We all are familiar with Santa Claus and no matter how old we are the fascination of Santa Claus just refuses to die. Have you ever wondered how the concept of the Santa Claus came up and has survived for so many years? We will try to discuss all about the charming and eternal Santa Claus in this article.
The Origin of Santa Claus
The original name of Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas. He is also called the father of Christmas. Santa Claus is also called Santa at times. There are many stories attached to Santa Claus and you can imagine Santa Claus the way you want. It has been mentioned time and again that Santa Claus is a person who comes to all the houses on 24th December and he distributes gifts to the children.
Santa Claus
The Story of St Nicholas
Saint Nicholas used to live in Myra. He used to live sometime in the 4th century and the town is now in Turkey. He was a great saint and apart from children he would also help the men and women. He would arrange dowry for the daughters of the poor men so that they would not be forced to take up prostitution.
He took to teaching Christianity from a very young age. He was very popular in Europe. The remains of Saint Nicholas were found in Italy in the year 1087. The place where these were found is a place or pilgrimage and worship today. A basilica was constructed on this spot. Each country of Europe and England has many stories that are associated with the Santa Claus.
As you can see that the concept of Santa Claus is so old the form and figure of Santa Claus has undergone many changes to reach the present form that we have today. Indeed Saint Nicholas was a great man and a true human being that even after so many years have passed after his death he is still loved and appreciated all across the world. After his death people continued to remember him on his death anniversary that was 6th December. No Christmas celebration is complete without the Santa Claus.
The Gift Distributor
In the European countries the children still get their gifts on 6th December that is Saint Nicholas day for them. On the Christmas the children do get gifts but it is said that these come from the little Jesus. If you go back to history you will know that Santa Claus was basically from Netherlands.
He was Saint Nicholas who used to give gifts to children as he loved kids. He was a bishop and sometimes he would make the gifts and toys all by himself. The children would love him. There is also a version of how Saint Nicholas used to look that has been modified and transformed to the Santa Claus that we have today. It was the Dutch who got the concept of Santa Claus to America and England. The Dutch would celebrate the Saint Nicholas day and the idea was so nice and sweet that it was adopted by the Christian community all across the world. They renamed Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus. They also changed the day of giving gifts from 6th December to the 24th December.
Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus
The whole world today knows the modern version of the Santa Claus so much so that the Saint Nicholas is almost forgotten. So we thought we would discuss about this legend that has been making Christmas special for all for so many years. This was the fact about Santa Claus. However, people across the world love this saint and so they have associated a lot of things and details to this most loved saint as per their wish and fancies.
The Santa Claus is always dressed in a red coat. He is always laughing and smiling. He has a long white beard. Santa Claus also has a huge white moustache. He sometimes wears a spectacle too. He has white cuffs and collars. His dress colours are also the colours of the Christmas season. You will see the Santa Claus wearing black leather belt and boots. He will mostly be seen carrying a bag full of toys, gifts and candies for the children. The details do match with the Saint Nicholas but there have been few additions and that cannot be denied.
The Santa Claus lives in the North Pole. He has a wife who is called Mrs Santa Claus. She stays in North Pole as Santa Claus comes to give gifts on the night of the Christmas Eve. He has about nine flying reindeers that take him all across the world on the Christmas Eve. He has a team of magical elves who help him make the Christmas gift and these elves also help him to distribute the gifts all across the world. Keeping these ideas in mind there is a tourist attraction in Alaska that is called the Santa Claus house.
Associated Stories
There are many songs, poems and stories that are associated with the Santa Claus for years. The belief that Santa Claus comes from the chimney was developed by the Europeans. In many countries the children keep food items for the Santa Claus that include a glass of milk, plate of cookies, beer, sherry, mince pies, rice porridge and the list just goes on.
Some Lesser Known Facts
Some lesser known facts about Santa Claus are here. Every year a lot of letters are sent to the Santa Claus from across the world. It was Coca Cola that came up with the modern form of Santa Claus as we know today. In1890 a businessman named James Edgar came up with the idea of dressing up like a Santa Claus and distributing gifts to children. This became a tradition after this. No one knew if Santa Claus was married it was in 1849 that he got a wife. It was mentioned in the story called “A Christmas legend” by James Rees.
We hope you enjoyed the fascinating tale of the Santa Claus as much as we had fun writing about the same. Next time you see the Santa Claus you will perhaps have a better knowledge of him and you can share the same with your children. Every country feels that Santa Claus is theirs. However, the Santa Claus does not belong to anyone or you say that Santa Claus belongs to everyone.
He is a Saint who got transformed to a legend and has lived on for generations. As we grow up we realise that Santa Claus is a fiction but we still love the magic of Christmas and we would like to wave to a Santa Claus we see on the day of Christmas. Saint Nicholas is loved by us all and he will be continued to be loved forever. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Phone to Santa Claus/Hire Santa Claus
Many companies offer a platform to make a phone to Santa Claus (such as NORAD Santa tracker) or to sent a Santa Claus call as gift to someone. Infact you can also hire Santa Claus for any occasion and depending on your location, you can use the local yellow pages or directory to find the company which gives best Santa Claus services in your area.