Santa claus again changes with the times another book, this time a book published in the 1960s, reaffirmed the role of mrs. When we think of santa claus, we picture a plump, jolly man in a red suit delivering gifts in his sleigh. History of santa claus book 1 santa through the years kindle edition by portman, sandra l download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The origins of santa claus on the morning of december 25, millions of american children gather with their families around the christmas trees to open gifts left there by santa claus. Nickno matter the name, everyone knows the story of this plump, jolly, bringer of gifts.
The name santa claus comes from the dutch words sinter klaas, which is what they call st. Other artists and writers continued the change to an elflike st. The delightful story is set on christmas eve and tells of a tenyearold boy who is looking after his little sister. His popular image is based on traditions associated with saint nicholas, a 4thcentury christian saint. The book even discusses rudolph the red nose reindeer and how he became to live with santa, how he came about to save the day, and where he is today. Dec 17, 2018 it would become santa claus other name, kris kringle.
The name santa claus is the english form of the dutch name for st. The story is a little quirky, but what a great framework for the message it is. This christmas tell your children the real santa claus story. It is believed that nicholas was born sometime around 280 a. In this book irving described santa as a jolly man who rode in a wagon pulled by horses. Santa claus saved christmas, by phyllis mcginley, helped standardize and establish the character and role of mrs. Dec, 2018 portrait of saint nicholas bigstockphoto, santa claus with tree and sack public domain, and a modern depiction of santa claus. Dec 08, 2017 the legend of santa claus begins with a christian monk named nicholas who was born around 280 a. All americans are familiar with the icon of christmas.
Santa claus is a legendary figure who is said to bring gifts to the homes of wellbehaved children on christmas. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading history of santa claus book 1 santa through the years. Did you ever wonder who the original santa claus was and how he evolved into the jolly, north pole dweller we know and love today. Cc0 the article this christmas tell your children the real santa claus story by lisa bitel was originally published on the conversation and has been republished under a creative commons license.
Dec 24, 20 the dutch name for saint nick sinter klaas is the origin of our corruption to santa claus. Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red who brings toys to. Although now known as a christmas giftbringer, and normally considered to be synonymous with american cultures santa claus which is now known worldwide, he was originally part of an unrelated and much older english folkloric tradition. We also breakdown what abilties santa has in the comic books, whether or not he is a.
The legend of santa claus, whos based on the christian bishop saint nicholas, dates back centuries, but the modern depiction of santachimney and allstarted to take form in the 19th century. Specifically, our current santa came to life courtesy of washington irving. Nicholas was from a rich family but gave away all he had to help the poor and sick. However, the origin of santa claus and krampus started out as two separate myths from different regions of the world. He once saved three sisters who were going to be sold as slaves by providing them with a dowry so they could be married. He became a bishop in greece and gained distinction in the councils of the church, being especially famed for unexpected gifts, and later associated with the giving of presents during the season at the end of the year. Though the modern santa claus is associated with a world of fantasy, the.
Suddenly, a bearded stranger with a twinkle in his eye takes a seat and begins spinning a provocative tale that intrigues, delights, and inspires. Santa claus and her husband became part of a christmas culture of books, movies, and television programs mrs. Unknown to the people on earth, santa claus was given being because of humanitys belief in the deeds of three different characters in history. However, saint nicholas was not always the goofy bearded man we picture today, having gone through many facelifts since his humbler beginnings in. The original santa claus story santa claus history pghome. Today we take a look at the comic book origins kinda, but mostly the adventures of santa claus in comics. He was born to wealthy parents, who died in an epidemic while nicholas was still young. Dec 19, 2015 however, the origin of santa claus and krampus started out as two separate myths from different regions of the world.
Its the tale of one man and his wolf against a totalitarian state and the ancient evil that sustains it. Santa claus, legendary figure who is the traditional patron of christmas in the united states and other countries, bringing gifts to children. Jan 01, 2014 the story of santa claus really is a good read. An interview with gerry bowler, author of santa claus. Nicholas and the dutch sinterklass, the jolly giftgiver who is known universally today as santa claus is definitely an american creation. There are many origin stories of santa, which seem to vary country to country. These three people, whom belief in together created the true magical being of santa claus, are who the people of earth think santa claus. The history and origins of santa claus jason mankey. Awardwinning author grant morrison allstar superman, the multiversity and artist dan mora hexed revamp, reinvent, and reimagine a classic. The netherlands still celebrate saint nicholass day of december 6th, some giving gifts on the 5th december gifts eve. In the united states of the late 18thcentury, christmas in most parts of the newly formed country centered around drinking, eating, and raucous noisemaking. Most of us are familiar with the mainstream image of santa claus, with his reindeer, sleigh, and a country full of elves that love nothing more than to make presents for children.
The legend of santa claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named st. For people who would enjoy reading tales of how santa claus came to be throughout history, then this book would be enjoyable read for them, especially in the. Children write letters to santa claus and set out milk and cookies on christmas eve as a snack for santa. Little is known of him, but he is traditionally identified as a 4thcentury bishop of myra in asia minor. Dec 25, 2018 santa claus wasnt always chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. The story is a little quirky, but what a great framework for the message it is very cleverly written. The real man behind santa claus and the books that made him. On the back of the book cody urban suggests that nicholas could be called the batman of 300 ad. Origins of santa claus article about origins of santa. A big, fat guy in a red suit with a fluffy white beard.
In it, saint nicholas is described as a plump old man with eight reindeer and a sleigh, an image that was elaborated upon by the political cartoonist thomas nast in 1862, combining native german traditions along with moores idea of saint nicholas to create todays image of santa claus. Father christmas is the traditional english name for the personification of christmas. Many of the modern details of the modernday american santa claus come from the 1823 poem a visit from st. Nicholas used his entire inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.
The story of santa claus by joseph mccullough goodreads. Santa claus comes from the dutch words sinter klaas, which is what they call their favorite saint, st. The origin of santa claus and krampus historic mysteries. There really is a santa claus history of saint nicholas. Even children point to the sky if you ask where santa claus on his sleigh comes from.
A negro santa claus went down a chimney head first and landed on the fire, a 1901 news report, from bloomfield, new jersey, read. What are the origins of the modern day santa claus. Set in a dark fantastic past of myth and magic, klaus tells the origin story of santa claus. Here are 8 ways mushrooms explain santa and his reindeer. This effort of luthers to move away from the santa claus tradition inadvertently veered right toward it. Cody urban tells his story, however, in a way that is not overly magical but believable. Todays image of santa claus is vastly different from the one that many believe was the inspiration behind the icon in the first place. The modern image of santa claus has been refined again and again. Jones recounts the evidence telling how santa claus was created in 19th century new york. Santa claus otherwise known as saint nicholas or kris kringle has a long history steeped in christmas traditions. In fact, santa claus is not a myth and he wasnt a pagan. Frankly, most of the book has nothing whatsoever to do with santa claus but dwells upon anecdotal stories of these wild men as the true origin of santa claus.
The life and adventures of santa claus is a 1902 childrens book, written by l. Dec 24, 2014 the real story of santa claus begins with saint nicholas 270 343 ad, who was born in the village of patara, an area which was once greek but is now part of turkey. Interestingly enough, saint nicholas and his legend began in the early church. Weihnachtsmann holynightman is explained literally. The earliest known inspiration for the legend comes from the fourth century in the form of saint nicholas of myra, a greek christian figure known for his generosity to the poor. Santa claus, a contraction for saint nicholas, was born in the 3rd century, perhaps in a. Born in modernday turkey, nicholas was neither fat nor jolly. Washington irving was the first to include santa claus in his book, diedrich knickbockers history of new york. The historical roots of santa claus come from many sources. Father christmas fills the role in many european countries. The definitive history of santa claus the cocacola company.
I dont buy into any origin story of santa dating back to prehistory, the gaps in the historical record are just too large. Huttons book is dedicated to the history of the ritual year in great britain, as a result his treatment of santa claus only gets a few pages, but they are insightful few pages. Far from being a rotund jolly man with rosy cheeks that is. Dec 24, 2018 today we take a look at the comic book origins kinda, but mostly the adventures of santa claus in comics. Nicholas of myra also known as nikolaos of myra, nicholas of bari and nicholas the wonderworker was a 4th century bishop in the catholic church of asia minor. Masterfully weaving past and present through story, lessons, and devotions, the gospel of santa claus follows the incredible story of saint nicholas.
In old dutch, the origin of sinterclaas is to be found in the starry sky, where in north european star lore he played a major role long before christianity. In 1863, during the civil war, political cartoonist thomas nast began a series of annual blackandwhite drawings in harpers weekly, based on the descriptions found in the poem and. Dec 18, 20 the modernday story of santa derives from a siberian shaman who gave out hallucinatory mushrooms, according to one theory. All americans are familiar with the icon of christmas, but what about the myth behind the north pole native. Thus began the tradition of giftgiving in honour of saint nicholas, whose modern name santa claus, comes from the dutch sinterklaas. The mispronunciation stuck making sinterklaas into santa claus. The dutch name for saint nick sinter klaas is the origin of our corruption to santa claus. And who helped bring the image of the man in the red suit. 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. The history of santa claus dates some 1,700 years ago to a bishop named st. One theory an interview with jeremy seal, author of nicholas. Santa clausotherwise known as saint nicholas or kris kringle has.
Nicholas of myra also known as nikolaos of myra, nicholas of bari and nicholas the wonderworker was a 4th century bishop in. In 1902, a childrens book called the life and adventures of santa claus further popularized the character of santa claus and his magic elves in american culture. This is a very helpful book for children asking questions about santa claus. We are quickly coming up to christmas, and what better way to kick off the festive season than to tell a good origin story.
Explore fascinating origins of the 12 days of christmas, christmas tree, carols, kris kringle, creche scene, poinsettia, hanukkah. He tells stories of different interesting people he has met over the years and also sheds light on his personal journey to becoming santa claus. Joseph a mccullough is the author of several nonfiction books including a pocket history of ireland and ospreys zombies. However, santa claus origin is surprisingly different from his widely known persona today.
The origin of santa claus depends on which countrys story you choose to adopt. Nov 15, 2016 comics legend grant morrison introduces us to an old friend, santa claus, as weve never seen him before. I enjoyed reading the early history of saint nicholas and how we are to know him as santa claus. Dec 05, 2019 the legend of santa claus, whos based on the christian bishop saint nicholas, dates back centuries, but the modern depiction of santachimney and allstarted to take form in the 19th century. There actually is a historical figure upon which santa claus is based. It would become santa claus other name, kris kringle. Portrait of saint nicholas bigstockphoto, santa claus with tree and sack public domain, and a modern depiction of santa claus. Two writers in american literature helped make santa claus an american tradition. History of santa claus book 1 santa through the years. This christmas tell your children the real santa claus. Santa claus wasnt always chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. The real story of santa claus begins with saint nicholas 270 343 ad, who was born in the village of patara, an area which was once greek but is now part of turkey. Learn the definitive history of our beloved christmas figure, santa claus, and its connection to cocacola.
739 1033 698 178 632 1306 348 774 1471 1520 120 1169 1554 663 1506 1204 1079 493 1554 219 573 560 358 1599 734 659 876 559 742 1313 583 282 1355 218 958