Many parents teach their children that Santa Claus exists. While this may now be a myth, Santa, or St. Nick was once a real person. In 1773, Nicholas was a bishop of the church in France. On the eve of Jesus birth, Nicholas would travel through the night on the back of a donkey filling orphaned children’s shoes with nuts and fruits. Because of his good deeds, Nicholas was soon known as a Saint, giving him the name of St. Nick.
When Nicholas passed on, the tradition of filling children’s shoes on Christmas Eve was continued by parents. As the years passed, the gifts that were left in children’s shoes or stockings as the case soon came to be, became more extravagant.
The figure of the jolly old man in the red suit that we all know and love was first displayed in the 19th century in America and Canada by Thomas Nast. This is the version of Santa that most people were able to easily identify with and was soon held fast through song, video, and of course in person with department store Santas. It is said that Santa was an overly- plump elf that lived in the North Pole with magical elves, nine flying reindeer and his wife. This story can be traced back to the 1820s and then was reinforced in 1934 with the popular children’s son “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” which warned children to be good throughout the year because of the naughty or nice list that Santa was making. If children were not nice, they would not be getting a gift during the holiday.
In 1893 the original version of the poem, “The Night Before Christmas” was released, giving Santa Claus the most modern version that we all know and love. In this poem, Santa was described as a jolly man in a red suit landing on rooftops in his flying reindeer driven sleigh, entering homes through the chimneys to give children in the home gifts for being good all throughout the year. This is the best loved version that has stuck with us to today.
The image of Santa has been changed several times, especially through the Coca Cola Company that used this popular holiday icon to sell products. All changes that have been made have oddly improved the image of jolly old St. Nick, the rosy red cheeks, a rotund belly, even the tiny spectacles that rested on his nose.
So, whether you choose to allow your children to believe in Santa or not. It is the overall spirit of giving that many parents want to instill in their children. Teaching children the history of the real Santa Claus may be just the ticket when they start to question this childhood belief.