On the 25th of December every single year, the joyous holiday of Christmas takes place. From presents under the christmas tree to watching cheesy holiday movies, this holiday is iconic in every way. Though most of us have outgrown our childhood belief of the man who supposedly crawls down your chimney while you sleep and delivers presents, everyone’s favorite jolly old man Santa Claus is still an important part of the holiday!What’s so special about Santa? Where did he come from? Why is he a Christmas tradition? Well, I’m glad you asked!
The origins of Santa Claus can be traced back to St. Nicholas. He was born around 280 A.D, in the ancient city of Patara, located in modern day Turkey. St. Nicholas was known for being a generous and kind human being, travelling all around to help the sick and needy Throughout all of the stories about St. Nicholas, there’s one legend that’s known the best. There were three miserable sisters who were in threat of being sold into slavery or prostitution by their own father. The Saint saved them by providing a dowry so they wouldn’t be sold and instead could get married. This story reflects his empathetic and kind nature towards people, regardless of how he was treated. By the Renaissance period, Saint Nicholas was the most well known Saint in all of Europe. Even after the great Protestant Reformation, where the Catholic Church was challenged for their religious and political practices in society, he still managed to stay extremely popular all throughout Europe, especially in places like Holland.
Although Saint Nicholas was an extremely prominent figure in Europe, how did he become so well known in the United States? Well, it was actually because of the media. At the time, the New York newspaper wrote stories about how Dutch families in New York were honoring the legacy of Saint Nicholas by celebrating the anniversary of his passing every 6th of December.In 1804 New York Historical Society member John Pintard distributed woodcut images of Saint Nicholas at their annual meeting. This action led to Santa becoming more popular and also influenced to a other modern day Christmas traditions like stockings. However, his popularity didn’t stop there. Washington Irving, the author of the story History of New York, told and included stories of Santa Claus, which added to his popularity.
Surprisingly, Sant Claus wasn’t always named Santa Claus. His name originated from his Dutch name, “Sinter Klaas”, which is actually a shortened version of the name “Sint Nikolaas”. His name gradually evolved over the next century to what it’s known as today.
Now, how did Santa Claus get his iconic red suit look? In 1881, a cartoonist known as Thomas Nast drew a cartoon of the modern day Santa Claus with his iconic suit and bag of presents, based on the well known poem “Twas the Night before Christmas”. Nast also included all of the other details of Santa like his elves, Mrs. Claus, and even his workshop in the North Pole. His inspiration for drawing this iconic version of Santa was to resemble a “round jolly old elf”.
Santa Claus is not just an iconic figure in the United States alone, but almost everywhere in the world. His influence as a holiday figure has made the high holiday’s a lot more enjoyable. His influence over global culture has greatly impacted history, even if it is now forgotten.