Origin of Santa Claus

Every kid loves the character of Santa Claus that comes home and delivers gifts to children. Usually, he is portrayed as a man who lives at the North Pole, surrounded by elves and reindeer and works diligently all through the year making presents for children.

Throughout history, Santa Claus has gone by several distinct names such as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas or Sinterklaas.

The beginning of Saint Nicholas goes back to the 4th-century. St. Nicholas was a Greek Christian bishop who was famous for his generosity and kindness to people. Particularly, he was well-known for giving offerings to poor women so that they are not forced to pursue prostitution for living.

St. Nicholas became a renowned figure in countries like Germany. In the Netherlands, a side of Saint Nicholas was known as Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas with long white beard carried a cloth sack to catch naughty children and could fly on his white horse.

In earlier times, Saint Nicholas was represented wearing bishop’s robes, but today Santa is generally portrayed as a jolly, plump, white-bearded man with a red coat, white-cuffed red trousers, boots and black leather belt. The image became well-liked in the Canada and Unites States in the 19th century due to the noteworthy influence of political cartoonist and caricaturist Thomas Nast. This icon has been reinforced and maintained through radio, song, films and television. In the Europe and United Kingdom, he is often represented in a manner similar to the American Santa Claus and is commonly known as Father Christmas.

The recent origins of Santa Claus can be laid back to 1800′s in England. Britain had been celebrating a mythical man called Father Christmas for long. The character of Father Christmas was combined with the Saint Nicholas who gives gifts and offerings to the children.

Rituals associated with Santa Claus are performed all round the world by children hoping to get gifts from him. Some rituals occur days and weeks before Christmas while some others, such as giving gift, preparing snacks are specified to Christmas Eve. Santa Claus starts appearing weeks before Christmas in shopping malls, department stores and parties.
Santa Claus has taken an extensive journey to reach where he is recognized today. He is definitely one of the most well-liked and fascinating characters in our culture.

The world could read a great deal from Santa about what it takes to be winning particularly regarding good deeds and helping others.