Santa Claus is also known as Saint Nicholas who was famous for bringing gifts to the homes of well-behaved children on the night of Christmas Eve and the early morning of Christmas. This legendary figure originated from Western Christian culture. St. Nicholas was a Bishop of the 4th century who lived in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (which is now Turkey). The modern-day Santa traditions started from this singular man who is also called as Father Christmas. So, who was this man? 

Saint Nicholas was orphaned as a child. His parents had left him a lot of money for which he had become a rich young man. He had the good name in his society for being very kind and hospitable. He would donate money to the poor and secretly bestow gifts upon the needy. Henceforth, the tradition of gift-giving continued with his name. His generosity was not forgotten. 

There have been many stories which further elaborated on the life of St. Nicholas but the validity of these are questioned as they have no substantial proof. The most popularly known is that of the three sisters. It is said that he saved these sisters by giving them the dowry needed for their marriage so that they wouldn’t have to be sold into slavery or prostitution by their father. He came to be known as the protector of children and sailors. In some other stories, they say that Santa Claus absorbed the powers of the Germanic god Wodan, who was associated with the pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt which was a ghostly procession through the sky. 

St. Nicholas’ feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. It was considered to be a day lucky to make large purchases or even get married. In some European countries, especially Holland, children leave clogs or shoes out on the night of December 5th to be filled with presents. They even believe that if they leave out some hay and carrots then it’ll be a treat for Santa’s horses. 

The joyful, white-bearded man wearing red clothes with white fur collar and cuffs and black leather belt and boots is seen to be the general depiction of Santa Claus. This image came to be in the 19th century after the political cartoonist and caricaturist Thomas Nast wrote the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1823. This poem described St. Nicholas with eight reindeers and gives them names. The reindeers became well known in the song ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’ in 1949.

Santa Claus is the man celebrated to carry his bag of gifts and deliver presents and candies to all the good children in the world (and coal to all the misbehaved ones). It is said that he accomplishes this with the help of his elves, who make the gifts at his workshop in the North Pole, and with his flying reindeer who pulls his sleigh. If you’ve been a good kid this year, you will be able to recognize Santa coming down your chimney sweep when you hear his merry chant of “ho ho ho”!