The history of Santa Claus

Submitted by aathura on Thu, 2006-12-21 21:37. Culture
Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, the legendary bringer of gifts at Christmas has been around for a long, long time. He is generally depicted as a chubby, plump, round bellied, jolly man with a white beard, dressed in a red suit trimmed with white, and driving a sleigh full of toys drawn through the air by eight reindeers.

But how did people start to know about Santa Claus? Why Santa is called Jolly Old St. Nicholas? Did he always put presents under Christmas trees?

Children believe Santa visits every house on Christmas Eve, entering through the chimney to leave presents under the Christmas tree and in the stockings of all good children. This familiar image of Santa Claus is a North American invention of the 19th century; it has ancient European roots and continues to influence the celebration of Christmas throughout the world.

In the fourth century AD, in a land called Myra, which is now called Turkey, there was a bishop named Nicholas. He was well known in early Christian legend for saving storm-tossed sailors, defending young children, and giving generous gifts to the poor. His legend spread throughout Europe, emphasizing his role as a traditional bringer of gifts. He was very wealthy and generous, and he loved to make children happy. Often, he would give gifts to very poor children -- sometimes by throwing them into their windows. Nicholas was sometimes said to ride through the sky on a horse.

St. Nicolas was depicted wearing a beard and a red cloak trimmed with white fur and was said to be accompanied at times by Black Peter, an elf whose job was to whip the naughty children. Legends also claim that Saint Nicholas left gifts for good children in their wooden shoes not under trees or in stockings, as he its believed today.

After Nicholas died, he was patronized as a saint. His feast day is December 6,a holiday in many countries. In the Netherlands, the saint's name, Sinter Nikolass shortened to Sinter Klaas. And as Dutch people immigrated to the United States, the name evolved into what it is today - Santa Claus! The American version of the Santa Claus figure received its inspiration and its name from the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century. As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as St. A Claus, but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. This Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included details such as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. Illustrator Thomas Nast who depicted a rotund Santa for Christmas issues of Harper’s magazine further elaborated the American image of Santa Claus. In modern versions of the Santa Claus legend, only his toyshop workers are elves. An advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company invented Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, in 1939. The fully detailed modern image of Santa Claus plays a part in Christmas celebrations around the world. Although Santa is viewed as the embodiment of a spirit of giving, some argue that the modern image of Santa Claus conflicts with the true meaning of Christmas and promotes greed and commercialism. To reconcile the legend of Santa Claus with the religious significance of Christmas, some Christians emphasize that the modern figure is derived from legends about a saint who symbolized love, caring, and generosity.

Whatever be the history behind, Santa Claus to children around the World is the legendary gift-giving icon who distributes presents to sleeping children who have been "good" all year; traditionally during the night of December 24, Christmas Eve

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!"
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