by Frances Stanford

Created on: June 13, 2009

The white bearded man wearing a red coat and driving a team of reindeer through the skies is a legendary figure associated with the celebration of Christmas. The name and some of his jolly and friendly characteristics come from that of a Christian saint. St. Nicholas lived in the 3rd century in Asia Minor where he had the esteemed position of Bishop of Myra. Known for his overwhelming generosity and love of children, he was loved and adored wherever he travelled. According to the legends about St. Nicholas, he often disguised himself and gave gifts and donations to the poor, which led to the stories of his good deeds.

The remains of St. Nicholas were brought to the city of Bari in Southern Italy at some time during the 11th century where they became the center of a pilgrimage site. The first Crusaders are reputed to have stopped to worship at this shrine and it is through them that the stories of the saint were brought back to northern Europe.

In Germany he was called Kris Kringle and in Holland he went by the name of Sinterklas. The Dutch colonists brought the legends and the tradition of giving gifts to children at Christmas with them when they went to the New World and continued to keep the image of Santa Claus alive in their colonies. The English settlers were the ones who gave him the name of Santa Claus.

To the Dutch, Sinterklas was a fat little man who dressed in traditional Dutch costume. This included knee breeches and a broad brimmed hat. It was Samuel Clements in his poem, A Visit From St. Nicholas, which is also known as The Night Before Christmas who portrayed Santa Claus as driving a team of eight reindeer in a sleigh that landed on the rooftops. It was he who added the magical quality to the image of Santa Claus in being able to descend the chimney and to be able to fly through the sky visiting children all over the continent in a single night.

The picture of Santa Claus that children now have of this revered man of legend wearing a red suit trimmed with fur came from the colourful illustrations of cartoonist, Thomas Nast. The first pictures of this costume first appeared in Harpers Weekly in 1863.

Although the concept of Santa Claus has remained unchanged in North America over the decades, he is known by other names in different parts of the world and delivers his gifts on different days. For example in Albania he is known as Grandfather Christmas, in Bulgaria and Grandfather Frost, and in France as Pere Noel, which translates to Father Christmas.

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