A deep dive into Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a very important figure during the Christmas season. He is present in almost all the shops and places where Christmas is celebrated. On the eve of Christmas, the concept of Santa Claus comes with gifts, especially to houses where there are children to commemorate Father St. Nicholas who was the bishop of Myra in Turkey during the fourth century A.D. It is said that this father was fond of children and helped the poor and needy. He was endowed with wealth and property by his parents. He had used this property to help the poor and especially the children.  This made them believe that he was the Saint of children. They paid him reverence. Lately, parents began to offer presents to their children in the name of St. Nicholas.

About Santa

Santa Claus also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris or Kringle is a legendary figure, originating in Western culture. He is said to bring gifts during late evenings and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. He is said to have accomplished this with the aid of Christmas elves who make the toys in their workshops and with the aid of a flying reindeer that pull his carriage through the air.

The original inception of Santa Claus originates from Folklore tradition around the 4th century. Christian Bishop Saint Nicholas was the patron of children. He became renowned for his reported generosity and secret gift giving. The image of Santa Claus shows similarities with the English figure of Father Christmas and they are both regarded now as the same person.

Santa is generally depicted as a jolly, white bearded man with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, red trousers, a hat trimmed with white fur, a black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. He is popularly associated with a clap, hearty laugh, frequently rendered in Christian literature as “ho, ho, ho”. This image originated in North America during the 19th century, influenced by Dutch immigrants.      
In a legend, it is mentioned that he was nursed by his mother only in two days in the week: Wednesdays and Fridays and that he had to fast in the other five days of the week. However, his father had left him a fortune which he used to give presents to children on New Year’s Eve and to help the poor. It is said that he adored the children during his lifetime and threw gifts anonymously into the windows of their houses.

Even today sailors adore him believing that he had performed a miracle to halt a storm in order to save the lives of three drowning sailors. He had brought to life several children who had been killed. He is said to have performed miraculous acts to be of service to others irrespective of rank or status. He had grabbed the sword of an executioner to save the life of a political prisoner. St. Nicholas also adopted some of the qualities of the “Grandmother” Befana from Italy. She was said to have filled the stockings of children with gifts. Her shrine of Bari was also converted into a shrine of St. Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas was known for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.  He was very generous from an early age and more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robe.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus competes with that of Sinterklaas. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch (“the Christmas man”) and Peter Noël (“Father Christmas”) in French. For children in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas remains the predominant gift giver in December. In Belgium, presents are offered exclusively to children on the 6th December and on Christmas day all ages may receive presents. Saint Nicholas/Sinterklaas assistants are called Pieten in Dutch or Père Fouettard. They accompany Peter Noël in the French speaking region while the sinister Schmutzli accompanies Samichlous in the Swiss German region. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children.

FATHER CHRISTMAS

Father Christmas dates back to as far as the 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII when he was pictured as a large man with green or violet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas bringing peace, joy, good food and wine. As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on the 6th of December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25th December to coincide with Christmas day. The Victorian revival of Christmas includes Father Christmas as the emblem of good cheer. His physical appearance was variable with one image being John Leech’s illustration of the Ghost of Christmas present in Charles Dickens’ festive story. During the Middle Ages, often on the evening before his name day of 6th December, children were bestowed gifts in his honour. This date was earlier than the original day of giving gifts to children which was moved in the course of the referendum and its opposition to the veneration of Saints in many countries on 24th and 25th December. The custom of giving gifts to children at Christmas was propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previously very popular gift custom of Saint Nicholas to foster the interest of the children instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first suggested Christkind as the bringer of gifts but Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people.  

As we enjoy this day, it is a wonderful time to reflect on the very interesting history of Santa Claus as it is laid out here.