The Joyful History of Santa Claus
The history of Santa Claus goes far back; and they did not call him “Santa Claus”. Santa Claus’s history is a large, complex, and impactful history. The figure of Santa Claus originated with a compassionate and generous Saint from the late Roman Period; the Saint’s name was Nicholas. Nicholas was a Saint during a very tumultuous period of the Roman Empire. Emperors were persecuting people and civilization was unstable and nearing the dark ages. Along with the traits of being compassionate and generous to those around him, Nicholas was also a protector of innocent people.
Saint Nicholas’s feast day in the Catholic Church is December 6th, amazingly close to December 25th, Christmas Day. The Catholic Church celebrated his feast day during their long expansion in the Middle Ages. However, during the Protestant Reformation England split with the Catholic Church partly because they believed the Catholic Church to be corrupt and King Henry VIII oversaw the separation from Catholicism so that he could commit debauchery and adultery. It was a mixed bag – the Catholic Church was corrupt with internal practices, but they still tried to impose moral practices on people, including kings – and King Henry the VIII wanted to do as he pleased.
So with this split from the Catholic Church – England did away with Saint Nicholas’s Feast Day. The problem is that the English people loved the St. Nicholas figure. In order to keep Saint Nicholas around the Protestants called him Father Christmas and made him a central figure of December 25th. The Germanic Catholic world also has a name for Santa Claus – they call him Sinterklaas. But all figures: Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and Sinterklaas originate from the figure of Saint Nicholas.
History of Santa Claus: More about Saint Nicholas
The history of Santa Claus is dependent upon the history of Saint Nicholas.
Little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas. The earliest accounts of his life were written centuries after his death and probably contain legendary elaborations. He is said to have been born in the Greek seaport of Patara, Lycia, in Asia Minor to wealthy Christian parents.
In one of the earliest attested and most famous incidents from his life, he is said to have rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them.
Other early stories tell of him calming a storm at sea, saving three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution, and chopping down a tree possessed by a demon. In his youth, he is said to have made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine. Shortly after his return, he became Bishop of Myra. He was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian, but was released after the accession of Constantine.
An early list makes him an attendee at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but he is never mentioned in any writings by people who were at the council. Late, unsubstantiated legends claim that he was temporarily defrocked and imprisoned during the council for slapping the heretic Arius. Another famous late legend tells how he resurrected three children, who had been murdered and pickled in brine by a butcher planning to sell them as pork during a famine.
Where Did Saint Nicholas Live?
Fewer than 200 years after Nicholas’s death, the St. Nicholas Church was built in Myra under the orders of Theodosius II over the site of the church where he had served as bishop, and his remains were moved to a sarcophagus in that church.
In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of the region were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuk Turks, and soon after their church was declared to be in schism by the Catholic church, a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas’s skeleton from his sarcophagus in the church without authorization and brought them to their hometown, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola. The remaining bone fragments from the sarcophagus were later removed by Venetian sailors and taken to Venice during the First Crusade.
And just to add, for general knowledge, the concept of putting toys and goodies in stockings goes all the way back to Saint Nicholas. It is said that when he helped people with money and gifts, he would throw them through the window or down the chimney of the house in some stockings.
Saint Nicholas Patron Saint of Children
Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of Children – perfect for the Christmas season. Saint Nicholas is also the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students in various cities and countries around Europe.
The History of Santa Claus: Sinterklaas to Santa Claus
The history of Santa Claus also follows the northern part of Europe. The Sinterklaas figure comes from Saint Nicholas. When the Dutch settled New Amsterdam (which is now New York City) they brought Sinterklaas with them. Eventually the English took over, the Colonies happened, then the American Revolution. The figure of Sinterklaas was Americanized to the figure of Santa Claus we know today. And just to point out the – reindeer were added because of Sinterklaas’s northern European heritage, the Dutch utilized their reindeer and Santa Claus and Sinterklaas was the perfect guy to pull around in a sleigh!
In 1821, the book A New-year’s present, to the little ones from five to twelve was published in New York. It contained “Old Santeclaus with Much Delight”, an anonymous poem describing Santeclaus on a reindeer sleigh, bringing rewards to children. Some modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the anonymous publication of the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (better known today as The Night Before Christmas) in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on 23 December 1823; Clement Clarke Moore later claimed authorship, though some scholars argue that Henry Livingston, Jr. (who died nine years before Moore’s claim) was the author.
St. Nick is described as being “chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf” with “a little round belly”, that “shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly”, in spite of which the “miniature sleigh” and “tiny reindeer” still indicate that he is physically diminutive. The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen).
By 1845, “Kris Kringle” was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States. A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for “a fabulous personage” whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called “Krishkinkle”, but in New York he is “St. Nicholas” or “Santa Claus”. The author quotes Moore’s poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too.
As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus’s modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century who immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly in which Santa was dressed in an American flag, and had a puppet with the name “Jeff” written on it, reflecting its Civil War context. In this drawing, Santa is also in a sleigh pulled by reindeers.
Is Santa Claus Real or Is Santa Claus Still Alive?
People ask these questions all of the time – little kids think Santa is real or still alive. You hear all these jokes about the older brother/sister telling their younger siblings that Santa is not still real or is just made up. Or someone finds out that Santa is make believe and their world is shattered. Santa is more of a spirit or symbol and his influence on Christmas is not dependent if he is alive today or not.
