Santa Claus is depicted as a fat jolly man in a red suit who delivers presents down your chimney. But where does he come from?
The 19th century version actually comes from European backgrounds. In early christian times Nicholas was a man who travelled around Europe doing good deeds. He became revered for saving sailors in storms, giving gifts to the poor and defending children.
Some Stories Of St Nicholas
One day while travelling Nicholas came upon an inn where the landlord was said to steal young children and kill them to serve as meals to his guests. Nicholas found a case where in lay the bodies of three young children. Making the sign of the cross upon the case, Nicholas brought the children back to life and returned them to their parents, thus saving their lives. It is for acts like this he was named the patron saint of children.
Another story has Nicholas was walking past a house where the father of three girls was moaning over the fact that he had no money for his daughters dowries so they wouldn't be able to get married. Later that night Nicholas went back and threw a bag of gold threw the window. But he was seen and people told the story to others.
Once while he was on a boat a huge storm came up, and the sailors all thought they would die, but Nicholas started praying and the storm stopped. Of course the sailors told everyone they knew what had happened, and he became known as the patron saint of sailors as well as the poor and little children.
And so the stories of Nicholas spread around Europe, (but people concentrated on his image of gift bringer, probably because they were hoping for a bag of gold too!). In Germany he was called Santke Nikolaus and in Holland Sinter Klass. He was said to ride through the sky on a horse, wearing a bishops robe. The ride of St Nick took place on the 6th December on the eve of St Nicholas' Day. With the reformation the protestants revered Christkinder (Christ Child) as the gift giver on his own Feast Day. When the celebration of St Nicholas prevailed it became attached to Christmas Day, even though the church doesn't recognize him as a Saint.
Santa arrived in America when the writings of Washington Irving were published, who in his History of New York wrote about the arrival of the Dutch Sinter Klass on the eve of St Nicholas' Day on horse back. He was then fully Americanised by Clement Clarke Moore in his poem of 1823 A Visit From St Nicholas or as it is more commonly known The Night Before Christmas. He was later illustrated by Thomas Nast who drew him as a human with elves in his work shop from the 1860's to the 1880's
The image of Santa Claus was further enhanced by Coca-Cola in 1931 who depicted him in red for advertising purposes, as opposed to the green he had worn previously. And there you have the modern day version of Santa Claus! All the stories have grown from the man Nicholas, whom many regarded as a saint, who roamed the countryside trying to do good! |
