Santa Claus, A Biography

I thought I'd tackle the history of Santa Claus first, since he has become the unofficial spokesperson for the Christmas holiday. Everyone knows he's jolly, but what don't we know about him? I mean where was Santa born?It appears that the birth of Santa is (like most modern holidays) a combination of at least two, if not more, religious persons of different cultures.

The Early Years

Saint Nicolas

One Santa predecessor is the Christian Saint Nicolas, was a Greek bishop who lived in Turkey during the 4th century. He doesn't look anything like Santa, in fact he sort of creepy looking, and emaciated. But he is said to have given gifts to children and the poor including dowries to the daughters of a pious Christian man, who would have otherwise become prostitutes (the daughters, not the father.) In some versions of the story (depending on where you read it) Saint Nic had to drop the coins down the chimney at night because he didn't want the family discover his identity, and all the windows of the house were closed (which was his usual method). As they fell the coins accidentally landed a sweaty stocking that was hanging by the fire to dry (OK, OK I added the sweaty part:).  His "thing" was to give gifts secretly, because he wanted the faithful to believe the gifts were from God. (Obviously he wasn't entirely successful.) Only the Christians on their best behavior received gifts, and so parents began to use Saint Nicolas as a bargaining tool during the year when their children misbehaved. Parents all over Christendom began to threaten no gift on December 6th (Saint Nicolas Day) if their children were naughty.
Suddenly we have uncovered the (possible) origin of 1.) why Santa comes down the chimney and not through the front door 2.) why he comes at night when everyone is asleep, and 3.) why we hang stockings by the fireplace. Cool Hu?
A couple more interesting "facts" about Saint Nicolas are that in addition to being the patron saint of children, he is also the patron saint of thieves and sailors, which are the antithesis of innocent youngsters. I have no idea why this is, but it might have something to do with the fact that there weren't that many saints back then, so they had to double and triple up. Kind of like a small town drugstore that serves as a barber and vacuum repair shop.
Apparently after he died, several of his bones were distributed as relics among several churches throughout Europe. Most of them settled Bari, Italy and the bones there are purported to ooze a clear, watery, rose smelling liquid on Saint Nicholas Day every year. This "miraculous" material is collected by the clergy and put in a sarcophagus. Never mind that it's impossible for thousand year old bones to produce anything much less nice smelling rose water. It's like a double miracle: dry bones make water and it doesn't smell like moldy bacteria-infested remains. Either way, I think anything oozing out of bones or dead bodies is gross and should be avoided at all cost.

Odin and Sleipnir

Another proto-Santa, and one that predates Ol' Saint Nic in fact,  is the pagan Germainc god Odin, who had an eight legged horse that could leap great distances through the air. Odin is described as having a great, long beard and is usually depicted as an old, but strong man. He looks much more like the modern-day Santa Claus with flowing white hair, and he gave gifts as well. He would take  his octi-horse (called Sleipnir) on a long hunting trip during the Yule holiday on December 25th each year. As the story goes children across the land would put carrots, sugar or hay in their boots and set them by the door on Christmas Eve. As Odin hunted he would stop and let Sleipnir eat the snacks left out for him (to help keep his strength up), and replace the hay with candies as a "thank you" to the kids. And there you can see the origin of leaving cookies out for Santa Claus, the flying reindeer, and a holiday on December 25th (as opposed to December 6th).

The Teenage Years

Father Christmas

Although we can see a lot of similarities between Saint Nicolas and the god Odin with our modern day Santa Claus, we haven't addressed the red suit, or the jolly personality. But before we do that we need a little background. In the mid 1800's there were several versions of the Santa Claus character, but none actually called Santa Claus, in the red suit we know today. The English had Father Christmas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, etc. When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol Santa didn't exist yet! It's hard to imagine that Charles Dickens is older than Santa, but there you have it. In fact, some people say that our modern fat man in red is partly based on the "Ghost of Christmas Present".

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During this time the Santa figure began being associated with happiness and holiday fun. I guess you could say he was finding his inner jolly-ness. As people began immigrating to the U.S. at the turn of the century, they brought their version of Santa with them. Over time they all adopted the American version: Santa Claus. Despite having finally found a solitary name, depictions of Santa remained varied and inconsistent throughout the early 1900's.Some renderings have him with a hat, some without. In some he is wearing a long robe, in others a more familiar suit. But in the 1930's that all changed. Who do we have to thank for our rotund, rosy cheeked Santa Clause? Believe it or not, it's the Coca-Cola Company! Their depiction of Santa in a furry red suit sipping an ice cold bottle of Coke is the birth of our modern day Santa. It's hard to believe that a Christmas staple like Santa Claus is only 80 years old, but those are the facts.


Modern Day
Today you can find a homogeneous looking Santa Claus on everything from underwear to greeting cards. He's got a red suit, a white beard, lots of presents, flying reindeer instead of an eight legged horse, and he always sneaks down the chimney on Christmas Eve. From his humble origins as saint, and god (which might account for his immortality and ability to reach all the children in the world in one night), to a modern non-religious hero, Santa has changed with the times. Now he uses GPS, and gives out Nintendo Wii to good children. He has an email address, and in the off season vacations in Hawaii. He might have been born in the Middle East, and reside in the North Pole, but he will always live in my heart as a symbol of jolly tidings and holiday cheer!