By Admin 
The real story of Santa Claus is about 1700 years old, which starts with a kind-hearted saint in Turkey. Today’s Santa Claus was originally Saint Nicholas, whose goodness made him the world’s most popular Christmas icon.
The life and goodness of St. Nicholas
The story starts around the year 280 AD. The place was Patara, which is in today’s Turkey. Then there was the rule of the Roman Empire. Nicholas was born here in a rich family. His parents were quite wealthy, but both died in an epidemic. Nicholas had immense wealth, but instead of enjoying luxury, he chose the path of helping the poor.
A poor man in his town had three daughters. Due to poverty, the father was not able to marry his daughters and was thinking of pushing them on the wrong path. Nicholas came to know this. He did not want to show off, so he secretly went to the poor man’s house at night and threw the bag of gold coins through the window. Due to this the first daughter got married.
Nicholas did the same thing for the second and third daughters also. For the third time the father caught him and fell at his feet, but Nicholas said that no one should know about this.
Tradition of giving ‘secret gifting’ started
It is from here that the tradition of ‘secret gifting’ started. Nicholas later became bishop of the city of Myra. Bishop means the main patriarch of a large area of the church. He earned so much fame with his simplicity and goodness that after his death he received the title of ‘Saint Nicholas’. His death anniversary is celebrated as ‘St Nicholas Day’ on 6 December.
How did St. Nicholas become associated with Christmas?
Initially there was no fixed date of birth of Jesus. In the 4th century, the Roman Empire chose December 25 for Christmas, because at that time the Romans celebrated the ‘rebirth’ of the sun. The church gave a new religious color to old traditions.
Over time, stories of St. Nicholas giving gifts became associated with Christmas. Especially after the Protestant Reformation, when veneration of saints declined, the custom of gift giving became directly linked to the night of December 24 (Christmas Eve).
Different names of Santa in the world
Santa Claus is called by different names in every part of the world-
- Turkey: st nicholas
- Netherlands: Sinterklaas
- Germany: Pelz Nickel (Furry Nicholas)
- France: Père Noel (Father Christmas)
- Russia: Ded Moroz (Snowy Grandfather)
How did Santa arrive in America and how did it become what it is today?
In the 17th-18th century, Dutch people went to settle in America and took ‘Sinterklaas’ with their culture. From the language of Americans this name became ‘Santa Claus’. In 1822, poet Clement Clarke Moore’s poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ gave Santa the appearance he has today, a jovial, chubby figure arriving on a sleigh pulled by eight deer.
It is said about Santa’s red clothes that the Coca-Cola company gave this color, but this is not completely true. Actually the red color was already there, but the company made it more popular. Today Santa Claus has become not just a religious character but a symbol of Christmas joy and the spirit of giving. His story tells how goodness survives for centuries.