Santa Claus
The history of Santa Claus is believed to have
originated in approximately 280 AD in Turkey, to a
monk names St. Nicholas, which evolved into the
legend of St. Nicholas, which gave birth to the
other legends in many different cultures
St. Nicholas divested himself of all his wealth
and possessions and traveled the country
ministering to and helping the poor,
unfortunate, ill or deserving peasants.
As time progressed, the legend of St. Nicholas
and his popularity spread, with St. Nicholas
becoming known as the protector of children and
sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the
anniversary of his death, December 6. This was
traditionally considered a lucky day to make large
purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance,
St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe.
Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the
veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St.
Nicholas maintained a positive reputation,
especially in Holland.
The
modern Santa Claus was speculated to be created
for a combination of images, based initially on
St. Nicholas, who was an elf-like
gift bringer as described by Clement Clarke Moore,
when on Christmas Eve, he wrote down and read to
his children a series of verses; one was his poem
which published a year later as "An Account of a
Visit from St. Nicholas" (more
commonly known today by its opening line, "'Twas
the night before Christmas . . .").
Moore gave St. Nick eight reindeer
(and named them all), and he devised the
now-familiar entrance by chimney. Moore's Nicholas
was still a small figure, however — the poem
describes a "miniature sleigh" with a "little old
driver."
The
man-sized version of Santa became the dominant
image around 1841, when a Philadelphia merchant
named J.W. Parkinson hired a man to
dress in "Criscringle" clothing and climb the
chimney outside his shop.
In
1863, a caricaturist for Harper's Weekly named
Thomas Nast began developing his own image of
Santa. Nast gave his figure a "flowing set of
whiskers" and dressed him "all in fur, from his
head to his foot." Nast's 1866 montage entitled
"Santa Claus and His Works" established Santa as a
maker of toys; an 1869 book of the same name
collected new Nast drawings with a poem by
George P. Webster that identified the
North Pole as Santa's home.
Although some versions of the Santa Claus figure
still had him attired in various colors of outfits
past the beginning of the 20th century,
the jolly, ruddy, sack-carrying Santa with a red
suit and flowing white whiskers had become the
standard image of Santa Claus by the 1920s.
As
Santa Claus is a image or symbolism, the actual
portrayal of Santa Claus is not strictly defined
by race color or creed, but by any cheerful gift
giver, with a large smile, a bit over weight, the
snowy hair and whiskers, who loves all children of
the world.
Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas.
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