We are all familiar with Santa Claus, a legendary figure who is integral to the Christmas celebrations. Santa Claus, the make-believe person, remains in the hearts of children as he brings toys and other gifts for children during Christmas.
Santa Claus is also known by other names including Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle and Pelznickel. The happy, white-bearded man dressed in red, flies on a sleigh led by his reindeer, enters each home through the chimney and fills children’s stockings with toys and gifts.
Who is the Real Santa Claus?
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named Saint Nicholas. It is believed that St. Nicholas was born sometime around 280 AD in Patara, near Myra (near modern-day Turkey).
It is said that St. Nicholas gave away all his wealth to help the poor and the sick. According to the proper folklore, he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married.
Over the years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. He was the most popular saint in Europe by the Renaissance.
Sinter Klaas Comes to the US
Santa Claus was well known among the Dutch, who called him Sinterklaas. When the Dutch came to colonise the region around present-day New York in the seventeenth century, they brought their traditions including Sinterklaas.
Meanwhile, in the UK, there was a pre-existing figure called Father Christmas. In an article in the University of York, the saint “presided over festive parties, feasts and drinking… Christmas was focused more on entertainment for adults rather than a time for children.” However, it changed in the Victorian period in the 19th century, where much emphasis was on the family life.
Another figure, which was popular among the children in Europe was Krampus, the half-goat, half-demon monster seen as an evil counterpart to Santa. Krampus punishes children for being naughty while Santa rewards them with gifts for being nice.
A Santa-liked figure is known as Père Noël in France, while in Scandinavia, an elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. In Italy, a woman called La Befana rides a broomstick to bring toys for lucky children.
How Did St. Nick Inspire America’s Santa Claus Figure?
Devotion to St. Nicholas seems to have faded after the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, except in the Netherlands where his legend remained as Sinterklaas. In the 17th century, Dutch Protestants who settled in New York brought the Sinterklaas tradition with them. Eventually, St. Nicholas morphed into the secular Santa Claus.
Artist Thomas Nast, an engraver in Morristown, New Jersey, who illustrated the front cover of Harper’s magazine for many years, played a key role in the transformation, said the Rev. Nicholas Ayo, author of “Saint Nicholas in America: Christmas Holy Day and Holiday.”.
“He followed the description of Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas — and Clement Clarke Moore’s ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ poem,” Ayo says. “So, that’s how that got changed. But in Europe, the bishop shows up in bishop’s clothing at the door sometimes.”
Why did Santa Bring gifts for Children?
Giving gifts to children has been a central idea during the Christmas celebration since the early 19th century. In the early nineteenth century, stores in the US and Europe began to advertise Christmas shopping and in the mid-1800s, newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements, which featured images of Santa Claus.
During that time, the stores used to have life-size Santa Claus model, which used to attract children. In the next few years, stores began to attract children and their parents with the lure of a peek at a “live” Santa Claus.
In the popular culture across countries, Santa Claus is depicted as flying from his home to home on Christmas Eve to deliver toys to children on his magic sleigh led by his reindeer. Santa enters each home through the chimney, which is why empty Christmas stockings are hung by the Chimney in hopes that Santa would be there and fill it with candy canes and other treats or small toys.
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