Facts about the Fascinating History of Santa Claus

According to the legend, Santa Claus lives with his wife in the North Pole. He spends his time making toys with the help of his elves. He receives letters from Children asking for Christmas presents. 

On Christmas Eve, gift-bringer Santa Claus carries all his gifts and presents in his sleigh that is drawn by reindeer and flies around the world. He distributes all the gifts through the chimney of each child’s house. He also likes to refresh himself with cookies and milk that is left for him. 

Santa Claus, he made our childhood special. Isn’t he? But what is the story of Santa Claus? He might be portrayed like a grandpa with a red dress distributing gifts to all the good-behaved children but he has a really long flashback. In this article, we will discuss everything about the origin of Santa Claus, where did Santa Claus come from? and how did Santa Claus start?

History of Santa Claus

Who was Santa claus? History of Santa Claus dates hundreds of years back to Myra(Which is now modern-day Turkey). It is believed that there is a monk named St.Nicholas who is much admired for his kindness and selflessness. He was the first person to sow seed for the concept of Santa Claus. It is believed that he gave away all his wealth to the poor and sick. There is a popular story of three poor sisters which is known to be one of the best stories of St.Nicholas. In that story, he saved three sisters from being saved into slavery and prositution. He was believed to provide them with a dowry so that they could get married. He was well-known as the protector of Children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on December 6(His anniversary of death). It was considered a lucky day for new purchases and getting married. 

He was given names such as Sinterklaas(Dutch Term). This was created from his name Sint Nikolaas( Dutch term for Saint Nicholas). He was featured in a New York newspaper in the late 1700s. Later, several other depictions of Santa Claus were portrayed. 

The American author, Washington Irving who was famous for writing Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, helped in popularizing St.Nicholas and Sinterklaas. He was portrayed to be a patron saint of New York. Later, his name was Americanized and called Santa Claus over time.

The Depiction of Santa Claus

Clement Clarke Moore, a minister is known for creating and popularizing the early image of Santa Claus. He wrote and published a Christmas poem for his daughter in 1823. It was popularly known as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’. In the poem, he described St.Nick to be a “jolly old elf” whose belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly. It is also responsible for the wide known notion that Santa travels from place to place and distributes presents for children. This poem is majorly responsible for the now-known legend about Santa Claus. The current depiction of Santa Claus was drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly beginning in 1866. 

The depiction of Santa Claus became popular and was widely used for advertising during the Christmas season. In 1841, a shop in Philadelphia started the tradition of attracting customers by featuring a Santa Claus. Children flooded the store to watch Santa Claus playing through the chimney. Later, many stores started to follow the same trend. 

The origin of his red suit dates back to the late 1800s. Later, the image was further defined for the Coca-Cola advertisement from 1931 by illustrator Haddon Sundblum. It was depicted to be a white-bearded grandpa with a red suit, black belt, and a red cap.