As a kid, we all believed in Santa Claus. But as we get
older, we wonder how the idea of Santa Claus came to existence. There are many
theories about Santa Claus, but all retain the important details of a man
giving presents to others. This originated from the idea a man in the 4th
century named St. Nicholas, who was said to be a bishop in Asia. He was said to protect children, protect
sailors, and give presents to the poor. A holiday was made for him called St.
Nicholas day placed on December 6th.
But, this and Christmas were close enough together that they decided to
merge the two holidays together. As the concept of Santa Claus evolved, many
countries developed different names for him.
North America
|
Santa Claus
|
Netherlands
|
Sinter Klaas
|
Great Britain
|
Father Christmas
|
France
|
Pere Noel
|
Germany
|
Klaasbuur
|
In our current society, Santa has evolved from being a
bishop in Asia to a fat jolly “elf” who lives in the North pole and on December
25th every year goes around and gives presents to all the good boys
and girls
Source:
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/christmas/history.html
Source:
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/christmas/history.html
It seems strange that one man would have so many different names. I don't know if you have heard of this but I believe there was actually a man who did give presents to children but he then became known as Santa after his death and his traditions were continued. Does this sound at all real or was someone pulling my leg?
ReplyDeleteDo you think that many more people today should know the roots of a holiday so that they could understand the holiday itself more? I like this page a lot actually, it's really interesting and we should all understand where something originated from!
ReplyDeleteIn Italy kids call Santa Claus "Babo Natale" which basically means father Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI think that all these names are cute! I also find it very cool that no matter where you're from, you probably know a lot of the origins of each name! So cool!
ReplyDelete