Legends and origins of Santa Claus

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Santa Claus is that much loved character from the North Pole. He has delighted children and adults for years. And who couldn’t love him - when many of us attribute to him the Christmas presents we give and receive.

When you look at Santa he seems as old as Methuselah – you may remember, he’s the oldest man found in the Bible. He’s old, grey and has enjoyed far too much of Mrs. Claus’ cooking.

But don’t let his appearance fool you. When it comes to Christmas traditions and a possible candidate as “The Father of Christmas”, Santa Claus is actually the new boy on the block.

There are several different legends that have circulated about where he came from. One of the most popular stories to surface was written in the 1940s. It is said in this story that Santa was an orphaned child living in a small village on the Baltic Sea. After his parents died, the local villagers decided to take care of him one village family at a time. “Santa” stayed with each family for a short period, and before leaving to move to another family, he would make the children a small gift. As the legend goes, in time he grew up and moved to the North Pole. Then he bagan to make resents for children all over the world.

But if we put aside the various lengends, what is the history behind Santa Claus? To discover the truth behind Santa we need to travel back 200 hundred years, and over to America.

Santa Claus, as we call him today, is an American tradition, rather than a European one. But like many Americans and their traditions, they find their origin in Europe.

History tells us that Dutch settlers travelled to the New Amsterdam, now called New York in America, during the late 18th century. With them they brought another contender for the title of, the The Father of Christmas: his name was St Nicholas. The Dutch called him Sinter Klass.

This popular, jolly old fellow would travel to children on the night of the 5th of December and leave small gifts – lollies, nuts or something special in the shoes of children. On the morning of the 6th of December, children would wake up to a pleasant surprise. This jolly old ‘European’, was tall lean, had a bushy beard, wore Bishops robes and held a shephards staff.

This tradition began to be picked up in America during the 1770. At the time there was a lot of anti-British sentiment, war was looming. Many people were looking for an opportunity to break away from British Colonial dominance. In New York, a group of people set up the St. Nicholas society, which was in contrast to the British St George Society, which already existed.

It was out of this society that the Santa legend would be planted in the hearts and minds of many Americans. They slowly over time creative works started to support the St Nicholas Legend.

During 1809, a novel was written titled Knickerbockers’ History of New York. The book made several references to a jolly St. Nicholas. However, the descriptions of this ‘jolly old fella’ were less like a European saint, and far more like a lumpy elf character, similar in stature to a Dutch migrant. In the book, Father Christmas flew across the sky in a wagon. He brought children gifts, placing them down the chimney. This description seemed to capture the imaginations of people everywhere.

By 1823, the story had evolved a little more. A poem was written titledA Visit from St. Nicholas. And this poem would encapsulate what Christmas meant for many people. We know the poem better today as: T’was the Night before Christmas.

In the poem, St. Nicholas flies on a sleigh, rather than a wagon. And his attire has changed: rather than wearing a bishop’s robe, he simply wears a big coat.

As more and more American households began to embrace this character during the 19th Century, the political paper Harper’s Weekly. commissioned in 1863 Thomas Nast to draw the image of “Father Christmas”. Nast shunk Santa down, swapped the shepherds staff for a clay pipe and added 100kg around his middle. And around this time, since American children slured the name 'Sinter Klaas’, his name evolved into Santa Claus.

Santa’s image continued to evolve when the commercial world saw him as a “pin-up boy” and “salesman” for their product. Coca-Cola was one of those companies to launch Santa’s image to mega-stardom. During the 1930s, they used Santa to advertise their brand at Christmas time. Coca-Cola not only sold their drink but helped launch Santa’s image - not just in the United States but also around the world.

Over the years Santa has had his fare share of opposition. Christian groups of attacked Santa claiming his just a mythical character. They fear that Santa and commercialism might highjack what they see as the real meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ.

Other groups claim that the Santa legend is corrupt. As the rich kids get more and better presents and the poor kids get nothing.

And still others claim that Santa his now the modern day pin-up boy for commercialism.

All these criticisms can be supported. But ultimately Sanata Claus embodies not all of the Christmas spirit but certainly part of it that of “generosity” – it’s better to give than receive. Santa embodies the “desire” to give our family and friends gifts and presents. It’s a desire to be other person centered rather than always focusing on our own needs. And we say to our kids, “Look what Santa got you!” We are really saying, “ I bought you this because I love you, and you are special to me!”

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