The Origin of Santa Claus

Shelby Barker - Sophomore | Features

‘Twas the night before Christmas -- everything is still as a mouse until you hear thumps on your roof and a boom from your chimney. Could that be Santa? Santa Claus is also known as Kris Kringle or St. Nicholas, and has had a long history rooted in Christmas traditions. He is thought of today as the jolly man in red who brings toys to good boys and girls on Christmas Eve, but his origin goes all the way back to the 3rd century.

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas. Born around 280 A.D near modern-day Turkey into a rich family, Nicholas’s parents unfortunately died when he was young and he inherited all their money. Nicholas was a very religious young man who had developed a reputation for his kind heart. Being an orphan, Nicholas always had a soft side for children and would make them handcraft toys to pass the time. He would also secretly leave gifts to families in need when he felt like they needed them. His legend was spread all across Europe, Germany, Britain, and more making Saint Nicholas famous.

Although St. Nicholas’s fame was short-lived due to him dying a few years later, his legacy lived on. All throughout the middle ages, children were given presents and families had big feasts in honor of St. Nicholas the night before December 6th, which is the day Nicholas died. Later in the 16th century, the Protestant reformer Martin Luther pushed to change the date of gifting to December 25th to focus more on Jesus. This movement started the holiday that we know so well, Christmas. The holiday was adopted by several countries and they each adopted their own ideologies of Saint Nicholas.

Later down the line, when European colonists started to settle in America, they brought all the ideologies of Christmas with them. There were arguments over which ideology they would use, until, in 1823, the poet and New Yorker Clement C. Moore wrote “ A visit from St. Nicholas,” now better known as “‘Twas A Night Before Christmas.” The story portrayed Santa Claus (derived from Sinter Klaus) as a little elf in a fur coat who would use his magical sleigh pulled by flying reindeer to bring all the children's gifts.

In 1863, artist Thomas Nast took these descriptions and illustrated his own depiction of Santa. He portrayed Santa as a grandfather-like figure in a red suit who lives at the North pole in a toy workshop, with children sending their Christmas lists to him. This portrayal of Santa Claus became a hit and is the iconic figure we know and love today.