The Santa Clauses season 1, episode 5, "Across the Yule-Verse," sees Scott Calvin encountering every alternate Santa Claus figure throughout history. While the episode is a fun homage to It's A Wonderful Life, its most captivating bit is the many iterations of Santa that help teach Scott the importance of his time in the big red suit. Scott affectionately nicknames the multiversal hub he travels to the "Yule-Verse." It is a fascinating look at each version of Father Christmas and how they derive from their native folklore.
When Scott's plan for finding a replacement Santa takes a left turn, Bernard the former Head Elf makes his return to the franchise and takes him on a quest of self-reflection. While showing Scott how important he is in the grand scheme of Christmas, the two interact with many different previous Santa Clauses. Scott learns why he was selected for the role in the first place from Santa 17, the one who fell off of his roof in The Santa Clause. Before realizing how he must band together with his family to save the day, Scott is reminded about the true meaning of the season by the many variant Santas.
Papai Noel
In France and various other French-speaking regions, there is a folk tale of the gift-giver Père Noël. Often called Papa or Papi Noel, he is one of the earliest iterations of Santa Claus. During his journey with his predecessor, Santa 17, Scott bumps into Papai Noel and is initially stunned, stating "I have so many questions."
Papai Noel is depicted in The Santa Clauses as wearing a white cathedral bishop's outfit, a slight shift from his normal depictions as an old man in a brown cloak. Papai Noel is said to have brought gifts for all the well-behaved children who would leave their shoes by the fireplace before bed. Rather than milk and cookies, children all over France would leave carrots out for Papai Noel's friend Gui the Donkey, a.k.a. Mistletoe.
Krampus
In the "Across the Yule-Verse" episode of The Santa Clauses, Scott later runs into Krampus, who is stealing gifts from under a Christmas tree. Krampus is a European Folklore figure that resembles an anthropomorphic ram or goat. With his round horns and fur-covered body, Krampus would kidnap naughty children on Christmas Eve.
He is sometimes described as the counterpart to Saint Nicholas, with the two of them entering the homes of children as a unit. The nice children receive gifts from Saint Nicholas while the naughty children receive punishment from Krampus. The notion of him kidnapping his victims has been modified for Disney's more family-friendly depiction by having him take gifts rather than children.
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas is essentially the original Santa Claus. When he approaches, Scott remarks, "His parents died. He became quite wealthy and then gave his money away to help those in need." Saint Nicholas of Myra is the basis for the entire idea behind the mythical figure of Santa Claus and the focus of The Santa Clause franchise.
The real Saint Nicholas was a Greek bishop who is said to have saved many people and given gifts to the needy. He is also attributed with the act of committing a few miracles, including the resurrection of deceased children. His legacy of gift-giving spawned the story that has led to the mascot of the Christmas holiday today. Even his position as a bishop has translated over to other versions through various wardrobe differences in his depictions.
Befana
The Befana in Italian folklore was an older woman who delivered gifts to children on Epiphany, or Three Kings Day — January 6. Also known as the Christmas Witch, the Befana is often portrayed as a broomstick-riding witch. In The Santa Clauses, Befana lives in a shack near the North Pole. She eventually assists Scott by holding onto the Santa Suit when Simon, the new Santa who is commercializing Christmas as an everyday delivery system, takes control and almost destroys the Christmas spirit everywhere.
While she wasn't one of the Santa Claus characters in the Yule-Verse, she is in a few episodes throughout The Santa Clauses. Despite her witchy appearance, the Befana is not an inherently bad character in folklore. She does, however, still leave most children a lump of coal regardless of gifts because they have presumably been bad at some point in the year.