Throughout the world, Santa Claus has many and varied names , St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, Old Easter, Father ice, ... as they change from one country to another the stories and ways that children have to live the awaited night.
What does not change is the figure of the little old belly, pink complexion, dressed in red suit and long white beard that has become the main character of Christmas parties .
But who is this man to whom thousands of children around the world write a letter telling him how they behaved and asking for a Christmas night gift? . T and we tell the true story of Santa Claus.
The true legend of Santa Claus
It tells the story that Nicolás de Bari was born in the fourth century in Patara, a city in the district of Lycia, in what is now Turkey, within a rich and well-to-do family.
From his childhood, Nicolás stood out for his kindness and generosity to the poorest , always caring for the good of others. Being still very young, the boy lost his parents, prey to an epidemic of plague, and became the heir of a great fortune. At age 19, Nicolás decided to give all his wealth to the needy and go to Mira with his uncle to dedicate himself to the priesthood.
There he was appointed bishop and became patron saint of Turkey, Greece and Russia. He was also appointed Patron of the sailors because, he tells a story that, being some of them in the middle of a terrible storm on the high seas and seeing themselves lost, they began to pray and ask God for the saint's help, and the waters calmed down.
San Nicolás died on December 6 of the year 345. Since that date is very close to Christmas, it was decided that this saint was the perfect figure to distribute gifts and treats to children on Christmas Day . From the 6th century, temples were built in his honor and in 1087 his remains were taken to Bari in Italy.
Later, in the 12th century, the Catholic tradition of San Nicolás grew in Europe, and by the 17th century, Dutch emigrants brought the custom to the United States , where they usually leave cookies or homemade cakes and a glass of milk to Santa Claus.
By the way, as a curiosity, the name Santa Claus was created following the name of the saint in German, San Nikolaus.
The appearance of San Nicolás de Bari was very different from the one attributed to him today: he was thin and tall. And the fact that they always represent him with a bag and has the reputation of being a gift delivery man is due to the fact that, on one occasion, the saint knew that the daughter of one of his neighbors was going to get married and his father had no money. for the dowry, so he decided to give him a bag with gold coins . Thus, the wedding could be celebrated and, since then, the custom of exchanging gifts at Christmas gained strength.
Although the legend of Santa Claus is ancient and complex, and comes largely from San Nicolás, the family image of Santa Claus with the sleigh, reindeer and bags with gifts is an American invention. In 1823, the English writer Clement Moore wrote the poem ' A Visit of Saint Nicholas' , imagining that Santa Claus was crossing the skies in a sleigh carried by at least nine reindeer - Rudolph , Donner, Blitcher, Comet, Cupid, Brilliant, Danzante, Centella and Zorro -, and not that he distributed his gifts on foot or riding a horse as had been accepted until then.
The Americans were also the ones who gave it its current appearance. In 1931, a well-known brand of soft drinks commissioned the cartoonist Thomas Nast to draw a humanized Father Christmas whose image was closer to the people for his Christmas campaign. This is how Santa Claus dressed in red, with a belt and black boots, has remained until today in the popular imagination.
To this day, the story tells that Santa lives in the North Pole accompanied by Mrs. Noel and a group of goblins who are in charge of making toys that children around the world want. When the night of December 24 arrives , Santa Claus carries all his gifts in a sack and travels the world leaving the children's gifts under the Christmas tree.
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