All About Santa Claus
It's only fitting that since Santa Claus has the
magnificent capability to visit homes around the
world in a single night that more than one place
would claim to be his home. It's common belief that
Santa hails from the wintry North Pole, but folks in
Finland will also tell you that Santa calls that
country his home. To prove it, the Finns will even
invite you to visit Santa in his workshop before
Christmas or during the year and talk with Santa
Claus as he and his elves busy themselves for their
end-of-year Christmas expedition around the globe.
The popularity in America today of the images and
legend of Santa Claus can be traced to the poem, 'Twas
the Night Before Christmas,' that was written by
Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. In that poem, Moore
described St. Nicholas as a jolly fellow who flew
from house to house in a sleigh pulled by reindeers
and waited for children to go to bed on Christmas
Eve before he came down the chimney to deliver
Christmas presents for them.
Following the distribution of that poem, the popular
magazine Harper's Weekly published cartoons by
Thomas Nast between 1863 and 1886 that depicted
Santa as a cheerful fellow with a large round belly
and long white beard who wore a bright red suit that
was trimmed with white fur. In those cartoons, Santa
also held a
sack, which was filled with toys for boys and girls,
over his shoulder.
The cartoons
also showed Santa reading letters from good boys and
girls, working in his workshop with his elves,
checking his list to make sure he had all the
required toys and even showed his wife, Mrs. Claus.
The tradition of Santa Claus was brought to America
however by Dutch colonists who settled in New York
City, which was called New Amsterdam at the time.
The real St. Nicholas is said to be a minor saint
from the 4th Century with a reputation for
generosity and kindness that gave rise to legends of
many miracles that he performed for the poor and
unhappy. One of the stories about the legend of St.
Nicholas is that he saved three poor girls who were
sisters from being sold into a life of slavery or
prostitution by their father.
According to the legend, Santa Claus provided the
girls with a dowry so that they could get married.
The legend of St. Nicholas led to hundreds of people
being devoted to him and consequently thousands of
European churches became dedicated to him. After the
Reformation period however, widespread practice and
worship of St. Nicholas disappeared in European
countries that were Protestant, except in Holland
where the legend of St. Nicholas continued. St.
Nicholas was known as Sint Nikolaas
but that was later corrupted to Sinter Klaas.
Dutch colonists took this tradition of Sinter Klaas
to New York City where it was adopted using the
Englist name of Santa Claus. Over time, the Dutch
legend of the kindly saint was combined with old
Nordic folktales about a magician who punished
naughty children and rewarded good ones with
presents to give rise to the stories that now exist
about Santa Claus.
The red and white-trimmed suit of Santa Claus is
believed to be the colors that the original St.
Nicholas worebecause red and white were the colors
of the robes worn by traditional bishops. It is also
believed that the Coca Cola Co. played a role in
what is regarded as the popular look of Santa Claus
today through paintings by artist Haddon Sundblom
that were placed in some of the company's
advertisement between 1931 and 1964.