Santa Claus is one of the Christmas's most iconic legendary figures. The "good old man" chubby and friendly represents the altruism and feelings of kindness and gratitude that invade hearts at that festive time that celebrates the birth of the Child Jesus.
At Christmas time, children usually write a letter to Santa Claus telling them what they want to win. According to legend, on the night of Christmas Eve he travels the skies across the world with the help of the his sleigh pulled by his nine reindeer and brings gifts to the children who behaved well during the year.
The best known story is that Santa Claus enters the chimneys and leaves the presents under the Christmas tree.
Origin of Santa Claus
The origin of Santa Claus is closely related to the figure of St. Nicholas of Mira, a bishop born in Turkey in 280 AD. Ç. that helped people in need.
St. Nicholas left coins near the chimneys of the less fortunate at night.
St. Nicholas was beatified by the Catholic Church because of the miracles he performed. The best known was the payment of the dowries of three daughters of a poor couple.
The girls' parents did not have the money to pay the dowry and marry their daughters, which meant for them a life of prostitution. Until one day a sack containing gold and silver coins appeared in the family's house and the girls had their dowry for the wedding.
There are those who say that there were not three daughters, but only one and that she lived alone with her father. What matters is not the details, but the content of that story.
And even before São Nicolau, there is a legend linked to the origin of Santa Claus, the legend of the Old Winter. According to her, there was an old man who went from house to house asking for food during the winter. Whoever helped you ensured a pleasant winter for your family.
St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6th, the date of his death. As a result, many people often assemble Christmas trees on this date.
St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Russia, Greece and Norway. Furthermore, he is considered the patron saint of students.
Santa Claus representation
Today Santa Claus has a long white beard and wears a red outfit with white details. He has a red hat and a black belt and boots. Also, he carries a big bag of gifts.
But it was not always so. The first images of Santa Claus featured a thin man, others resembled a goblin. And his clothes were dark, in shades of brown and green.
German cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902) worked for years on the design of Santa Claus. In one of them, published in the magazine Harper's Weeklys, Santa Claus looks like this:
It was only in 1931, through a Coca-Cola advertising campaign, that Santa Claus gained the closest aspect to what we know today:
Curiosities about Santa Claus
- In American culture, Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. In Europe, he lives in Lapland, Finland.
- In Portugal, Santa Claus is called “Father Christmas”. In the United States, from Santa Claus.
- Legend has it that he lives with his wife, Mama Claus, some elves and their reindeer. The elves are magical entities that help in the manufacture of toys that will be given to children.
- A very curious question present in the imagination of children is: How does Santa Claus manage to deliver all the presents on Christmas Eve? According to logic, the fact that there are several time zones would make him earn a few extra hours and, with that, he would deliver everything in 31 hours.
- There are a few variations of the legend and one of them says that Santa Claus likes to snack when he delivers presents. That's why many people tend to leave milk and cookies for him and carrots for their reindeer.
- In Finland there is the Santa Claus village. Adults use their address (Tähtikuja 1, 96930 Rovaniemi, Finland) to put in children's letters to make them believe that Santa's house is there.
- To make children even more happy, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) website presents Santa Claus' route every year. So, on December 24th, the children believe they can know where he is.
Santa Claus is a character that stands out in popular culture. Therefore, the All Matter invites you not to stop here.
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