The real Saint Nicholas was called Hagios Nikolaos and was born in Patara , which was a small town in what now is Turkey, sometime around 300 AD. He eventually entered the nearby monastery of Sion, and subsequently became the Archbishop of Myra, Lycia (Greece). 

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of just about everything. He is the national saint of Russia and Greece and there are thousands of churches dedicated to his memory.     He is the patron saint of judges, murderers, pawnbrokers, thieves, merchants, paupers, scholars, sailors, bakers, travellers, maidens and poor children. He is known as the friend and protector of all those in trouble.   Legends tell of his love for children, his kindness and the miracles he is credited with performing.

The most famous story of all tells how he helped three  young sisters who all had suitors but could not marry as they had no dowries as their father, a poor nobleman, could not raise the money.  When the first daughter was ready to marry, the Bishop threw a bag of gold into the house at night.  Later, when the second daughter prepared to marry, she too received a mysterious bag of gold. When the third daughter prepared to marry, the girl's father was determined to find out who had been so generous.  So he kept watch and saw the Bishop drop another bag of gold into the house.  It has been said that Saint Nicholas climbed on the roof and dropped the third bag of gold down the chimney where it landed in a stocking hung to dry, and so the legend began.  When the father saw what had happened, Nicholas begged him to keep the secret, but the news got out and anyone who received an unexpected gift thanked Nicholas.

Nicholas, the Boy Bishop, is also associated with schoolboys and is the special saint of childhood.  One story is that he brought  three young boys back to life.    The country was experiencing a famine and an inn keeper and his wife murdered three young boys, chopped up their bodies and put them into casks for pickling.   When St. Nicholas arrived, he raised the boys from death with their bodies fully restored..

Six hundred years later, the Russian Emperor Vladimir visited Constantinople and heard all the wonderful stories about Bishop Nicholas and decided to make him the patron saint of Russia.   The three bags of gold Nicholas gave the sisters made him the focus of merchants in northern Italy. Statues and pictures had shown him holding the three bags and when taken as the patron saint of the merchants, the bags became gold balls, representing money lenders and today, pawnbrokers.   The anniversary of Nicholas' death, 6 December, either 345 A.D. or 352 A.D., is so close to Christmas that, in many countries, the two merged.

Saint Nicholas - The Legend of Santa Claus Begins

Saint Nicholas was not left to rest in peace after his death, as in those days the bodies of holy men were of great value, for spiritual reasons and  commercially as relics.  There is a local legend in Kilkenny in Ireland, that as the while retreating during the Crusades, the Knights of Jerpoint removed his body from Myra and reburied him in in the Church of St. Nicholas.  The grave is marked by a broken slab decorated with the carving of a monk or bishop which is overlooked by two stone heads.  Locally, the effigy is reputed to be that of St Nicholas, with the heads depicting the two crusaders who brought the remains to Ireland.  In a competing story, which has a wider audience of believers, the merchant seamen of the port of Bari in south-eastern Italy decided to upstage the Venetians who were rumoured to be about to steal the bones from his tomb.  On May 9, 1087, they made a raid on Myra and took the Saint's remains back to Bari, where they were deposited  in the beautiful Basilica of Saint Nicholas, which was purpose built to house them. Through the centuries the shrine has been visited by pilgrims who sometimes experienced miracles.  Pilgrims offered prayers to Saint Nicholas, who was known to care for all who are poor and needy, whether in mind or body. 

During the Reformation all saints fell into disrepute in the parts of Europe where the Protestant faith took hold. Reformers did everything they could to erase the popular Saint Nicholas. But despite their efforts, they were never completely successful. Even though he was removed from the Protestant church, Saint Nicholas continued his popularity in the streets and homes. In Germany he put nuts and apples in the shoes of Protestant children under the guise of the Christchild (Christkindlein). In 1545 Martin Luther's children received gifts from the "Holychild," after previously receiving them from Saint Nicholas. The Christchild and Saint Nicholas were described as wanderers, travelling by foot, chariot or  horseback, examining the deeds of everyone especially children and rewarding good behaviour with apples, nuts, and sweets.  Parents quickly began using these "visits" to encourage good behaviour.  Saint Nicholas also started to be seen to be accompanied by an assistant to hand out any discipline and particularly in Germanic Europe, the visit was an occasion of a solemn, sometimes terrifying experience for children before being given presents.

Dutch children were told that Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, sailed from Spain with a Moorish helper, Black Peter. They filled their shoes with hay and sugar for his horse and woke up to find the shoes filled with nuts and sweets.  When Sinterklaas was actually seen, he was dressed in his bishop's robes and carrying presents and a birch rod, he knew a great deal about the children's behaviour and resembled a father or older brother.  Black Peter walked along with Sinterklaas, wearing animal skins or the colourful clothing of the medieval Moor. Many believed that Black Peter was the Devil and had been conquered by Sinterklaas who makes him climb down the chimneys and through the fire, and leave those other presents safely away from the fire. Some say the bad children are taken away in the sack that Black Peter carries on his back.

In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with presents. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman named Babouschka purposely gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find the a baby Jesus. Later, she felt sorry and went to look for the wise men to tell them the right directions. She couldn't find them to undo the damage. To this day, on January 5, Babouschka visits Russian children leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

Christmas is Banned

In 1642, the Puritans seized power in Britain and outlawed many act's that had no Christian or divine basis. The Puritans tried to dissuade people from partying, from drinking, from dressing up and giving gifts, they introduced an Act of Parliament which officially abolished the popular Christmas customs and it was, decreed that shops should stay open on Christmas Day and that anyone found partying would be arrested.  They were attempting to ban those Christmas characteristics associated with Christmas which had nothing to do with Christianity.  The result was public outrage which culminated in public rioting.   The traditional plays were still performed by Father Christmas who challenged the Government with "In comes I, Old Father Christmas. Be I welcome or be I not, I hope that Christmas will ne'er be forgot".

In 1651 the Colonial Massachusetts Legislature passed a law which stated:   "Whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas...either by forbearing labour, feasting, or in any other way...every such person so offending shall pay a fine for each offence of five shillings to the county."   The law remained on the statute books until about 1681.   There were other similar laws passed in areas where groups like the Pilgrims, Puritans or Calvinists held sway.   In 1678 a book reflecting the public mood was published in London called "The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas and his clearing by Jury".  Christmas is portrayed as an old man on trial for encouraging social inversion, drunkenness and wastefulness.  In his  defence he replies: "We are commanded to be given to hospitality, and this hath been my practice from my youth upward. I come to put men to mind of their redemption, to have them love one the other, to impart with something here below, that they may receive more and better things above: the wise man saith, ‘There is a time for all things, and why not for thankfulness?’".

The Evolution of he Modern Day Santa

The modern perception of  Santa Claus evolved from Dr. Clement Clarke Moore who wrote a poem called "A visit from St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus" for his children. He read it to them at the dinner table on Christmas Eve, 1822.   The poem is also known by its more popular name, "T'was the Night Before Christmas". In 1822 it was published anonymously in the Troy New York Sentinel and it was not until 1837 that Moore allowed his name to be used in connection with the poem.  He portrayed St. Nick as an Elf dressed in fur riding across rooftops on a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer, rather than a wagon, a vision not witnessed in Britain by writers struggling to popularise Christmas. Charles Dickens was one of the writers trying to revive ancient Christmas traditions which had survived in the country but not in the growing cities. His creation of Scrooge in 1844 captivated the new middle class. Dickens used Scrooge to pillar misers who despised traditional Christmas festivities.  Dickens made Christmas middle-class and personal and, it was an occasion for summing up, for remembering.  He made Christmas an occasion for memory.  Scrooge goes wrong because he fails to remember.

Scrooge is encouraged to recall the benefits of middle-class family life by the Ghost of Christmas Present - that was Father Christmas for Dickens. The first illustrated version of A Christmas Carol shows a Father Christmas from the Middle Ages, partly pagan and partly Christian.  In the 1860's the English custom of a visit from Father Christmas was revived and established as the Christmas Eve visitor leaving presents for children in their stockings.  Germanic images, of the time, show Saint Nicholas as a saint, in bishops robes, as a winterman in furs, and often seen in the company of the Christ child.  The European images were of an austere man.

It was in an 1870 edition of the poem  that Saint Nicholas wore a red cloth coat. Thomas Nash, the famous cartoonist had depicted him in a reddish brown outfit, trimmed in white ermine.  This illustration appeared in George P. Walker's verse story Santa Claus And His Works and was a major contributor to the idea that Santa wore red. Walker's story also contributed the legend that Santa Claus lives in the North Pole.

In the early twentieth century, red Santa Claus suits became popular in the US and by the middle of the nineteenth century, department stores began referring to themselves as "Santa Claus headquarters." One of the first was J.W. Parkinson's in Philadelphia in 1841. The owner, Mr. Parkinson, had a real "Criscringle" come down a chimney above the door of his store. It was a great success and in 1846, Mr. Parkinson was advertising his store as "Kriss Kringle's Headquarters."    By the 1890's he began to appear in Department Stores in Europe.

In the latter part of the eighteen hundreds, children wrote letters to Santa Claus. By the 1890’s post offices were overrun with letters for Santa each December. There was great diversity in the correct spelling of his name and where he lived - South or North Pole - as well as what to do with the letters. In the US these letters were forwarded to the dead letter office in Washington.

In 1908, another story encouraged children to start leaving a little food for Santa Claus because he would be tired after his hard work. Carrots and other treats were later added for his reindeer. Of course, Santa always left a note thanking the children for their kindness. A 1910 advertisement for Ivory Soap showed a child sitting in front of the fireplace with a bowl of water, a towel and a bar of Ivory soap so that Santa could wash up after coming down the chimney.  Following the ad to the letter, dirty towels and water were often found on Christmas morning.

In 1931 Haddon Sundblom created an image of Santa for Coca-Cola which has prevailed since and the advertisements used his paintings for 35 years. He created a series of memorable drawings that associated the figure of a larger than life, red-and-white clothed Santa Claus with Coca-Cola. . The success of this advertising campaign has helped fuel the legend that Coca-Cola actually invented the image of the modern Santa Claus!  This is not true however as  the jolly, ruddy cheeks, sack-carrying Santa with a red suit and flowing white whiskers had become the standard image of Santa Claus by the 1920s, several years before Sundblom drew his first Santa illustration for Coca-Cola. As The New York Times reported on 27 November 1927: "A standardised Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardised, as are the red garments, the hood and the white whiskers. The pack full of toys, ruddy cheeks and nose, bushy eyebrows and a jolly, paunchy effect are also inevitable parts of the requisite make-up".

Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was born over a hundred years after his eight flying counterparts made their debut in "T'was the  Night Before Christmas". He was created by Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store. In 1939, May wrote a Christmas-thumbed story-poem to attract customers to the shop. It was the story of Rudolph, a young reindeer who was teased by the other deer because of his large, glowing, red nose.  Then when Christmas Eve was foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn't be able to deliver gifts that night, Rudolf saved Christmas by leading the sleigh by the light of his red nose. Montgomery Ward sold almost two and a half million copies of the story in 1939. When it was reissued in 1946, the book sold over three and half million copies. Several years later, one of May's friends, Johnny Marks, wrote a short song based on Rudolph's story (1949). It was recorded by Gene Autarky and sold over two million copies.

During the 1950's the American version of Santa Claus started to dominate the Father Christmas figure in the UK.  By the beginning of the twenty first century  the traditional giftbringers such as Spain's Three King's, Italy's Befana, Sweden's Tromte are all being supplanted by the more modern version of the giftbringer.   Today's Santa Claus is an amalgam of various different aspects of his predecessors.  The main differences being  less religious symbolism attached to him, he has abandoned the role of disciplinarian, and the main emphasis has turned to gift bearing.  Despite the commercialism of Santa, indeed it is unlikely that Santa in his current form would exist without commercialism , he is not incompatible with the more traditional national figures.  The more people understand the evolution of the man, from Saint Nicholas through Sinterklass to Santa Claus, the more they can celebrate the real meaning of Christmas through a combination of Santa and the Nativity.  Even in more secular times the Christmas season evokes feelings of good will among all men, believers and non-believers, thus evoking the feeling that this is indeed a special time of the year.