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The Origins of Santa Claus The individual we all know today as Santa Claus evolved over the centuries from a number of different sources, including early Christianity and 19th-century cartoons. Read on to appreciate the formation of the character's persona over the centuries, and discover why we hang our stockings by the fireside on 24 December. Plus, find out how those reindeer may have been able to fly! To learn about the Origins of Christmas and how it is celebrated worldwide please Click Here.
Little if anything is recorded about Nicholas (thus why the Catholic Church demoted him from his saintly status in 1969) but it is believed he was born into a wealthy family and went on to become St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia (modern-day Turkey). Throughout his priesthood he became well-known for being charitable to poor children and when he died many people across Europe began giving children gifts in his memory. In Holland, he became known as Sint Klaus, and with emigration to America, that was anglicised to Santa Claus. Stockings by the Fireside This custom started with a poor family whose stockings were hanging to dry by the fire. St Nicholas gave some money to the family by dropping coins into the stockings. Some youngsters believe that if they are badly behaved, Santa will leave coal in their stockings rather than money or presents. Why 25 December? At the beginning of the Christian church, several of its festivals were aligned with existing pagan celebrations. Also a number of Roman festivals, including that celebrating the rebirth of the sun, took place on 25 December. Christians wanted to give emphasis to God's son over the astronomical sun, so that date was chosen in the mid-fourth century. Flying Through the Air Fly-Agaric mushrooms contain some very powerful psychotropic compounds that can have a similar effect to LSD. Shamans in Lapland feed these mushroom to reindeer and drink their urine as a spiritual ritual, which causes them to hallucinate. They then can then see their reindeer 'fly'. It is also thought likely that the mushroom's vivid colours were the inspiration for Santa's red and white suit. The Santa We Know Today Known for many years as Father Christmas, the elderly man is now more usually called Santa Claus as US culture becomes more dominant here in the UK. His current look is mainly the result of cartoons from the late 19th century, almost all of which were penned by illustrator Thomas Nast. Later this image was cemented into the public’s consciousness by a series of adverts which Coca Cola ran in the early 1930s and from then until today Santa Claus has been seen as being a jolly, plump, red-and-white clothed elderly man with a white hair, beard and moustache who oversees a North Pole workshop staffed by elves and who travels around the world on Christmas Eve in a magical sleigh pulled by 8 reindeer to distribute toys to children. Is Santa now shopping on the Internet in a bid to save money?
To learn about the Origins of Christmas and how it is celebrated worldwide please Click Here. |
What's
in a Name?
Perhaps, but we still think
Santa
will continue to rely on Rudolf together with Dasher,
Dancer, Prancer,
Vixen,
Comet,
Cupid,
Donner and Blitzen to deliver all his presents - that system works so why change
it, particular now that Santa has Rudolf, as he is able to rest one of his herd
on each magical trip. Rudolf, created in 1939 by advertising executive Robert May
in a poem, was a late addition to
Santa's herd of reindeer but was not generally accepted as such until ten years
later when the song "Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer", written by Johnny
Marks, was sung by Gene Autry. The song told the story of Santa Claus's ninth
and lead reindeer who had an astonishing red coloured nose that gave off a glow that was strong enough to light up the team's trail.