Santa Claus: The Man of Many Stories Santa Claus has been a hero to kids in many countries and civilizations for centuries. Many children have had the wonderful fantasies of meeting or being Santa Claus and have thought of Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year. Santa is always thought of by his giving gifts and eating cookies, but sometimes people forget that Santa is based off a catholic saint, Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was elected to act as Bishop of Myra, now present day Turkey, at a very young age. He was very kind and would sneak out at night to give gifts to the needy. After his death he was known as the patron saint of school boys and adored by all, young and old for his charitable acts and overall kindness to everyone
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His fame was spread after the discovery of his often journeys to give gifts to the less fortunate. People all over Europe began to become aware of his wonderful legacy. Towns used to celebrate his feast day on December 9th, all the school children would come together and elect a boy-bishop and he would dress in great robes and lead a parade. The would march all over the streets and families would gather and feast to celebrate. Even though the tradition soon died out among most of Europe, Saint Nicholas remained a favorite among the kids of Europe. The stories spread to the Netherlands where young and old admired the traditions. In the Netherlands the celebration tradition was altered, a person representing the beloved Saint Nick would ride around on a white horse and hand out gifts to people. Also in Germany a mature child/young adult would go around and parents would tell if their child was well behaved or not. Well behaved children received the gifts they wanted, while misbehaved, unpolite children received bundles of sticks. When dutch settlers began to arrive in present-day New York City, then known as New Amsterdam, they eagerly spread the traditions to the English settlers. The English settlers almost immediately started to get traditions of their own surrounding the feast of Saint Nicholas. When …show more content…
He was originally tall, thin, and stately until a New York newspaper writer created a new image depicting him as dressed in a broad brimmed hat, jolly looking, plump, and smoking a long pipe. He would glide over trees in a sled dropping presents from his pockets down the chimneys of the homes of the well behaved girls and boys. Later his image was changed again by Clement C. Moore when he wrote a poem entitled “A Visit from St.Nicholas”, for his children. This poem depicts a more common essence of Santa, the poem starts with the famous line, “Twas the night before Christmas” and describes Santa as round and jolly, clothed in fur form head to toe, eyes twinkling, nose like a cherry, with a white beard, and smoking the stump of a tobacco pipe. In 1837 the toy bag was brought into pictures by Robert W. Weir when he painted a picture showing Santa as friendly, tubby, wearing a hood and knee high boots, and carrying the famous toy bag. He was ,in Moors words, laying his finger aside his nose. Futhermore, a few years later a man by the name of Thomas Nast, a well known North American cartoon editor/writer, again developed the already well known image of Santa Claus in a cartoon sketch in 1863. The original publishing of “Santa Claus and his works” appeared as the featured christmas picture in “Harpers weekly” introduced the idea of the elves
His fame was spread after the discovery of his often journeys to give gifts to the less fortunate. People all over Europe began to become aware of his wonderful legacy. Towns used to celebrate his feast day on December 9th, all the school children would come together and elect a boy-bishop and he would dress in great robes and lead a parade. The would march all over the streets and families would gather and feast to celebrate. Even though the tradition soon died out among most of Europe, Saint Nicholas remained a favorite among the kids of Europe. The stories spread to the Netherlands where young and old admired the traditions. In the Netherlands the celebration tradition was altered, a person representing the beloved Saint Nick would ride around on a white horse and hand out gifts to people. Also in Germany a mature child/young adult would go around and parents would tell if their child was well behaved or not. Well behaved children received the gifts they wanted, while misbehaved, unpolite children received bundles of sticks. When dutch settlers began to arrive in present-day New York City, then known as New Amsterdam, they eagerly spread the traditions to the English settlers. The English settlers almost immediately started to get traditions of their own surrounding the feast of Saint Nicholas. When …show more content…
He was originally tall, thin, and stately until a New York newspaper writer created a new image depicting him as dressed in a broad brimmed hat, jolly looking, plump, and smoking a long pipe. He would glide over trees in a sled dropping presents from his pockets down the chimneys of the homes of the well behaved girls and boys. Later his image was changed again by Clement C. Moore when he wrote a poem entitled “A Visit from St.Nicholas”, for his children. This poem depicts a more common essence of Santa, the poem starts with the famous line, “Twas the night before Christmas” and describes Santa as round and jolly, clothed in fur form head to toe, eyes twinkling, nose like a cherry, with a white beard, and smoking the stump of a tobacco pipe. In 1837 the toy bag was brought into pictures by Robert W. Weir when he painted a picture showing Santa as friendly, tubby, wearing a hood and knee high boots, and carrying the famous toy bag. He was ,in Moors words, laying his finger aside his nose. Futhermore, a few years later a man by the name of Thomas Nast, a well known North American cartoon editor/writer, again developed the already well known image of Santa Claus in a cartoon sketch in 1863. The original publishing of “Santa Claus and his works” appeared as the featured christmas picture in “Harpers weekly” introduced the idea of the elves