The Legend of Santa Claus

The story of Santa Claus is as old as believing and as young as the children who leave out milk and cookies each Christmas Eve.

Like many traditions in America, the Santa we know today comes to us from a variety of countries with different cultures and customs.

The earliest “ancestor” of Santa is believed to have been a kind and generous man named Nicholas, who was Bishop of Myra, Turkey. Because of his love for children and the poor, Nicholas was named a saint in 800 A.D.

New versions of the legend of St. Nicholas spread across Europe. In Germany, there was the gift-giving Weihnachtsmann, or Christmas Man. In England, there was Father Christmas, who wore a fur-lined red robe and a festive headdress of mistletoe, holly, or ivy.

However, it was in Holland that the tradition of St. Nicholas was most revered. The Dutch called him Sinterklaas, and when they came to America in the 1600s, Sinterklaas came along. Excited children said the name so quickly that it sounded like Santy Claas and, later, Santa Claus.

Today, our vision of Santa Claus is chiefly the product of the imaginations of three men. In 1808, the St. Nicholas of American writer Washington Iving rode over the houses in a horse-drawn wagon “dropping gifts down the chimneys.” Then, in 1822, Clement Moore’s poem A Visit From St. Nicholas told of a red-cheeked, jolly old elf who flew in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, slid down chimneys with astonishing ease, and put presents in the stockings of good children. And finally, in the 1860s, American illustrator Thomas Nast created a Santa who spent his days in his workshop at the North Pole surrounded by industrious elves making mountains of toys. He also created the red suit with white fur trim.

Down through the years, many have wondered, “Is there really a Santa Claus?” Eight-year-old Virginia Hanlon asked that question of the New York Sun. Editor Francis Church replied with these words, which have inspired children and adults to believe in believing…

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. A thousand years from now….

he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.