaro Gestido
 José Leandro Andrade

 Pedro Cea
 Héctor Castro
 Héctor Scarone
 Guillermo Stábile
 Bert Patenaude

1934 Italy

 Ricardo Zamora

 Jacinto Quincoces
 Eraldo Monzeglio

 Luis Monti
 Attilio Ferraris
 Leonardo Cilaurren

 Giuseppe Meazza
 Raimundo Orsi
 Enrique Guaita
 Matthias Sindelar
 Oldřich Nejedlý

1938 France

 František Plánička

 Pietro Rava
 Alfredo Foni
 Domingos da Guia

 Michele Andreolo
 Ugo Locatelli

 Silvio Piola
 Gino Colaussi
 György Sárosi
 Gyula Zsengellér
 Leônidas

1950 Brazil

 Roque Máspoli

 Erik Nilsson
 José Parra
 Víctor Rodríguez Andrade

 Obdulio Varela
 Bauer
 Alcides Ghiggia
 Jair

 Zizinho
 Ademir
 Juan Alberto Schiaffino

1954 Switzerland

 Gyula Grosics

 Ernst Ocwirk
 Djalma Santos
 José Santamaría

 Fritz Walter
 József Bozsik
 Nándor Hidegkuti
 Zoltán Czibor

 Helmut Rahn
 Ferenc Puskás
 Sándor Kocsis

1958 Sweden

 Harry Gregg

 Djalma Santos
 Bellini
 Nílton Santos

 Danny Blanchflower
 Didi
 Gunnar Gren
 Raymond Kopa

 Pelé
 Garrincha
 Just Fontaine

1962 Chile

 Viliam Schrojf

 Djalma Santos
 Cesare Maldini
 Valery Voronin
 Karl-Heinz Schnellinger

 Mário Zagallo
 Zito
 Josef Masopust

 Vavá
 Garrincha
 Leonel Sánchez

1966 England

 Gordon Banks

 George Cohen
 Bobby Moore
 Vicente
 Silvio Marzolini

 Franz Beckenbauer
 Mário Coluna
 Bobby Charlton

 Flórián Albert
 Uwe Seeler
 Eusébio

1970 Mexico

 Ladislao Mazurkiewicz

 Carlos Alberto
 Atilio Ancheta
 Franz Beckenbauer
 Giacinto Facchetti

 Gérson
 Rivellino
 Bobby Charlton

 Pelé
 Gerd Müller
 Jairzinho

1974 West Germany

 Sepp Maier

 Ruud Krol
 Paul Breitner
 Elias Figueroa[52]
 Franz Beckenbauer
 Berti Vogts

 Wolfgang Overath
 Kazimierz Deyna
 Johan Neeskens

 Rob Rensenbrink
 Johan Cruyff
 Grzegorz Lato

1978 Argentina

 Ubaldo Fillol

 Berti Vogts
 Ruud Krol
 Daniel Passarella
 Alberto Tarantini

 Dirceu
 Teófilo Cubillas
 Rob Rensenbrink

 Roberto Bettega
 Paolo Rossi
 Mario Kempes

1982 Spain

 Dino Zoff

 Luizinho
 Júnior
 Claudio Gentile
 Fulvio Collovati

 Zbigniew Boniek
 Falcão
 Michel Platini
 Zico

 Paolo Rossi
 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

1986 Mexico

 Jean-Marie Pfaff

 Josimar
 Manuel Amoros
 Júlio César

 Jan Ceulemans
 Jean Tigana
 Michel Platini
 Diego Maradona

 Preben Elkjær Larsen
 Emilio Butragueño
 Gary Lineker

1990 Italy

 Sergio Goycochea
 Luis Gabelo Conejo

 Andreas Brehme
 Paolo Maldini
 Franco Baresi

 Diego Maradona
 Lothar Matthäus
 Dragan Stojković
 Paul Gascoigne

 Salvatore Schillaci
 Roger Milla
 Jürgen Klinsmann

text:
MasterCard All Star Team

World Cup

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

1994 United States[50]

 Michel Preud'homme

 Jorginho
 Márcio Santos
 Paolo Maldini

 Dunga
 Krasimir Balakov
 Gheorghe Hagi
 Tomas Brolin

 Romário
 Hristo Stoichkov
 Roberto Baggio

1998 France[53](1)

 Fabien Barthez
 José Luis Chilavert

 Roberto Carlos
 Marcel Desailly
 Lilian Thuram
 Frank de Boer
 Carlos Gamarra

 Dunga
 Rivaldo
 Michael Laudrup
 Zinedine Zidane
 Edgar Davids

 Ronaldo
 Davor Šuker
 Brian Laudrup
 Dennis Bergkamp

2002 Korea/Japan[54](2)

 Oliver Kahn
 Rüştü Reçber

 Roberto Carlos
 Sol Campbell
 Fernando Hierro
 Hong Myung-bo
 Alpay Özalan

 Rivaldo
 Ronaldinho
 Michael Ballack
 Claudio Reyna
 Yoo Sang-chul

 Ronaldo
 Miroslav Klose
 El Hadji Diouf
 Hasan Şaş

2006 Germany[55]

 Gianluigi Buffon
 Jens Lehmann
 Ricardo

 Roberto Ayala
 John Terry
 Lilian Thuram
 Philipp Lahm
 Fabio Cannavaro
 Gianluca Zambrotta
 Ricardo Carvalho

 Zé Roberto
 Patrick Vieira
 Zinedine Zidane
 Michael Ballack
 Andrea Pirlo
 Gennaro Gattuso
 Luís Figo
 Maniche

 Hernán Crespo
 Thierry Henry
 Miroslav Klose
 Luca Toni
 Francesco Totti

text: 1 In addition to the 16 of the All-Star Team, 6 reserves were listed:  Edwin van der Sar,  Juan Sebastián Verón,  Thierry Henry,  Jay-Jay Okocha,  Michael Owen, and  Christian Vieri.[53]

text: 2 Again there were seven reserves:  Iker Casillas,  Cafu,  Dietmar Hamann,  Joaquín,  Hidetoshi Nakata,  Landon Donovan, and  Marc Wilmots.[54]

text: In 2010, an equivalent of the All Star Team was an online poll to FIFA.com Club members named "Dream Team", sponsored by Yingli.[56] The Dream Team poll returned the following edition sponsored by Oi,[57] and again in 2018 sponsored by Hisense.[58]

text:
Dream Team

World Cup

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

Manager

2010 South Africa[56]

 Iker Casillas

 Philipp Lahm  Sergio Ramos  Carles Puyol  Maicon

 Xavi  Bastian Schweinsteiger  Wesley Sneijder  Andrés Iniesta

 David Villa  Diego Forlán

 Vicente del Bosque

2014 Brazil[57]

 Manuel Neuer

 Marcelo Mats Hummels David Luiz Thiago Silva

 Ángel Di María Toni Kroos James Rodríguez

 Neymar Thomas Müller Lionel Messi

 Joachim Löw

2018 Russia[59]

 Thibaut Courtois

 Marcelo  Raphaël Varane  Diego Godín  Thiago Silva

 Philippe Coutinho  Luka Modrić  Kevin De Bruyne

 Cristiano Ronaldo  Harry Kane  Kylian Mbappé

text: While FIFA did not release an official list for 2014, official sponsor Castrol published a team of the tournament based on their Castrol Performance Index, which evaluates players' performances through statistical data.[60] Similarly, McDonald's sponsored in 2018 a fantasy football game, whose team of highest-scoring players was published after the tournament.[61]

text:
Castrol Index Top 11

World Cup

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

2014 Brazil[60]

 Manuel Neuer

 Marcos Rojo Mats Hummels Thiago Silva Stefan de Vrij

 Oscar Toni Kroos Philipp Lahm James Rodríguez

 Arjen Robben Thomas Müller

text:
Fantasy McDonald’s Overall XI

World Cup

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

2018 Russia[61]

 Thibaut Courtois

 Andreas Granqvist Raphaël Varane Thiago Silva Yerry Mina

 Denis Cheryshev Philippe Coutinho Luka Modrić

 Harry Kane Eden Hazard Antoine Griezmann

text:
Only two players have been named in three separate All-Star teams whose selection only included the starting eleven: Djalma Santos in 1954, 1958 and 1962, Franz Beckenbauer in 1966, 1970 and 1974. Philipp Lahm also achieved it in 2006, 2010 and 2014. However, the 2006 edition listed 23 players and 2014 had two All-Star team listed. Lahm's name has only been in one of these.
21 players have been named in two separate All-Star teams: Luis Monti (1930 and 1934; representing Argentina and Italy respectively); Garrincha (1958 and 1962); Pelé (1958 and 1970); Bobby Charlton (1966 and 1970); Ruud Krol and Rob Rensenbrink (1974 and 1978); Berti Vogts (1974 and 1978); Paolo Rossi (1978 and 1982); Michel Platini (1982 and 1986); Diego Maradona (1986 and 1990); Paolo Maldini (1990 and 1994); Dunga (1994 and 1998); Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, and Ronaldo (1998 and 2002); Lilian Thuram and Zinedine Zidane (1998 and 2006); Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose (2002 and 2006); Marcelo and Thiago Silva (2014 and 2018).
Pelé hold the record of the longest time between being named in two separate All-Star teams by 12 years apart (1958 and 1970).
Uruguay in 1930 and 1950,  Spain in 2010 and Germany in 2014 are the only teams to have had a player in every position on the All-Star Team. Germany and Italy achieved it in 2006, however, the 2006 edition listed 23 players.
Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 2006 have the most players selected in the All-Star Team with 7 players each. However, the 1930 selection only had 11 players overall, while the 2006 selection had 23.
37 different Brazilian players have been named in All-Star teams, Brazil is also the nation with most nominations with 44 nominees in every position except goalkeeper.
Only three players frosm North American zone and two from each the African and Asian zones have been named in All-Star teams, Bert Patenaude and Claudio Reyna from the United States in 1930 and 2002, as well as Luis Gabelo Conejo from Costa Rica in 1990, Hong Myung-bo and Yoo Sang-chul of South Korea in 2002 and Roger Milla from Cameroon in 1990 and El Hadji Diouf from Senegal in 2002. Another player from each zone has been named in reserves: Jay-Jay Okocha from Nigeria in 1998, Hidetoshi Nakata from Japan in 2002 and Landon Donovan from the United States in 2006.
Only one player on the victorious 1986 Argentina team, Diego Maradona, was selected in that year's All-Star team.
Uniquely, brothers Brian Laudrup and Michael Laudrup were both selected for the All Star Team from Denmark in 1998.
Similarly, Cesare Maldini and Paolo Maldini are the only father and son players that were both selected for the All Star Team from Italy, in 1962 and 1990, 1994 respectively.
Uniquely, Argentinian compatriots Diego Maradona (1979 and 1986) and Lionel Messi (2005 and 2014) are the only players that won the Golden Ball award at both FIFA World Cup and FIFA World Youth Championship.

text: Goal of the Tournament[edit]

text:
World Cup

Player

Scored against

Score (1)

Result (1)

Round

Source

2006 Germany

 Maxi Rodríguez

 Mexico

2‒1

2‒1

Round of 16

[62]

2010 South Africa

 Diego Forlán

 Germany

2‒1

2‒3

3rd place match

2014 Brazil

 James Rodríguez

 Uruguay

1‒0

2‒0

Round of 16

2018 Russia

 Benjamin Pavard

 Argentina

2‒2

4‒3

Round of 16

text: (1) First number represents players team, while second number represents opponents team


document_title: Santa Claus

question_text: when did the legend of santa claus begin

question_tokens: when did the legend of santa claus begin

root

text: Santa Claus

text: Predecessor figures

text: Saint Nicholas

text: Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Empire, now in Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.[7] He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In continental Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany) he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes.

tag: p

text: The remains of Saint Nicholas are in Italy. In 1087, the Italian city of Bari mounted an expedition to locate the tomb of the Saint. The reliquary of St. Nicholas was conquered by Italian sailors and his relics were taken to Bari[8][9] where they are kept to this day. A basilica was constructed the same year to store the loot and the area became a pilgrimage site for the devout. Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas' skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the grave. These were collected by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and taken to Venice, where a church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors, was built on the San Nicolò al Lido. This tradition was confirmed in two important scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice, which revealed that the relics in the two Italian cities belong to the same skeleton. Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups, from archers, sailors, and children to pawnbrokers.[7][10] He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow.[11]

text: During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before his name day of 6 December, children were bestowed gifts in his honour. This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children, which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on the 24th and 25th of December. So Saint Nicholas changed to Santa Claus. The custom of gifting to children at Christmas has been propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first suggested the Christkind as the bringer of gifts. But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people.[12][13][14]

text: Father Christmas

text: Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur.[15] He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.[15] As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to the 25th of December to coincide with Christmas Day.[15] The Victorian revival of Christmas included Father Christmas as the emblem of 'good cheer'.[16] His physical appearance was variable,[17] with one famous image being John Leech's illustration of the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's festive classic A Christmas Carol (1843), as a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace.[15][16]

text: Dutch, Belgian and Swiss folklore

text: In the Netherlands and Belgium the character of Santa Claus has to compete with that of Sinterklaas, Santa's presumed progenitor. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch ("the Christmas man") and Père Noël ("Father Christmas") in French. But for children in the Netherlands Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift-giver in December; 36% of the Dutch only give presents on Sinterklaas evening or the day itself (December 6th[18]), whereas Christmas (December 25th) is used by another 21% to give presents. Some 26% of the Dutch population gives presents on both days.[19] In Belgium, Sinterklaas day presents are offered exclusively to children, whereas on Christmas Day, all ages may receive presents. Sinterklaas' assistants are called "Zwarte Pieten" (in Dutch, "Pères Fouettard" in French), so they are not elves.[20] In Switzerland, Pères Fouettard accompanies Père Noël in the French speaking region, while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlaus in the Swiss German region. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children.[21]

text: Germanic paganism, Wodan, and Christianization

text: Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule (Old English geola or giuli).[22] With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas.[23] During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.[citation needed] The leader of the wild hunt is frequently attested as the god Wodan (Norse Odin), bearing (among many names) the names Jólnir, meaning "Yule figure", and Langbarðr, meaning "long-beard", in Old Norse.[24]

text: Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American tradition.[25] Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that "the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is the 25th of December, owes much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. […] Odin, transformed into Father Christmas, then Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas and the Christchild, became a leading player on the Christmas stage."[26]

text: In Finland they still use Joulupukki or the Christmas Goat.

text: History

text: Origins

text: Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from Church history and folklore, notably St Nicholas (known in Dutch as Sinterklaas), merged with the English character Father Christmas to create the character known to Americans and the rest of the English-speaking world as "Santa Claus" (a phonetic derivation of "Sinterklaas").

text: In the English and later British colonies of North America, and later in the United States, British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. For example, in Washington Irving's History of New York (1809), Sinterklaas was Americanized into "Santa Claus" (a name first used in the American press in 1773)[27] but lost his bishop's apparel, and was at first pictured as a thick-bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe in a green winter coat. Irving's book was a lampoon of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention.

text: 19th century

text:
"December 24, 1864. This has usually been a very busy day with me, preparing for Christmas not only for my own tables, but for gifts for my servants. Now how changed! No confectionary, cakes, or pies can I have. We are all sad; no loud, jovial laugh from our boys is heard. Christmas Eve, which has ever been gaily celebrated here, which has witnessed the popping of firecrackers … and the hanging up of stockings, is an occasion now of sadness and gloom. I have nothing even to put in 8-year-old daughter Sadai's stocking, which hangs so invitingly for Santa Claus. How disappointed she will be in the morning, though I have explained to her why he cannot come. Poor children! Why must the innocent suffer with the guilty?"

Diary of Dolly Lunt Burge, a Maine native, widow of Thomas Burge, and resident living c. 40 miles southeast of Atlanta near Covington, Georgia. This entry from Mrs. Burge's diary was five weeks after most of General T. Sherman's U.S. Army forces had passed on their blackened-earth "march across Georgia" toward Savanna, after the army's destruction of Atlanta in mid-November 1864. U.S. Army mop-up companies and stragglers during those intervening weeks continued to "forage", loot, burn, and liberate slaves, hence, the concern of Mrs. Burge and her household.[28]

tag: div

text: In 1821, the book A New-year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York. It contained Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh, bringing presents to children.[29] Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (better known today as "The Night Before Christmas") in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on 23 December 1823; Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston, Jr. (who died nine years before Moore's claim) was the author.[7][30] St. Nick is described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly", that "shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly", in spite of which the "miniature sleigh" and "tiny reindeer" still indicate that he is physically diminutive. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen).[31]

text: By 1845 'Kris Kringle' was a common variant of Santa in parts of the U.S.[32] A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for 'a fabulous personage' whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called 'Krishkinkle' but in New York he is 'St. Nicholas' or 'Santa Claus'. The author[33] quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too.[34]

text: As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved in popular culture into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century. In 1863, a picture of Santa illustrated by Nast appeared in Harper's Weekly.

text: Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly. Santa was dressed in an American flag, and had a puppet with the name "Jeff" written on it, reflecting its Civil War context. The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation. His Christmas image in the Harper's issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works, which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P."[35] A color collection of Nast's pictures, published in 1869, had a poem also titled "Santa Claus and His Works" by George P. Webster, who wrote that Santa Claus's home was "near the North Pole, in the ice and snow".[36] The tale had become well known by the 1870s. A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey."[37]

text: The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors, beginning in the mid-19th century. In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride".

text: "Is There a Santa Claus?" was the title of an editorial appearing in the 21 September 1897 edition of The New York Sun. The editorial, which included the famous reply "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", has become an indelible part of popular Christmas lore in the United States and Canada.

text: 20th century

text: L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, a 1902 children's book, further popularized Santa Claus. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not set in stone at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a wide variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, and ten reindeer—who could not fly, but leapt in enormous, flight-like bounds. Claus's immortality was earned, much like his title ("Santa"), decided by a vote of those naturally immortal. This work also established Claus's motives: a happy childhood among immortals. When Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, exposes him to the misery and poverty of children in the outside world, Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means. Santa later appears in The Road to Oz as a honored guest at Ozma's birthday party, stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he is announced as "The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme Highness - Santa Claus".

text: Images of Santa Claus were further popularized through Haddon Sundblom's depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising in the 1930s.[7][38] The popularity of the image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand.[39] Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising—White Rock Beverages had already used a red and white Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923.[40][41][42] Earlier still, Santa Claus had appeared dressed in red and white and essentially in his current form on several covers of Puck magazine in the first few years of the 20th century.[43]

text: The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly by organizations such as the Salvation Army. Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fundraising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time.

text: In 1937, Charles W. Howard, who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades, established the Charles W. Howard Santa School, the oldest continuously-run such school in the world.[44]

text: In some images from the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the idea emerged that he had numerous elves responsible for making the toys, but the toys were still handmade by each individual elf working in the traditional manner.

text: The 1956 popular song by George Melachrino, "Mrs. Santa Claus", and the 1963 children's book How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, by Phyllis McGinley, helped standardize and establish the character and role of Mrs. Claus in the popular imagination.

text: Seabury Quinn's 1948 novel Roads draws from historical legends to tell the story of Santa and the origins of Christmas. Other modern additions to the "story" of Santa include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the 9th and lead reindeer immortalized in a Gene Autry song, written by a Montgomery Ward copywriter.

text: In popular culture

text: By the end of the 20th century, the reality of mass mechanized production became more fully accepted by the Western public.[citation needed] Elves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century. That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence—now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production and distribution facility, equipped with the latest manufacturing technology, and overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus as executives and/or managers.[45] An excerpt from a 2004 article, from a supply chain managers' trade magazine, aptly illustrates this depiction:

text: Santa's main distribution center is a sight to behold. At 4,000,000 square feet (370,000 m2), it's one of the world's largest facilities. A real-time warehouse management system (WMS) is of course required to run such a complex. The facility makes extensive use of task interleaving, literally combining dozens of DC activities (putaway, replenishing, order picking, sleigh loading, cycle counting) in a dynamic queue...the DC elves have been on engineered standards and incentives for three years, leading to a 12% gain in productivity...The WMS and transportation system are fully integrated, allowing (the elves) to make optimal decisions that balance transportation and order picking and other DC costs. Unbeknownst to many, Santa actually has to use many sleighs and fake Santa drivers to get the job done Christmas Eve, and the transportation management system (TMS) optimally builds thousands of consolidated sacks that maximize cube utilization and minimize total air miles.[46]

text: In the cartoon base, Santa has been voiced by several people, including Stan Francis, Mickey Rooney, Ed Asner, John Goodman, and Keith Wickham.

text: Santa has been described as a positive male cultural icon:

text: Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who's male, does not carry a gun, and is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for other people. That's part of the magic for me, especially in a culture where we've become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future.

text: Many television commercials, comic strips and other media depict this as a sort of humorous business, with Santa's elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss. For instance, a Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO (Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization) for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room, and "short broads,” with the elves then going on strike. President Reagan steps in, fires all of Santa's helpers, and replaces them with out-of-work air traffic controllers (an obvious reference to the 1981 air traffic controllers' strike), resulting in a riot before Santa vindictively rehires them in humiliating new positions such as his reindeer.[48] In The Sopranos episode, "...To Save Us All from Satan's Power", Paulie Gualtieri says he "Used to think Santa and Mrs. Claus were running a sweatshop over there... The original elves were ugly, traveled with Santa to throw bad kids a beatin', and gave the good ones toys."

text: In Kyrgyzstan, a mountain peak was named after Santa Claus, after a Swedish company had suggested the location be a more efficient starting place for present-delivering journeys all over the world, than Lapland. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007, with government officials attending. 2008 was officially declared the Year of Santa Claus in the country. The events are seen as moves to boost tourism in Kyrgyzstan.[49]

text: The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa Clauses is held by Thrissur, Kerala, India where on 27 December 2014, 18,112 Santas came overtaking the current record of Derry City, Northern Ireland. On 9 September 2007 where a total of 12,965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa's helper which previously brought down the record of 3,921, which was set during the Santa Dash event in Liverpool City Centre in 2005.[50] A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest, Romania attempted to top the world record, but failed with only 3,939 Santas.[51]

text: Traditions and rituals

text: Chimney tradition

text: The tradition of Santa Claus entering dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. In pre-Christian Norse tradition, Odin would often enter through chimneys and fire holes on the solstice.[citation needed] In the Italian Befana tradition, the gift-giving witch is perpetually covered with soot from her trips down the chimneys of children's homes. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. In Dutch artist Jan Steen's painting, The Feast of Saint Nicholas, adults and toddlers are glancing up a chimney with amazement on their faces while other children play with their toys. The hearth was held sacred in primitive belief as a source of beneficence, and popular belief had elves and fairies bringing gifts to the house through this portal. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" where the author described him as an elf.[52]

text: Christmas Eve rituals

text: In the United States and Canada, children traditionally leave Santa a glass of milk and a plate of cookies; in Britain and Australia, he is sometimes given sherry or beer, and mince pies instead. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it is common for children to leave him rice porridge with cinnamon sugar instead. In Ireland it is popular to give him Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies.

text: In Hungary, St. Nicolaus (Mikulás) comes on the night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning. They get sweets in a bag if they were good, and a golden colored birch switch if not. On Christmas Eve "Little Jesus" comes and gives gifts for everyone.

text: In Slovenia, Saint Nicholas (Miklavž) also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of 6 December. Božiček (Christmas Man) brings gifts on the eve of 25 December, and Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Frost) brings gifts in the evening of 31 December to be opened on New Years Day.

text: New Zealander, British, Australian, Irish, Canadian, and American children also leave a carrot for Santa's reindeer, and are told that if they are not good all year round that they will receive a lump of coal in their stockings, although the actual practice of giving coal is now considered archaic. Children following the Dutch custom for sinterklaas will "put out their shoe" (leave hay and a carrot for his horse in a shoe before going to bed, sometimes weeks before the sinterklaas avond). The next morning they will find the hay and carrot replaced by a gift; often, this is a marzipan figurine. Naughty children were once told that they would be left a roe (a bundle of sticks) instead of sweets, but this practice has been discontinued.

text: Other Christmas Eve Santa Claus rituals in the United States include reading A Visit from St. Nicholas or other tale about Santa Claus, watching a Santa or Christmas-related animated program on television (such as the aforementioned Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and similar specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, among many others), and the singing of Santa Claus songs such as "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and "Up on the House Top". Last minute rituals for children before going to bed include aligning stockings at the mantelpiece or other place where Santa cannot fail to see them, peeking up the chimney (in homes with a fireplace), glancing out a window and scanning the heavens for Santa's sleigh, and (in homes without a fireplace) unlocking an exterior door so Santa can easily enter the house. Tags on gifts for children are sometimes signed by their parents "From Santa Claus" before the gifts are laid beneath the tree.

text: Ho, ho, ho

text: Ho ho ho is the way that many languages write out how Santa Claus laughs. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" It is the textual rendition of a particular type of deep-throated laugh or chuckle, most associated today with Santa Claus and Father Christmas.

text: The laughter of Santa Claus has long been an important attribute by which the character is identified, but it also does not appear in many non-English-speaking countries. The traditional Christmas poem A Visit from St. Nicholas relates that Santa has:

text: Home

text: Santa Claus's home traditionally includes a residence and a workshop where he creates—often with the aid of elves or other supernatural beings—the gifts he delivers to good children at Christmas. Some stories and legends include a village, inhabited by his helpers, surrounding his home and shop.

text: In North American tradition (in the United States and Canada), Santa lives on the North Pole, which according to Canada Post lies within Canadian jurisdiction in postal code H0H 0H0[53] (a reference to "ho ho ho", Santa's notable saying, although postal codes starting with H are usually reserved for the island of Montreal in Québec). On 23 December 2008, Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, formally awarded Canadian citizenship status to Santa Claus. "The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete," Kenney said in an official statement.[54]

text: There is also a city named North Pole in Alaska where a tourist attraction known as the "Santa Claus House" has been established. The United States Postal Service uses the city's ZIP code of 99705 as their advertised postal code for Santa Claus. A Wendy's in North Pole, AK has also claimed to have a "sleigh fly through".[55]

text: Each Nordic country claims Santa's residence to be within their territory. Norway claims he lives in Drøbak. In Denmark, he is said to live in Greenland (near Uummannaq). In Sweden, the town of Mora has a theme park named Tomteland. The national postal terminal in Tomteboda in Stockholm receives children's letters for Santa. In Finland, Korvatunturi has long been known as Santa's home, and two theme parks, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located near Rovaniemi. In Belarus there is a home of Ded Moroz in Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park.[56]

text: Parades, department stores, and shopping malls

text: The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: Santa Claus appears in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. The practice of this has been credited[dubious – discuss] to James Edgar, as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton, Massachusetts department store.[57] He is played by an actor, usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa. Santa's function is either to promote the store's image by distributing small gifts to children, or to provide a seasonal experience to children by listening to their wishlist while having them sit on his knee (a practice now under review by some organisations in Britain,[58] and Switzerland[59]). Sometimes a photograph of the child and Santa are taken. Having a Santa set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918.[60]

text: The area set up for this purpose is festively decorated, usually with a large throne, and is called variously "Santa's Grotto", "Santa's Workshop" or a similar term. In the United States, the most notable of these is the Santa at the flagship Macy's store in New York City—he arrives at the store by sleigh in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the last float, and his court takes over a large portion of one floor in the store. The Macy's Santa Claus in New York City is often said to be the real Santa. This was popularized by the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street with Santa Claus being called Kris Kringle. Essayist David Sedaris is known for the satirical SantaLand Diaries he kept while working as an elf in the Macy's display, which were turned into a famous radio segment and later published.

text: Quite often the Santa, if and when he is detected to be fake, explains that he is not the real Santa and is helping him at this time of year. Most young children accept this explanation. At family parties, Santa is sometimes impersonated by the male head of the household or other adult male family member.

text: In Canada, malls operated by Oxford Properties established a process by which autistic children could visit Santa Claus at the mall without having to contend with crowds.[61] The malls open early to allow entry only to families with autistic children, who have a private visit with Santa Claus. In 2012, the Southcentre Mall in Calgary was the first mall to offer this service.[62]

text: There are schools offering instruction on how to act as Santa Claus. For example, children's television producer Jonathan Meath studied at the International School of Santa Claus and earned the degree Master of Santa Claus in 2006. It blossomed into a second career for him, and after appearing in parades and malls,[63] he appeared on the cover of the American monthly Boston Magazine as Santa.[64] There are associations with members who portray Santa; for example, Mr. Meath was a board member of the international organization called Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas.[65]

text: Letter writing to Santa

text: Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas tradition for children for many years. These letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior. Some social scientists have found that boys and girls write different types of letters. Girls generally write longer but more polite lists and express the nature of Christmas more in their letters than in letters written by boys. Girls also more often request gifts for other people.[66]

text: Many postal services allow children to send letters to Santa Claus. These letters may be answered by postal workers and/or outside volunteers.[67] Writing letters to Santa Claus has the educational benefits of promoting literacy, computer literacy, and e-mail literacy. A letter to Santa is often a child's first experience of correspondence. Written and sent with the help of a parent or teacher, children learn about the structure of a letter, salutations, and the use of an address and postcode.[68]

text: According to the Universal Postal Union (UPU)'s 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has the oldest Santa letter answering effort by a national postal system. The USPS Santa letter answering effort started in 1912 out of the historic James Farley Post Office[69] in New York, and since 1940 has been called "Operation Santa" to ensure that letters to Santa are adopted by charitable organizations, major corporations, local businesses and individuals in order to make children's holiday dreams come true from coast to coast.[67] Those seeking a North Pole holiday postmark through the USPS, are told to send their letter from Santa or a holiday greeting card by 10 December to: North Pole Holiday Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Dr, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998.[70]

text: In 2006, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, France's Postal Service received the most letters for Santa Claus or "Père Noël" with 1,220,000 letters received from 126 countries.[71] France's Postal Service in 2007 specially recruited someone to answer the enormous volume of mail that was coming from Russia for Santa Claus.[67]

text: Other interesting Santa letter processing information, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, are:[67]

text:
Countries whose national postal operators answer letters to Santa and other end-of-year holiday figures, and the number of letters received in 2006: Germany (500,000), Australia (117,000), Austria (6,000), Bulgaria (500), Canada (1,060,000), Spain (232,000), United States (no figure, as statistics are not kept centrally), Finland (750,000), France (1,220,000), Ireland (100,000), New Zealand (110,000), Portugal (255,000), Poland (3,000), Slovakia (85,000), Sweden (150,000), Switzerland (17,863), Ukraine (5,019), United Kingdom (750,000).
In 2006, Finland's national postal operation received letters from 150 countries (representing 90% of the letters received), France's Postal Service from 126 countries, Germany from 80 countries, and Slovakia from 20 countries.
In 2007, Canada Post replied to letters in 26 languages and Deutsche Post in 16 languages.
Some national postal operators make it possible to send in e-mail messages which are answered by physical mail. All the same, Santa still receives far more letters than e-mail through the national postal operators, proving that children still write letters. National postal operators offering the ability to use an on-line web form (with or without a return e-mail address) to Santa and obtain a reply include Canada Post[72] (on-line web request form in English and French), France's Postal Service (on-line web request form in French),[73][74] and New Zealand Post[75] (on-line web request form in English).[76] In France, by 6 December 2010, a team of 60 postal elves had sent out reply cards in response to 80,000 e-mail on-line request forms and more than 500,000 physical letters.[68]

tag: ul

text: Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus, and since 1982 over 13,000 Canadian postal workers have volunteered to write responses. His address is: Santa Claus, North Pole, Canada, H0H 0H0; no postage is required.[77] (see also: Ho ho ho). (This postal code, in which zeroes are used for the letter "O", is consistent with the alternating letter-number format of all Canadian postal codes.) Sometimes children's charities answer letters in poor communities, or from children's hospitals, and give them presents they would not otherwise receive. From 2002 to 2014, the program replied to approximately "one million letters or more a year, and in total answered more than 24.7 million letters";[78] as of 2015, it responds to more than 1.5 million letters per year, "in over 30 languages, including Braille … answer[ing] them all in the language they are written".[79]

text: In Britain it was traditional for some to burn the Christmas letters on the fire so that they would be magically transported by the wind to the North Pole. However this has been found to be less efficient than the use of the normal postal service, and this tradition is dying out in modern times, especially with few homes having open fires.[80] According to the Royal Mail website, Santa's address for letters from British children is: Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ [81]

text: In Mexico and other Latin American countries, besides using the mail, sometimes children wrap their letters to a small helium balloon, releasing them into the air so Santa magically receives them.[80]

text: In 2010, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" formed partnerships with public schools and social institutions to encourage children to write letters and make use of postcodes and stamps. In 2009, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" answered almost two million children's letters, and spread some seasonal cheer by donating 414,000 Christmas gifts to some of Brazil's neediest citizens.[68]

text: Through the years, the Finnish Santa Claus (Joulupukki or "Yule Goat") has received over eight million letters. He receives over 600,000 letters every year from over 198 different countries with Togo being the most recent country added to the list.[68] Children from Great Britain, Poland and Japan are the busiest writers. The Finnish Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi, however the Santa Claus Main Post Office is situated in Rovaniemi precisely at the Arctic circle. His address is: Santa Claus' Main Post Office, Santa Claus Village, FIN-96930 Arctic Circle. The post office welcomes 300,000 visitors a year, with 70,000 visitors in December alone.[68]

text: Children can also receive a letter from Santa through a variety of private agencies and organizations, and on occasion public and private cooperative ventures. An example of a public and private cooperative venture is the opportunity for expatriate and local children and parents to receive postmarked mail and greeting cards from Santa during December in the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, People's Republic of China,[82] Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland, and the People's Republic of China Postal System's Beijing International Post Office.[83][84][85][86] Parents can order a personalized "Santa letter" to be sent to their child, often with a North Pole postmark. The "Santa Letter" market generally relies on the internet as a medium for ordering such letters rather than retail stores.[undue weight? – discuss]

text: Santa tracking, Santa websites and email to and from Santa

text: Over the years there have been a number of websites created by various organizations that have purported to track Santa Claus. Some, such as NORAD Tracks Santa, the Airservices Australia Tracks Santa Project,[87][88][89] the Santa Update Project, and the MSNBC and Bing Maps Platform Tracks Santa Project[90][91] have endured. Others, such as the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's Tracks Santa Project,[92][93][94] the Santa Retro Radar – Lehigh Valley Project,[95] and the NASA Tracks Santa Project,[96] have fallen by the wayside.

text: The origins of the NORAD Tracks Santa programme began in the United States in 1955, when a Sears Roebuck store in Colorado Springs, Colorado, gave children a number to call a "Santa hotline". The number was mistyped, resulting in children calling the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) on Christmas Eve instead. The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first call for Santa and responded by telling children that there were signs on the radar that Santa was indeed heading south from the North Pole. A tradition began which continued under the name NORAD Tracks Santa when in 1958 Canada and the United States jointly created the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).[97][98] This tracking can now be done via the Internet and NORAD's website.

text: In the past, many local television stations in the United States and Canada likewise claimed they "tracked Santa Claus" in their own metropolitan areas through the stations' meteorologists. In December 2000, the Weather Channel built upon these local efforts to provide a national Christmas Eve "Santa tracking" effort, called "SantaWatch" in cooperation with NASA, the International Space Station, and Silicon Valley-based new multimedia firm Dreamtime Holdings.[99] In the 21st century, most local television stations in the United States and Canada rely upon outside established "Santa tracking" efforts, such as NORAD Tracks Santa.[100]

text: Many other websites became available year-round, devoted to Santa Claus and purport to keep tabs on his activities in his workshop. Many of these websites also include email addresses which allow children to send email to Santa Claus. Most of these websites use volunteer living people as "elves" to answer email sent to Santa. Some websites, such as Santa's page on Microsoft's Windows Live Spaces, however have used or still use "bots" to compose and send email replies, with occasional unfortunate results.[101][102]

text: In addition to providing holiday-themed entertainment, "Santa tracking" websites raise interest in space technology and exploration,[103] serve to educate children in geography.[104] and encourage them to take an interest in science.[105][106]

text: Criticism

text: Calvinist and Puritan opposition

text: Santa Claus has partial Christian roots in Saint Nicholas, particularly in the high church denominations that practice the veneration of him, in addition to other saints. In light of this, the character has sometimes been the focus of controversy over the holiday and its meanings. Some Christians, particularly Calvinists and Puritans, disliked the idea of Santa Claus, as well as Christmas in general, believing that the lavish celebrations were not in accordance with their faith.[107] Other nonconformist Christians condemn the materialist focus of contemporary gift giving and see Santa Claus as the symbol of that culture.[108]

text: Condemnation of Christmas was prevalent among the 17th-century English Puritans and Dutch Calvinists who banned the holiday as either pagan or Roman Catholic. The American colonies established by these groups reflected this view. Tolerance for Christmas increased after the Restoration but the Puritan opposition to the holiday persisted in New England for almost two centuries.[109] In the Dutch New Netherland colony, season celebrations focused on New Year's Day.

text: Following the Restoration of the monarchy and with Puritans out of power in England,[110] the ban on Christmas was satirized in works such as Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas; Together with his Clearing by the Jury (1686).[111]

text: Reverend Paul Nedergaard, a clergyman in Copenhagen, Denmark, attracted controversy in 1958 when he declared Santa to be a "pagan goblin" (translated from Danish) after Santa's image was used on fundraising materials for a Danish welfare organization Clar, 337. A number of denominations of Christians have varying concerns about Santa Claus, which range from acceptance to denouncement.[112][113]

text: Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement, wrote: "the children should not be taught that Santa Claus has aught to do with this [Christmas] pastime. A deceit or falsehood is never wise. Too much cannot be done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating and inclining thought of childhood. To mould aright the first impressions of innocence, aids in perpetuating purity and in unfolding the immortal model, man in His image and likeness."[114]

text: Opposition under state atheism

text: Under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign.[115][116] The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.[117][118]

text: Symbol of commercialism

text: In his book Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus, writer Jeremy Seal describes how the commercialization of the Santa Claus figure began in the 19th century. "In the 1820s he began to acquire the recognizable trappings: reindeer, sleigh, bells," said Seal in an interview.[119] "They are simply the actual bearings in the world from which he emerged. At that time, sleighs were how you got about Manhattan."

text: Writing in Mothering, writer Carol Jean-Swanson makes similar points, noting that the original figure of St. Nicholas gave only to those who were needy and that today Santa Claus seems to be more about conspicuous consumption:

text: Our jolly old Saint Nicholas reflects our culture to a T, for he is fanciful, exuberant, bountiful, over-weight, and highly commercial. He also mirrors some of our highest ideals: childhood purity and innocence, selfless giving, unfaltering love, justice, and mercy. (What child has ever received a coal for Christmas?) The problem is that, in the process, he has become burdened with some of society's greatest challenges: materialism, corporate greed, and domination by the media. Here, Santa carries more in his baggage than toys alone![120]

text: In the Czech Republic, a group of advertising professionals started a website against Santa Claus, a relatively recent phenomenon in that country.[121] "Czech Christmases are intimate and magical. All that Santa stuff seems to me like cheap show business," said David König of the Creative Copywriters Club, pointing out that it is primarily an American and British tradition. "I'm not against Santa himself. I'm against Santa in my country only." In the Czech tradition, presents are delivered by Ježíšek, which translates as Baby Jesus.

text: In the United Kingdom, Father Christmas was historically depicted wearing a green cloak.[citation needed] As Father Christmas has been increasingly merged into the image of Santa Claus, that has been changed to the more commonly known red suit.[122] One school in the seaside town of Brighton banned the use of a red suit erroneously believing it was only indicative of the Coca-Cola advertising campaign. School spokesman Sarah James said: "The red-suited Santa was created as a marketing tool by Coca-Cola, it is a symbol of commercialism."[123] However, Santa had been portrayed in a red suit in the 19th century by Thomas Nast among others.[124]

text: A law in the U.S. state of Ohio prohibits the usage of Santa Claus or his image to sell alcoholic beverages. The law came to attention when the beer brand Bud Light attempted to use its mascot Spuds MacKenzie in a Santa Claus outfit during a December 1987 ad campaign; Bud Light was forced to stop using the imagery.[125]

text: Controversy about deceiving children

text: Various psychologists and researchers have wrestled with the ways that parents collude to convince young children of the existence of Santa Claus, and have wondered whether children's abilities to critically weigh real-world evidence may be undermined by their belief in this or other imaginary figures. For example, University of Texas psychology professor Jacqueline Woolley helped conduct a study that found, to the contrary, that children seemed competent in their use of logic, evidence, and comparative reasoning even though they might conclude that Santa Claus or other fanciful creatures were real:

text: The adults they count on to provide reliable information about the world introduce them to Santa. Then his existence is affirmed by friends, books, TV and movies. It is also validated by hard evidence: the half-eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning. In other words, children do a great job of scientifically evaluating Santa. And adults do a great job of duping them.[126]

text: Woolley posited that it is perhaps "kinship with the adult world" that causes children not to be angry that they were lied to for so long.[126] However, the criticism about this deception is not that it is a simple lie, but a complicated series of very large lies.[127] Objections include that it is unethical for parents to lie to children without good cause, and that it discourages healthy skepticism in children.[127] With no greater good at the heart of the lie, some have charged that it is more about the parents than it is about the children. For instance, writer Austin Cline posed the question: "Is it not possible that kids would find at least as much pleasure in knowing that parents are responsible for Christmas, not a supernatural stranger?"[127]

text: Others, however, see no harm in the belief in Santa Claus. Psychologist Tamar Murachver said that because it is a cultural, not parental, lie, it does not undermine parental trust.[128] The New Zealand Skeptics also see no harm in parents telling their children that Santa is real. Spokesperson Vicki Hyde said, "It would be a hard-hearted parent indeed who frowned upon the innocent joys of our children's cultural heritage. We save our bah humbugs for the things that exploit the vulnerable."[128]

text: Dr. John Condry of Cornell University interviewed more than 500 children for a study of the issue and found that not a single child was angry at his or her parents for telling them Santa Claus was real. According to Dr. Condry, "The most common response to finding out the truth was that they felt older and more mature. They now knew something that the younger kids did not".[129]


document_title: Nelson Agholor

question_text: where did nelson agholor go to high school

text: Nelson Agholor

text: Early years[edit]

text: Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Agholor moved to the United States when he was five years old.[1] He attended Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida where he played running back, wide receiver, and defensive back for the Berkeley Buccaneers. He was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the third best wide receiver in his class.[2] He committed to the University of Southern California in January 2012 over Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida, Florida State, and Alabama.[3]

text: College career[edit]

text: As a true freshman in 2012, Agholor played in all 13 games as a backup wide receiver and recorded 19 receptions for 340 yards and two touchdowns.

text: As a sophomore in 2013, he became a starter.[4] Agholor started all 14 games, totaling 56 receptions, 918 yards, and six touchdowns as a receiver. Along with being the leading receiver, Agholor returned punts and kicks for the Trojans. He returned 18 punts for 343 yards and two touchdowns, and 10 kickoffs for 175 yards. Agholor was recognized as a second-team All-American by numerous sports outlets for his punt returning. Agholor returned as a starter his junior season in 2014. He led the team with 104 receptions for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns.

text: After his junior season, Agholor decided to forego his senior season and entered the 2015 NFL Draft.[5][6]

text: Statistics[edit]

text:
Career statistics
Receiving

Punt Return

Kick Return

Season
REC
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
PR
YDS
AVG
TD
KR
YDS
AVG
TD

2012
19
340
17.9
76
2
0
0
0.0
0
5
121
24.2
0

2013
56
918
16.4
62
6
17
351
20.6
2
10
175
17.5
0

2014
104
1,313
12.6
87
12
20
197
9.9
2
9
147
16.3
0

Career
179
2,571
14.4
87
20
37
548
14.8
4
24
443
18.5
0

text: Professional career[edit]

text:
Pre-draft measurables

Ht
Wt
Arm length
Hand size
40-yard dash
10-yd split
20-yd split
20-ss
3-cone
Vert jump
Broad
BP

6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)
198 lb
(90 kg)
32 1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)
9 1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)
4.42 s
1.59 s
2.59 s
4.34 s
6.83 s
36 1⁄2 in
(0.93 m)
10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)
12 reps

All values from NFL Combine and USC Pro Day

text: Agholor was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round with the 20th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year contract on May 7, 2015, worth around $9.4 million with a signing bonus of $5.1 million.[9]

text: On December 13, 2015, Agholor scored his first NFL career touchdown, a 53-yard reception from quarterback Sam Bradford, in a matchup against the Buffalo Bills.[10] During his rookie season in 2015, Agholor played 13 games with 283 receiving yards and a touchdown. During his second season in 2016, Agholor played 15 games with 365 receiving yards and two touchdowns.[11]

text: On March 13, 2017, it was reported that Agholor would switch from the #17, which he wore in his first two seasons, to the #13. He opted to give the #17 to newly acquired free agent wide receiver Alshon Jeffery.[12]

text: During the 2017 season, Agholor found more success when he was switched to a slot receiver role. On September 10, 2017, in the season opening 30–17 victory over the Washington Redskins, Agholor had a 58-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback Carson Wentz in the first quarter. He finished the game with six receptions for 86 yards.[13] On September 17, in a Week 2 27–20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, he recorded his second touchdown of the season late in the fourth quarter to cut into the Chiefs' lead.[14] He would end the 2017 regular season with his best season yet, getting more receiving yards and touchdowns then his previous two seasons combined.

text: During Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, Agholor finished with 84 receiving yards as the Eagles won 41-33, giving them their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history.[15]

text: Career statistics[edit]

text:
Season
Team
Games
Receiving
Rushing
Fumbles

GP
GS
Rec
Yds
Avg
Lng
TD
Att
Yds
Avg
Lng
TD
FUM
Lost

2015
Philadelphia Eagles
13
12
23
283
12.3
53
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1

2016
Philadelphia Eagles
15
14
36
365
10.1
40
2
5
14
2.8
5
0
1
0

2017
Philadelphia Eagles
13
8
62
768
12.4
72
8
1
7
7
7
0
0
0

Total
41
34
121
1,311
11.6
72
11
6
21
4.9
7
0
2
1

text: Legal issues[edit]

text: In June 2016, Agholor was accused of sexually assaulting a dancer at Cheerleaders Gentleman’s Club.[16] Agholor was at the club located nearby the team’s off-season practice site with two Eagles teammates.[16]

text: On July 15, 2016, it was announced that Agholor would not face charges in the investigation.[17]


document_title: List of roller coaster rankings

question_text: where is the biggest roller coaster in canada

text: List of roller coaster rankings

text: Key[edit]

text:
Key

Key
Meaning

1
Record holder

**
Under construction

*
Still exists but not operating

text: Height rankings[edit]

text: Tallest steel roller coasters[edit]

text:
Tallest steel roller coasters

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Height
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Kingda Ka
Six Flags Great Adventure
United States
456 ft (139 m)
Intamin
May 2005 – Present

2
Top Thrill Dragster
Cedar Point
United States
420 ft (130 m)
Intamin
May 2003 – May 2005

3
Superman: Escape from Krypton[note 1]
Six Flags Magic Mountain
United States
415 ft (126 m)
Intamin
March 1997 – May 2003

4
Tower of Terror II[note 1]
Dreamworld
Australia
377 ft (115 m)
Intamin
January 1997 – March 1997

5
Red Force
Ferrari Land
Spain
367.4 ft (112.0 m)
Intamin
N/A

6
Fury 325
Carowinds
United States
325 ft (99 m)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

7
Steel Dragon 2000
Nagashima Spa Land
Japan
318.3 ft (97.0 m)
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
N/A

8
Millennium Force
Cedar Point
United States
310 ft (94 m)
Intamin
N/A

9
Leviathan
Canada's Wonderland
Canada
306 ft (93 m)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

10
Intimidator 305
Kings Dominion
United States
305 ft (93 m)
Intamin
N/A

text: Longest steel roller coaster drops[edit]

text:
Longest steel roller coaster drops

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Drop length
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Kingda Ka
Six Flags Great Adventure
United States
418 ft (127 m)
Intamin
May 2005 – present

2
Top Thrill Dragster
Cedar Point
United States
400 ft (120 m)
Intamin
May 2003 – May 2005

3
Superman: Escape from Krypton[note 1]
Six Flags Magic Mountain
United States
328.1 ft (100.0 m)
Intamin
March 1997 – May 2003

Tower of Terror II[note 1]
Dreamworld
Australia
328.1 ft (100.0 m)
Intamin
January 1997 – May 2003

5
Fury 325
Carowinds
United States
320 ft (98 m)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

6
Steel Dragon 2000
Nagashima Spa Land
Japan
306.8 ft (93.5 m)
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
N/A

7
Leviathan
Canada's Wonderland
Canada
306 ft (93 m)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

8
Intimidator 305
Kings Dominion
United States
300 ft (91 m)
Intamin
N/A

Millennium Force
Cedar Point
United States
300 ft (91 m)
Intamin
N/A

**
Unknown
Energylandia
Poland
265.8 ft (81.0 m)
Intamin

10
Coaster Through the Clouds
Nanchang Wanda Park
China
255.9 ft (78.0 m)
Intamin
N/A

Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya
PortAventura
Spain
255.9 ft (78.0 m)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

text: Tallest wooden roller coasters[edit]

text:
Tallest wooden roller coasters[note 2][note 3]

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Height
Manufacturer
Record held

*
Colossos
Heide Park
Germany
196.8 ft (60.0 m)
Intamin
June 2009 – July 2016

1
Wildfire
Kolmården Wildlife Park
Sweden
183.8 ft (56.0 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
July 2016 – present

T Express
Everland
South Korea
183.8 ft (56.0 m)
Intamin
July 2016 – present

3
El Toro
Six Flags Great Adventure
United States
181 ft (55 m)
Intamin
N/A

4
Goliath
Six Flags Great America
United States
165 ft (50 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

*
Mean Streak
Cedar Point
United States
161 ft (49 m)
Dinn Corporation
May 1991 – March 1992

5
The Voyage
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
United States
159 ft (48 m)
The Gravity Group
N/A

6
White Cyclone
Nagashima Spa Land
Japan
139 ft (42 m)
Intamin
N/A

7
Hades 360
Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
United States
136 ft (41 m)
The Gravity Group
N/A

8
Wodan Timbur Coaster
Europa-Park
Germany
131.3 ft (40.0 m)
Great Coasters International
N/A

9
Le Monstre
La Ronde
Canada
130.9 ft (39.9 m)
William Cobb & Associates
N/A

10
American Eagle
Six Flags Great America
United States
127 ft (39 m)
Intamin
N/A

text: Longest wooden roller coaster drops[edit]

text:
Longest wooden roller coaster drops[note 3]

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Drop length
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Goliath
Six Flags Great America
United States
180 ft (55 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
June 2014 – Present

2
El Toro
Six Flags Great Adventure
United States
176 ft (54 m)
Intamin
June 2009 – June 2014

3
Lightning Rod
Dollywood
United States
165 ft (50 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

4
Outlaw Run
Silver Dollar City
United States
162 ft (49 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

5
Wildfire
Kolmården Wildlife Park
Sweden
160.8 ft (49.0 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

*
Colossos
Heide Park
Germany
159.1 ft (48.5 m)
Intamin
N/A

*
Mean Streak
Cedar Point
United States
155 ft (47 m)
Dinn Corporation
May 1991 – May 2000

6
The Voyage
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
United States
154 ft (47 m)
The Gravity Group
N/A

7
T Express
Everland
South Korea
150.9 ft (46.0 m)
Intamin
N/A

8
The Boss
Six Flags St. Louis
United States
150 ft (46 m)
Custom Coasters International
N/A

9
American Eagle
Six Flags Great America
United States
147 ft (45 m)
Intamin
May 1981 – May 1991

10
The Beast
Kings Island
United States
141 ft (43 m)
Charles Dinn / Al Collins
April 1979 – May 1981

text: Speed rankings[edit]

text: Fastest steel roller coasters[edit]

text:
Fastest steel roller coasters

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Speed
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Formula Rossa
Ferrari World
United Arab Emirates
149 mph (240 km/h)
Intamin
November 2010 – present

2
Kingda Ka
Six Flags Great Adventure
United States
128 mph (206 km/h)
Intamin
May 2005 – November 2010

3
Top Thrill Dragster
Cedar Point
United States
120 mph (190 km/h)
Intamin
May 2003 – May 2005

4
Do-Dodonpa
Fuji-Q Highland
Japan
112 mph (180 km/h)
S&S Worldwide
December 2001 – May 2003

Red Force
Ferrari Land
Spain
112 mph (180 km/h)
Intamin
N/A

6
Superman: Escape from Krypton[note 1]
Six Flags Magic Mountain
United States
100 mph (160 km/h)
Intamin
March 1997 – December 2001

Tower of Terror II[note 1]
Dreamworld
Australia
100 mph (160 km/h)
Intamin
January 1997 – December 2001

*
ring°racer
Nürburgring
Germany
99.4 mph (160.0 km/h)
S&S Worldwide
N/A

8
Steel Dragon 2000
Nagashima Spa Land
Japan
95 mph (153 km/h)
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
N/A

Fury 325
Carowinds
United States
95 mph (153 km/h)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

10
Millennium Force
Cedar Point
United States
93 mph (150 km/h)
Intamin
N/A

text: Fastest wooden roller coasters[edit]

text:
Fastest wooden roller coasters[note 3]

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Speed
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Lightning Rod
Dollywood
United States
73 mph (117 km/h)
Rocky Mountain Construction
June 2016 – present

2
Goliath
Six Flags Great America
United States
72 mph (116 km/h)
Rocky Mountain Construction
June 2014 – June 2016

3
Wildfire
Kolmården Wildlife Park
Sweden
70.2 mph (113.0 km/h)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

4
El Toro
Six Flags Great Adventure
United States
70 mph (110 km/h)
Intamin
June 2009 – June 2014

*
Colossos
Heide Park
Germany
68.4 mph (110.1 km/h)
Intamin
N/A

5
Outlaw Run
Silver Dollar City
United States
68 mph (109 km/h)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

6
The Voyage
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
United States
67.4 mph (108.5 km/h)
The Gravity Group
N/A

7
The Boss
Six Flags St. Louis
United States
66.3 mph (106.7 km/h)
Custom Coasters International
April 2000 – May 2000

8
American Eagle
Six Flags Great America
United States
66 mph (106 km/h)
Intamin
May 1981 – April 2000

*
Mean Streak
Cedar Point
United States
65 mph (105 km/h)
Dinn Corporation
N/A

9
The Beast
Kings Island
United States
64.8 mph (104.3 km/h)
Charles Dinn / Al Collins
April 1979 – May 1981

10
T Express
Everland
South Korea
64.6 mph (104.0 km/h)
Intamin
N/A

text: Length rankings[edit]

text: Longest steel roller coasters[edit]

text:
Longest steel roller coasters

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Length
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Steel Dragon 2000
Nagashima Spa Land
Japan
8,133 ft (2,479 m)
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
August 2000 – present

2
The Ultimate
Lightwater Valley
United Kingdom
7,442 ft (2,268 m)
British Rail
July 1991 – August 2000

3
Fujiyama
Fuji-Q Highland
Japan
6,709 ft (2,045 m)
TOGO
N/A

4
Fury 325
Carowinds
United States
6,602 ft (2,012 m)
Bolliger & Mabillard
N/A

5
Millennium Force
Cedar Point
United States
6,595 ft (2,010 m)
Intamin
N/A

6
Formula Rossa
Ferrari World
United Arab Emirates
6,562 ft (2,000 m)
Intamin
N/A

7
California Screamin'
Disney California Adventure
United States
6,072 ft (1,851 m)
Intamin
N/A

*
Vertigorama
Parque de la Ciudad
Argentina
5,958 ft (1,816 m)
Intamin

8
Desperado
Buffalo Bill's
United States
5,843 ft (1,781 m)
Arrow Dynamics
N/A

**
Steel Vengeance
Cedar Point
United States
5,740 ft (1,750 m)
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

9
Mamba
Worlds of Fun
United States
5,600 ft (1,700 m)
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
N/A

Steel Force
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
United States
5,600 ft (1,700 m)
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
N/A

text: Longest wooden roller coasters[edit]

text:
Longest wooden roller coasters

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Length
Manufacturer
Record held

1
The Beast
Kings Island
United States
7,359 ft (2,243 m)
Charles Dinn / Al Collins
April 1979 – present

2
The Voyage
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
United States
6,442 ft (1,964 m)
The Gravity Group
N/A

3
White Cyclone
Nagashima Spa Land
Japan
5,577 ft (1,700 m)
Intamin
N/A

4
T Express
Everland
South Korea
5,383.8 ft (1,641.0 m)
Intamin
N/A

5
Shivering Timbers
Michigan's Adventure
United States
5,383 ft (1,641 m)
Custom Coasters International
N/A

6
Jupiter
Kijima Amusement Park
Japan
5,249 ft (1,600 m)
Intamin
N/A

7
Python in Bamboo Forest
Nanchang Wanda Park
China
5,111 ft (1,558 m)
Great Coasters International
N/A

8
The Boss
Six Flags St. Louis
United States
5,051 ft (1,540 m)
Custom Coasters International
N/A

9
Wood Coaster
Knight Valley
China
4,817 ft (1,468 m)
Great Coasters International
N/A

10
Hades 360
Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
United States
4,746 ft (1,447 m)
The Gravity Group
N/A

text: Inversion rankings[edit]

text: This listing contains all types of roller coaster inversions.

text: Steel roller coasters[edit]

text:
Most inversions on a steel roller coaster

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Inversions
Manufacturer
Record held

1
The Smiler
Alton Towers
United Kingdom
14
Gerstlauer
May 2013 – Present

2
10 Inversion Roller Coaster
Chime-Long Paradise
China
10
Intamin
February 2006 – May 2013

Altair
Cinecittà World
Italy
10
Intamin
N/A

Colossus
Thorpe Park
United Kingdom
10
Intamin
March 2002 – May 2013

Crazy Coaster
Locajoy Holiday
China
10
Intamin
N/A

**
unknown
Hopi Hari
Brazil
10
Intamin

**
unknown
Movie Animation Park Studios
Malaysia
10
Intamin

**
unknown
Wonder Island
Russia
10
Intamin

**
unknown
Ankapark
Turkey
10
Intamin

6
Avalancha
Xetulul
Guatemala
8
Intamin
N/A

Dragon Khan
PortAventura Park
Spain
8
Bolliger & Mabillard
May 1995 – March 2002

Flight of the Phoenix
Harborland
China
8
Intamin
N/A

**
unknown
Mirabilandia
Brazil
8
Intamin

text: Wooden roller coasters[edit]

text:
Most inversions on a wooden roller coaster[note 3]

Rank
Name
Park
Country
Inversions
Manufacturer
Record held

1
Outlaw Run
Silver Dollar City
United States
3
Rocky Mountain Construction
March 2013 – present

Wildfire
Kolmården
Sweden
3
Rocky Mountain Construction
June 2016 – present

3
Goliath
Six Flags Great America
United States
2
Rocky Mountain Construction
N/A

4
Hades 360
Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
United States
1
The Gravity Group
N/A

Jungle Trailblazer
Oriental Heritage, Ningbo
China
1
The Gravity Group
N/A

Jungle Trailblazer
Oriental Heritage, Wuhu
China
1
The Gravity Group
N/A

Jungle Trailblazer
Oriental Heritage, Jinan
China
1
The Gravity Group
N/A

Mine Blower
Fun Spot America: Kissimmee
United States
1
The Gravity Group
N/A

text: Notes[edit]

text:
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f A shuttle roller coaster, not complete-circuit
Jump up ^ Record was held by The Rattler from March 1992 – May 2000. Its height was 179 feet (55 m).[11]
^ Jump up to: a b c d Record was held by Son of Beast from May 2000 – June 2009. Its height was 218 feet (66 m), its drop distance was 214 feet (65 m) and its speed was 78 miles per hour (126 km/h).[12]

tag: ol