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A wealthy orphan whose parents died in an epidemic, Saint Nicholas became a bishop at age 17. At age 30 he became the bishop
of Myra (now the city of Demre on the south coast of Turkey) near the beginning of the fourth century. Soon after his
appointment, the government of the Eastern Roman Empire jailed all Christian bishops who did not publicly sacrifice to the
gods of Rome. Nicholas remained in prison for nearly ten years until Constantine conquered the East — ending the persecution
of Christians. So many Christians had defected that the sacrament of confession was created, so that the "traitors" could
cleanse their souls before re-entering the Christian Church.
Nicholas was a vigorous opponent of Arianism, the belief of the Alexandrian bishop Arius that Christ was created by God and
therefore independent of God and inferior to God — a form of polytheism intended to explain how Christ could be both human
and divine. According to Arius, Jesus Christ had not existed before God created Him, and Jesus prayed to his Father in
Heaven, to whom He was subordinate. Constantine wanted the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. to resolve the bitter conflict in the
Eastern Church over Arianism. Nicholas reputedly not only attended Nicea, but physically accosted Arius there. The Nicene
Creed supported the unity of God, Christ and the Holy Ghost as a single Being (with God and Christ equally divine, but of the
same divine substance), thereby affirming the monotheism of Christianity. Constantine exiled Arius and ordered his books to
be burned.
Saint Nicholas became the subject of many legends. A sailor who fell overboard was reputedly saved by Nicholas when the saint
walked on water, retrieved the sailor and carried him back to the ship. After an innkeeper had robbed & dismembered some
students, Nicholas reputedly re-assembled them and restored them to life. Nicholas took pity on a poverty-stricken family
with 3 daughters who faced the threat of being forced into prostitution because they had no wedding dowries. For two
daughters he crept-up to their house at night and threw bags of gold through a bedroom window. For the last daughter, he
threw a bag of gold down the chimney — which landed in a stocking she had set by the fireplace for drying. The traditional
association of chimneys & stockings with Santa Claus comes from this story. Nicholas was also noted for his generosity with
children — he would reward them with treats if they had studied their catechism & behaved well. Nicholas was therefore patron
saint of schoolchildren & sailors.
The bones of Saint Nicholas lay in his tomb in Myra until 1087. Because the Turks had taken Antioch in 1084, and Myra was no
longer Christian, three ships of sailors & merchants raided the tomb, confiscated the bones and took them to the Italian
seaport of Bari. In 1089 Pope Urban II consecrated a shrine for the relics of Saint Nicholas in a newly constructed crypt.
The Basilica di San Nicola was completed in the middle of the 12th century where the crypt was located.
The legend of Nicholas made him so popular that more European churches bore his name than that of any of the apostles. He was
made patron saint of Greece and Russia. He was also made patron saint of banking & pawnbroking at a time when the two trades
were closely related. The 3-ball symbol of pawnshops represents the three bags of gold he threw as dowries. On February 14,
1969 the Pope removed Nicholas from the calendar of saints — there are no records of Nicholas ever having been canonized. The
Eastern Orthodox Church continues to recognize the sainthood of Nicholas.
The date of Nicholas's death — reputedly on December 6th, 326 AD — was widely celebrated as the feast of Saint Nicholas. The
fact that the date coincided with the completion of farmwork, the slaughtering of animals for the winter and a period of
idleness, abundant food and celebration may actually be the real reason why it was celebrated with such enthusiasm. But the
feast of Saint Nicholas was abolished in many European countries as part of Martin Luther's effort to stop the veneration of
saints. In keeping with the idea that Christ is the source of all good things, German Protestants had a tall Christ child
(Christkindl) distributing presents on December 25th. In English-speaking countries Kris Kringle became another name for
Santa Claus.
But in the Netherlands celebration of Saint Nicholas Day (December 6th) continued, despite the rise of Protestantism.
Amsterdam has historically been a great seaport, and Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) as the protector of sailors has been its
patron saint. Saint Nicholas — with his long white beard and wearing his red & white bishop's robes — would ride down streets
on his white horse distributing gifts to children. Even today, December 6th is the day children in Holland receive their
gifts — although Saint Nicholas travels from Spain rather than the North Pole and may be accompanied by one or more
assistants ("black Peters", who are either Moors or people who were blackened by climbing up and down chimneys). (In Germany
the assistant of St. Nicholas was Knecht Ruprecht, a "wild man" who was condemned as a manifestation of the devil by the
Catholic Church.)
The transformation of Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus happened largely in America — with inspiration from the Dutch. In the
early days of Dutch New York, Sinterklaas became known among the English-speaking as "Santa Claus" (or "Saint Nick"). In 1809
Washington Irving, a member of the New York Historical Society (which promoted a Dutch Saint Nicholas as its patron saint),
created a tale of a chubby, pipe-smoking little Saint Nicholas who road a magic horse through the air visiting all houses in
New York. The elfish figure was small enough to climb down chimneys with gifts for the good children and switches for the bad
ones.
The 1823 poem "The Night Before Christmas" ("A Visit from Saint Nicholas", reputedly by Clement Moore) replaced the horse
with a sleigh drawn by eight flying reindeer. (Moore may have been inspired by the Finnish legend of Old Man Winter, who
drove reindeer down from the mountain, bringing the snow.) Following Irving's example, Moore's St. Nick was more an elf than
a bishop. Unlike the earlier St. Nicks, this one brought no birch switches, only presents. And it was Moore who established
that St. Nick brings presents on the night before Christmas rather than on Saint Nicholas Day or any other time.
Thomas Nast — head cartoonist for Harper's Weekly magazine (the man who invented both the Democratic donkey and the
Republican elephant) — depicted Santa Claus from 1863 to 1886 as an unaging, jolly, bearded fat man who lived at the North
Pole and wore a furry suit & elfish sleeping cap. Nast transformed Santa into a full-sized human who somehow retained the
ability to climb through chimneys, but who had a team of elf assistants. By 1881 Nast had drawn Santa as a large man with a
white beard in a red suit trimmed with white fur. Although other artists continued to use more elfish depictions, red-suited
Santas continued the long tradition inspired by the red & white bishop's robes of Saint Nicholas.
The standardization of Santa's image was probably due to Coca-Cola artist Haddon Sundblom who (in 1931) depicted Santa as a
portly, jolly grandfatherly figure with a ruddy complexion and white-fur-trimmed red coat & cap — replacing the pipe with a
bottle of Coke. Thirty-five years of annual advertising by the Coca-Cola company using Sundblom's Santa solidified the
contemporary image of Santa Claus (but without the Coke). (It was a fortunate coincidence that the red & white colors matched
those used by Coca-Cola.)
The first department store Santa Claus was at J.W. Parkinson's store in Philadelphia in 1881. Kriss Kringle dramatically came
down a chimney for the children and Parkinson's became "Kriss Kringle Headquarters". The second department store to feature a
Santa was in Massachusetts in 1890. By 1900 dozens of American department stores had Santas.
In 1905 Eaton's department store sponsored its first Santa Claus Parade in Toronto, Canada, which remains the largest in
North America. In the 1920s Gimbel's department store in Philadelphia, Macy's in New York, Hudson's in Detroit and many other
department stores sponsored Thanksgiving parades that featured Santa Claus. In response to lobbying by department stores
President Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving from November 30 to November 23 in 1939 to extend the shopping season.
"Franksgiving" was observed in about half the states. As a compromise, a 1941 act of Congress established Thanksgiving as the
fourth Thursday in November.
Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented in 1939 by a staff copywriter for Montgomery Ward. The story was patterned after
The Ugly Duckling, turning a genetically defective glowing nose into a foggy-night navigation asset. Originally distributed
to children as an illustrated story, a decade later it became the theme of a song which was sung by Gene Autry, the "Singing
Cowboy".
Katherine Lee Bates (who wrote the song "America the Beautiful") is credited with the invention of Mrs. Santa Claus in a poem
written in 1899. Since that time Mrs. Claus has often been depicted as a cheerful portly woman who spends her time at the
north pole preparing Christmas foods.
In England, as elsewhere, many churches had been dedicated to Saint Nicholas, but with the elimination of Catholicism "Father
Christmas" reverted to associations with a Green-clad elfish figure associated with pagan mid-winter festivals. Father
Christmas did not distribute gifts and he was often the master of ceremonies for mummer's plays. Although "Father Christmas"
rather than "Santa Claus" is still the name of choice in the United Kingdom, his appearance & conduct has become
indistinguishable from his American counterpart. Similarly, France has a "Pere Noel" and Brazil has a "Papai Noel".
In the fall of 1897 an 8-year-old girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking if Santa Claus
really exists. Francis Church, one of the Sun's editorial writers wrote a "Yes, Virginia" reply which has become a classic
example for adults fostering children's belief in Santa Claus.
According to one study, 85% of 4-year-olds believe in Santa Claus. Belief drops to 65% by age 6 and to 25% by age 8. As
children begin to question how Santa can visit every house, how a large man can fit in a chimney, how Santa can be in so many
shopping malls at the same time, etc — many parents resort to increasingly strained explanations to maintain the fiction. The
uncritical belief of children can be touchingly cute. The temptation to build a poetic fantasy-world in formative minds —
removed from the harsh realities of life — can be great. Potential damage can result from erosion of trust when parents
seriously try to convince their children that Santa Claus is a fact rather than a fairy tale. But if a parent can experience
sentimental enchantment and love attached to the "game" of Santa Claus it would be hard to find much intention to deceive
when no effort is made to mislead a child who begins to question.
Some Christians can become uncomfortable with the God-like qualities of Santa Claus. He is all-knowing, has magical powers
and distributes reward or punishment (but nearly always reward, irrespective of how good or bad the child has been). For
parents to lie to children to encourage them to believe in a false god in a red suit is viewed as a blasphemous substitute
for recognition of the true God.
Men interested in playing Santa Claus at Christmas-time are coming under increasing scrutiny. Some municipalities &
organizations (such as the Rotary Clubs) have issued regulations or guidelines concerning Santa hygiene and behavior. In some
cases Santa is prohibited from being in the company of a child without a third adult (apart from the parent) being present.
Santa must not make promises to a child. Santa must keep both hands in plain view at all times. And Santa must not straddle a
child on the knee — or perhaps not touch a child at all. Background checks and sensitivity training for aspiring Santas are
increasing. Schools have been instituted to train those who wish to be professional Santas.
Children all over the world can send letters for Santa to: Santa Claus; North Pole H0H 0H0; Canada. The boundaries of Canada
extend to the Geographic North Pole, but there is no land at that location — only sea ice. The letters are delivered to
Montreal where they are answered in over 20 languages with replies printed in "Santa's handwriting" on "Santa's personal
stationary".
Letters for Santa are also sent to Finland: Santa Claus Park; Arctic Circle; 999 Finland; Europe. Children in Finland believe
that Father Christmas lives in Lapland, part of Finland north of the Arctic Circle. There is a theme park called "Santa Claus
Village" in Korvatunturi, Lapland which tourist agencies promote as being Santa's home.
The Danes have Santa living in Greenland, where his letters are forwarded. In Norway Santa has a postal station in the city
of Drobak. Austrian children send their mail to the village of Christkindl, whereas letters to the German Christ Child go to
the "Celestial Post Office" in Augsburg. The Santa Claus World Congress is held annually in Denmark in July. Santas come to
the Congress from over a hundred different countries (excluding Finland, which does not recognize the authority of the
organization).
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) — a joint organization between Canada and the United States providing
aerospace warning & defense — continues a tradition established in 1955 of tracking Santa Claus between 6 a.m. EST December
24 and 5 a.m. EST December 25. Santa goes from the North Pole to Auckland, New Zealand and continues his trip around the
world, ending in Hawaii. NORAD reports that the bright red nose of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer provides an infrared
signature that can be detected by NORAD satellites. Since 1998 NORAD tracking of Santa's journey has been internet-accessible
on the NORADSanta website.
