Christmas is the season of celebrations, festivities, lights, great food, a whole lot of drinking, holidays and gifts. It’s also the year of coming together and bidding adieu to the year on a good and joyous note, with a lot of gifts involved in the concoction. The entire process of giving gifts is associated with Santa Claus, but, who is Santa Claus?
Whenever the talks of Christmas comes up, it can never happen that we don’t talk about Santa Claus. We all have read and seen in movies, how Christmas is the one time of the year when Santa Claus comes from the North pole and is believed to fly on his reindeers and deliver gifts to children, but we actually don’t have an idea regarding how this legend actually came to exist and how it exists to this day.
Where the entire theory came into play from, when did it start happening, is any or some parts of this story true, who is Santa Claus? All these questions and many more would be decoded further in this article where we have taken a brief look in the past and navigated through the stories about Mr. Claus and how he came into existence.
Who is Santa Claus actually?
Santa Claus is also known as St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, St. Nick, Rick Cringle, or preferably just known as Santa. He has been a legendary character who is believed to have originated in the Christian culture of the West. On the night of the eve of Christmas, he is said to bring lots of gifts to those children who are well-behaved. He is a jolly and typically a fat old man, with a big white beard and with spectacles too sometimes and wears a red coat, trousers and hat, with black leather boots and belts and he carries a big bag full of wrapped gifts for children. Though this wasn’t actually the idea through which Santa came into being, the beginning was done in a quite different and helpful manner by St. Nicholas. Later, this typical image of Santa Claus became famous as it is today.
The History of Santa Claus
The existence of this Christmas creature is traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas, who was born in 280 AD in Turkey. He became the protector of children and sailors as he gave away all his inherited wealth to poor children and sailors by traveling to the countryside.
In the year 1822, a Christmas poem written by Clement Moore who was the Episcopal minister. It was the poem written by him – “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” – that depicted the jolly nature of Santa, who traveled to children’s houses on reindeers and gave them gifts. Thomas Nast in 1881, drew the famously known picture of Santa Claus in red with a big white beard and a bag full of toys, which eventually immortalized him and it is the legend of St. Nicholas that we know as Santa Claus up to this day.
Certain Beliefs regarding Santa
As far as our Santa Claus is considered, there are many stories about him which are really loved and even believed to be actually true by many. It is said that he makes a list of all the children throughout the world and puts them in different categories. The children who are well-mannered are given exciting gifts by Santa and those who misbehave receive coal for Christmas! All of them get it on the night that is on Christmas Eve. All the toys are prepared by him and his elves who work in his workshop in the North Pole, and his reindeers help him pull his sleigh to fly in the air and deliver the gifts. This is the basic Santa story believed by everyone.
Also Read – Here’s All You Need To Know About The History Of Christmas & When It Began
So, this was a brief decoding of who is Santa Claus and where did this belief came into existence from, something that all of us love and refuse to not believe even now. He is said to be the most loved character by children, and they all behave nicely before Christmas so that they receive the gifts they want. Even though it is the friends and family who are our Santa in disguise. Hope the upcoming holiday season is joyful and safe for all of you and your family. Have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.