Origins of the
Legend ,The historical
Saint Nicholas was venerated in early
Christian legend for saving storm-tossed
sailors, defending young children, and
giving generous gifts to the poor.
Although many of the stories about Saint
Nicholas are of doubtful authenticity (for
example, he is said to have delivered a
bag of gold to a poor family by tossing
it through a window), his legend spread
throughout Europe, emphasizing his role
as a traditional bringer of gifts. The
Christian figure of Saint Nicholas
replaced or incorporated various pagan
gift-giving figures such as the Roman
Befana and the Germanic Berchta and
Knecht Ruprecht. The saint was called
Sankt Nikolaus in Germany and Sanct Herr
Nicholaas or Sinter Klaas in Holland.
In these countries
Nicholas was sometimes said to ride
through the sky on a horse. He was
depicted wearing a bishop's robes and was
said to be accompanied at times by Black
Peter, an elf whose job was to whip the
naughty children.}The feast day of
Nicholas, when presents were received,
was traditionally observed on December 6.
After the Reformation, German Protestants
encouraged veneration of the (Christ
child) as a gift giver on his own feast
day, December 25. When the Nicholas
tradition prevailed, it became attached
to Christmas itself. Because the saint's
life is so unreliably documented, Pope
Paul VI ordered the feast of Saint
Nicholas dropped from the official Roman
Catholic calendar in 1969. The term
Christkindl evolved to Kriss Kringle,
another nickname for Santa Claus. Various
other European Christmas gift givers were
more or less similar to Saint Nicholas:
in France, Julenisse in Scandinavia, and
Father Christmas in England.
American Origins. The
American version of the Santa Claus
figure received its inspiration and its
name from the Dutch legend of Sinter
Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in
the 17th century. As early as 1773 the
name appeared in the American press as St.
A Claus, but it was the popular author
Washington Irving who gave Americans
their first detailed information about
the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In
his History of New York, published in
1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich
Knickerbocker, Irving described the
arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied
by Black Peter) each Eve of Saint
Nicholas. This Dutch-American Saint Nick
achieved his fully Americanized form in
1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint
Nicholasmore commonly known as The Night
Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke
Moore . Moore included such details as
the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's
laughs, winks, and nods; and the method
by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as
an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's
phrase lays his finger aside of his nose
was drawn directly from Irving's 1809
description.)
The American image of Santa
Claus was further elaborated by
illustrator Thomas Nast who depicted a
rotund Santa for Christmas issues of
Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the
1880s. Nast added such details as Santa's
workshop at the North Pole and Santa's
list of the good and bad children of the
world. A human-sized version of Santa
Claus, rather than the elf of Moore's
poem, was depicted in a series of
illustrations for Coca-Cola
advertisements introduced in 1931. In
modern versions of the Santa Claus
legend, only his toy-shop workers are
elves. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with
a red and shiny nose, was invented in
1939 by an advertising writer for the
Montgomery Ward Company.
Modern Influences. The fully
detailed modern image of Santa Claus
plays a part in Christmas celebrations
around the world. People are reminded of
Santa Claus through advertising, greeting
cards, decorations, and the annual
appearance of Santas in department stores
and shopping malls (in some cases
accompanied by Mrs. Claus and Santa's
elves). The figure of Santa Claus occurs
in motion pictures for example, Miracle
on 34th Street 1947) and in songs such as
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, 1932) and
Here Comes Santa Claus, 1947). Children
write letters to Santa Claus and set out
milk and cookies on Christmas Eve as a
snack for Santa.
Although most
adults view Santa as the embodiment of a
spirit of giving, some argue that the
modern image of Santa Claus conflicts
with the true meaning of Christmas and
promotes greed and commercialism. To
reconcile the legend of Santa Claus with
the religious significance of Christmas,
some Christians emphasize that the modern
figure is derived from legends about a
saint who symbolized love, caring, and
generosity. "Santa Claus,"
Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia. 1993-1997
Microsoft Corporation. All rights
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