Who Is Santa Claus?
Who Is Santa Claus?
Also known as Saint Nicholas, Sinter Klass, Kris Kringle, St. Nick and Father Christmas, Santa Claus has become one of the most recognized legendary figures in the world. So who is Santa? How did the legend first come about, how has his image changed over the years, and which Christmas beliefs and traditions are associated with Santa?
How did the legend begin?
The original St. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in 280 AD. He was a wealthy Christian priest and bishop, known for generously giving gifts and money to people without wanting to reveal his identity. Children were advised to go to sleep quickly in case he came because he preferred to leave presents at night, unobtrusively. He became the patron saint of children and sailors. Many mariners spread stories about his kindness from port to port across the world, and scores of churches were named after him.
By the year 303 AD the emperor of Rome, Diocletian, commanded citizens to worship him like a god. Because Christians refused, they were imprisoned, St. Nicholas among them. He lived in confinement for five years, then was released when a new emperor came to power. As bishop of the city of Myra he continued doing good until he died, and in 800 AD he was recognized as a Catholic saint who was much loved.
During the sixteenth century St. Nicholas’ image became altered as more stories and beliefs were attributed to him. The Dutch called him Sinter Klass. The pronunciation evolved to Santa Klass and then Santa Claus as Dutch immigrants brought the legend with them to America in the seventeenth century.
In 1804 the New York Historical Society was founded. St. Nicholas was its patron saint so the members gave gifts at Christmas in the Dutch tradition. Between 1809 and 1822 St. Nicholas was mentioned in a book and in poems, the most famous of which is now known as Clement Moore’s The Night Before Christmas. He was described as a corpulent, jolly elf who chuckled and smoked a pipe. He had a tiny sleigh and eight reindeer which flew over the rooftops, and he entered houses via the chimneys to leave presents for children on Christmas Eve. It was not until 1849 that a Mrs Claus was first mentioned, and she became a popular part of the legend nearer the end of the century.
How has Santa’s image evolved?
The legend of Santa, as he was increasingly known, was basically complete except for his changing image. From 1863 to 1886 the Civil War political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew many influential illustrations of Santa with a long beard, a pipe and fur-trimmed clothes. By the end of the 1920s a life-sized Santa in a red suit had become the standard version produced by artists. Starting in the 1930s the Coca-Cola company used Haddon Sundblom’s original paintings of Santa in their advertisements for thirty-five years. Santa became a symbol of consumerism as his image was exported globally from America in the promotion of all sorts of products. In contrast, many European countries continued to hold greater reverence for the original religious St. Nicholas instead of the feel-good, magical, materialistic nature of the fictional Santa Claus who appeared in shopping centres to encourage present-buying as Christmas drew near.
Which Christmas beliefs and traditions are associated with Santa?
Despite worldwide efforts of churches to keep Christ at the centre of Christmas celebrations, Santa Claus has captured the imaginations of children with an abundance of fairy-tale fantasies. This worked out well for Sunday Schools in the mid-1850s when it was discovered that Santa, Christmas trees and presents drew more children to church, thereby promoting the Christian celebration of Christmas in a more secular way.
Other attractions to the Santa Claus myth are flying reindeer, a sack full of toys made at his exciting workshop at the North Pole, busy helper elves, leaving nuts, sweets, cookies and milk for Santa to enjoy after his trip down the chimney, writing a Christmas list and sending it to Santa, and hanging stockings by the fireplace. Some parents like to remind their children that they will only get presents if they’re nice, not naughty, as Santa is believed to somehow perceive their behaviour.
Some of these ideas are rooted in history. The original St. Nicholas is associated with a well-known story about a poor man who couldn’t afford to give his daughters money on their wedding day. When they went to put on their stockings which had been drying by the fire, they found that bags of gold had been left in there for them.
Children’s questions about where Santa lived and how he could travel the world in one night have sparked many intellectual, scientific and fanciful theories, and in 1925 the media published the ‘fact’ that Santa lived in Lapland where conditions would suit reindeer better than in the inhospitable North Pole. An elaborate Santa Claus Village has subsequently been developed there in the Arctic Circle and children can meet Santa all year long.
The institution of having someone dressed as Santa Claus at the shops at Christmas began in 1890 when a businessman in Massachusetts, James Edgar, invented the idea of a department store Santa as a marketing method. Children flocked to see him and the tradition continues today.
Although he is sometimes criticized as a materialistic symbol of greed and a sad departure from the true meaning of Christmas, Santa is an undeniably inspirational and much-loved figure of children everywhere, bringing happiness and anticipation and sparking the imagination. A quick look into his origins reveals a kind-hearted gift giver called St. Nicholas whose Christian values gave us a man who also shared joy among many people. Why not enjoy the best of both worlds? This Christmas let’s remember the man who began the captivating legend and turned out to be the first Santa Claus, so many years ago.