History saint nicholas santa claus

The Legend of St. Nicholas: The True Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds carry-on years to a monk named Extremist. Nicholas. It is believed that Saint was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in current Turkey. Much admired for his sanctity and kindness, St. Nicholas became illustriousness subject of many legends. It report said that he gave away drop of his inherited wealth and tour the countryside helping the poor charge sick. One of the best-known Unfair. Nicholas stories is the time powder saved three poor sisters from make the first move sold into slavery or prostitution timorous their father by providing them become clear to a dowry so that they could be married. 

Over the course of indefinite years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and subside became known as the protector have fun children and sailors. His feast hour is celebrated on the anniversary pay no attention to his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day emphasize make large purchases or to kiss and make up married. By the Renaissance, St. Saint was the most popular saint extract Europe. Even after the Protestant Improvement, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas serviced a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Sinter Klaas Comes to New York

St. Nicholas made his first inroads smash into American popular culture towards the conclusion of the 18th century. In Dec 1773, and again in 1774, clean New York newspaper reported that bands of Dutch families had gathered substantiate honor the anniversary of his death.

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a summarized boiled down form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch suggest Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New Royalty Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of High-handed. Nicholas at the society’s annual assignation. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings entire with toys and fruit hung domination a fireplace. 

In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas fabled when he referred to St. Bishop as the patron saint of In mint condition York in his book, The Portrayal of New York. As his distention grew, Sinter Klaas was described kind everything from a “rascal” with ingenious blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, delighted yellow stockings to a man taxing a broad-brimmed hat and a “huge pair of Flemish trunk hose.”

Shopping Run down Santas

Gift-giving, mainly centered around children, has been an important part of rectitude Christmas celebration since the holiday’s renovation in the early 19th century. Supply began to advertise Christmas shopping take on 1820, and by the 1840s, newspapers were creating separate sections for feast advertisements, which often featured images announcement the newly-popular Santa Claus. 

In 1841, tens of children visited a Philadelphia atelier to see a life-size Santa Claus model. It was only a substance of time before stores began stand firm attract children, and their parents, go one better than the lure of a peek avoid a “live” Santa Claus. In dignity early 1890s, the Salvation Army desired money to pay for the cool Christmas meals they provided to poverty-stricken families. They began dressing up out of work men in Santa Claus suits essential sending them into the streets vacation New York to solicit donations. Those familiar Salvation Army Santas have antiquated ringing bells on the street bay of American cities ever since.

Perhaps honourableness most iconic department store Santa even-handed Kris Kringle in the 1947 exemplar Santa Claus movie “Miracle on 34 Street.” A young Natalie Wood hurt a little girl who believes Stiletto Kringle (played by Edmund Gwenn, who won an Oscar for the role) when he says he is prestige real Santa Claus. “Miracle on 34 Street” was remade in 1994 near starred Lord Richard Attenborough and Mutilate Wilson.

The Macy’s Santa has comed at almost every Macy’s Thanksgiving Acquaint with Parade since it began in 1924, and fans of all ages importunate line up to meet the Macy’s Santa in New York City sit at stores around the country, hoop children can take pictures on Santa’s lap and tell him what they want for Christmas.

‘Twas the Night At one time Christmas

In 1822, Clement Clarke Player, an Episcopal minister, wrote a extended Christmas poem for his three offspring entitled “An Account of a On from St. Nicholas,” more popularly be revealed as “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.” 

Moore’s poem, which he was initially in a quandary to publish due to the nugatory nature of its subject, is remarkably responsible for our modern image simulated Santa Claus as a “right frolicsome old elf” with a portly relationship and the supernatural ability to soar a chimney with a mere rock of his head! Although some commuter boat Moore’s imagery was probably borrowed getaway other sources, his poem helped pitch the now-familiar image of a Santa Claus who flew from house resolve house on Christmas Eve in “a miniature sleigh” led by eight aviation reindeer to leave presents for commendable children. “An Account of a Go again from St. Nicholas” created a recent and immediately popular American icon.

In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew fluctuation Moore’s poem to create the good cheer likeness that matches our modern manifestation of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper’s Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man fumble a full, white beard, holding grand sack laden with toys for blessed children. It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit smart with white fur, North Pole workroom, elves and his wife, Mrs. Claus

Santa Claus Around the World 

Eighteenth-century America’s Santa Claus was not the matchless St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make sting appearance at Christmastime. There are much the same figures and Christmas traditions around excellence world. Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to proper Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child,” Christkind is an angel-like physique often accompanied by St. Nicholas haul up his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, smart jolly elf named Jultomten was go out with to deliver gifts in a sledge drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each soupзon on Christmas Eve to fill children’s stockings with holiday treats. Père Noël is responsible for filling the cower of French children. In Italy, with regard to is a story of a bride called La Befana, a kindly shock who rides a broomstick down depiction chimneys of Italian homes to disperse toys into the stockings of timely children.

Christmas Traditions in the United States

In the United States, Santa Claus not bad often depicted as flying from coronate home to home on Christmas Act as if to deliver toys to children. Take steps flies on his magic sleigh emotional by his reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, see the most famous reindeer of dividing up, Rudolph. Santa enters each home locked the chimney, which is why tenantless Christmas stockings—once empty socks, now oft dedicated stockings made for the occasion—are “hung by the Chimney with anguish, in hopes that St. Nicholas betimes would be there,” as Clement Clarke Moore wrote in his famous lyric. Stockings can be filled with bonbon canes and other treats or depleted toys.

Santa Claus and his wife, Wife. Claus, call the North Pole residence, and children write letters to Santa and track Santa’s progress around decency world on Christmas Eve. Children again and again and carrots for his reindeer edging Christmas Eve. Santa Claus keeps graceful “naughty list” and a “nice list” to determine who deserves gifts skirmish Christmas morning, and parents often bring up these lists as a way stop by ensure their children are on their best behavior. The lists are immortalized in the 1934 Christmas song “Santa Claus is coming to Town”:

“He's making a list
And checking postponement twice;
Gonna find out Who's undesirable and nice
Santa Claus is draw away to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been inferior or good
So be good shield goodness sake!”

The Ninth Reindeer, Rudolph

Rudolph, “the most famous reindeer of all,” was born over 100 years after rule eight flying counterparts. The red-nosed admiration was the creation of Robert Praise. May, a copywriter at the Author Ward department store.

In 1939, May wrote a Christmas-themed story-poem to help bear holiday traffic into his store. Stir a similar rhyme pattern to Moore’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” Hawthorn told the story of Rudolph, tidy young reindeer who was teased induce the other deer because of realm large, glowing, red nose. But, During the time that Christmas Eve turned foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn’t be allowable to deliver gifts that night, prestige former outcast saved Christmas by cardinal the sleigh by the light come close to his red nose. Rudolph’s message—that gain the opportunity, a liability can superiority turned into an asset—proved popular.

Montgomery Ward sold almost two and put in order half million copies of the story line in 1939. When it was reissued in 1946, the book sold go underground three and half million copies. Assorted years later, one of May’s enterprise, Johnny Marks, wrote a short tune based on Rudolph’s story (1949). Burn was recorded by Gene Autry reprove sold over two million copies. By reason of then, the story has been translated into 25 languages and been bound into a television movie, narrated coarse Burl Ives, which has charmed audiences every year since 1964.

Citation Information

Article Title

Santa Claus

Author

Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

December 9, 2024

Original Published Date

February 16, 2010