The Journey To Santa Claus

The Journey to Santa

The modern Santa legend took several centuries to develop. Legends of wintertime gift-bringers are rich in history. Our modern Santa Claus is attributed to Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was a man that is believed to have really lived. There are several legends about his gift-giving and generosity. He is said to have save three sisters from a life of slavery. It is also said that he saved children who were victims of a deranged man. Long after his death, the image of Saint Nicholas began to change. He was merged with other mythical figures. During Europe’s Protestant reform, it seemed like Saint Nicholas could disappear. Some people kept him alive and allowed him to become our modern Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas was born

It is far more fantastical than the story of the sisters. It is said that an Inn keeper took boys into his basement. He chopped them up and pickled their remains. While Saint Nicholas was walking past the inn he was able to feel that something evil had happened. He went to investigate and found that the boys had perished. Their dismembered body parts were in barrels. After making this discovery, Saint Nicholas not only brought the shop keeper to justice, he resurrected the boys. This unbelievable tale, while relatively unknown now, was very famous in the middle ages. This story is why he is considered the patron saint of children. Legends and stories of Saint Nicholas persisted for a long time. The longer the legend went on, the more they were changed. The face of Saint Nicholas was greatly between 1200 and 1500. He was merged with Odin and Saturn. Both of those men had the white beards of our modern Santa. Just like Santa, they both had the ability to fly. Odin flew on an eight legged horse and dropped presents down chimneys. Saint Nicholas being merged with Odin and Saturn did a lot to create our modern version of Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas continued to be a part of life and popular culture until the protestant

Though Santa was not a major part of the Christmas season until the nineteenth century, their traditions and small celebrations brought Santa into the limelight. One of the first published accounts of Santa was written by Washington Irving. In his book, Knickerbocker's History of New York, he described a pipe-smoking Saint Nicholas flying in the sky. He got this idea from Dutch immigrants. In 1822 Clement Clark Moore wrote ‘Twas the night before Christmas. That poem is where the image of modern Santa originated. After that the legend of Santa Claus continued to get more standardized. In 1881 Thomas Nast drew the cartoon that cemented the look of the modern Santa Claus. He gave him the classic red suit and all other things associated with his appearance. Nast also drew the North pole and is credited with creating expanding the Santa mythos and creating the North pole and all things associated with