Truth about Santa Claus?

Hey aaR,

There seem to be many interpretations about how our hero began. Here is one exerp, and more sites below:

"In looking for the historical roots of Santa Claus, one must go very deep in the past. One discovers that Santa Claus as we know him is a combination of many different legends and mythical creatures.

The basis for the Christian-era Santa Claus is Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna (Izmir), in what is now Turkey. Nicholas lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very rich, generous, and loving toward children. Often he gave joy to poor children by throwing gifts in through their windows.

The Orthodox Church later raised St. Nicholas, miracle worker, to a position of great esteem. It was in his honor that Russia's oldest church, for example, was built. For its part, the Roman Catholic Church honored Nicholas as one who helped children and the poor. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of children and seafarers. His name day is December 6th.

In the Protestant areas of central and northern Germany, St. Nicholas later became known as der Weinachtsmann. In England he came to be called Father Christmas. St. Nicholas made his way to the United States with Dutch immigrants, and began to be referred to as Santa Claus."

Santa Claus comes from Saint Nicholas, some eastern orthodox saint from a place called Myra? Who gave gifts to children and poor families during the christmas festival.

The coca cola thing is the fact that saint nicholas was portrayed in a 1920s advertisment wearing a red and white jump suit, the colours of coca cola and "santa' has been portrayed this way ever since, esp in america and japan

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa is a gift-giving figure in various cultures who distributes presents to children, traditionally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to the Santa Claus character. The popular American form Santa Claus originated as a mispronounciation of Dutch Sinterklaas, which is a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas).

Father Christmas is a well-loved figure in many countries and predates the "Santa Claus" character. Many little children are led to believe that Santa Claus is real. "Father Christmas" is similar in many ways, though the two have quite different origins. Using 'santa' in places that predominantly call him 'Father Christmas' is often viewed as an Americanism and is quite rare, although they are generally regarded as the same character.

Santa Claus came from the legend of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children.

Legend has it that St. Nick would give presents on Dec. 6th to good Christian children and he dropped bags of money down a chimney for three young women as wedding dowry (her father couldn't afford the dowry and didn't want to sell his daughters into prostitution).

The reindeer thing came from Scandinavia where Danes claim that Santa originated in Denmark.

In the Netherlands, he's known as Sinter Klaas, in Britain, he's known as Father Christmas, and in Germany, he's known as Weinnachtmann (the Christmas man).

Of course, here in the USA, he's known as Santa Claus.

First of all I'm a parent and i have a 3 yr old and i also have an 18 yr old if the child questions u about the existence of Santa sure tell the child the truth, don't let him live out the false hope.I know a lot of other parents that couldn't do x-mas. They couldn't afford x-mas gifts for their children so i think if he asks then u tell him and / or her not volunteer the info.

Santa Claus was a tradition icon everywhere. In England, Father Christmas left presents under your tree, while in France, Per`e Noel was his name. Coca-Cola did not create him. However, it was Coke that made Santa's coat red when they started printing him on their bottles.

The first description of the "Coca Cola" Santa (if that is what you want to call him) is given in Clement's poem: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Santa Claus was originated as a saint Nicholas, who often gave gifts to the poor. one of his most popular gifts was the dowry for marriage to three young girls. this saved them from the unfortunate fate of being forced into prostitution due to their fathers inability to provide for them. saint Nicholas has since been blown hugely out of proportion and completely changed. the outfit for our modern-day Santa wasn't even created until the 20th century.

Each country has some take on the "Santa Claus" tradition.

Try this website--hope it helps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

I believe in the spirit of Santa Claus. My daughter had awesome Christmases until she stopped believing. The light in her eyes when she would see the footprints on the rug or the presents in unfamiliar paper was just totally the best. I would even buy presents for myself and have friends wrap them and write the card. The best ever!