We know that he is old, celebrated during yule, wise enough to devise a counting system, and if his name is any indication of character he would've been a good Fryas. It has been understood by many scholars that the folklore of 'Santa Claus' or 'Father Christmas' is pre-christian in nature. Many claim the origin is with Odin / Wodin and his 'wild hunt' (Which interestingly in some folklore he isn't always the leader of, see: https://norse-mythology.org/the-wild-hunt/)The ‘witkeaning’ — that is: sea king — Godfreyad the Old made individual counting numbers thereof, for both the Standscript and the Runscript.
The connection to Odin to me was always reasonable, but the wild hunt being correlated with gift giving, feasts, etc. never connected with me. The wild hunt doesn't seem explicitly connected with Yule, instead simply happening within the same season as it - and it is more of a terrifying ghostly apparition than a feast-day celebration. I think Godfreyad as the origin of Santa Claus makes more sense than Wodin.
