Santa Clause?

Question

Where did "Santa Clause" Come From?

Answer 1

Saint Nicholas (Greek: Νικόλαος, Nikolaos, "victory of the people") is the common name for Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who had a reputation for secret gift-giving, but is now commonly identified with Santa Claus, Father Christmas or in the Netherlands and northern Belgium as Sint-Nicolaas or Sinterklaas. He lived in 4th-century Myra in the Byzantine Empire's Lycia, the modern day Demre in the Antalya province of Turkey. This is as much as is generally known about him in the West.

This historical character was the inspiration for a mythical figure known as Sankt Nikolaus in Germany and Sinterklaas in the Netherlands and Flanders, which in turn was the inspiration for Santa Claus. Sinterklaas (a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas) is a major celebration in the Netherlands and in Flanders (see below). Among Orthodox Christians, the historical Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, children, and students in Greece, Russia and Serbia. He is also the patron saint of Barranquilla (Colombia), Bari (Italy) Amsterdam (Netherlands), and of Beit Jala in the West Bank of Palestine.

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, Jolly Old Elf, Santa Klaus or simply Santa, is a gift-giving icon who distributes presents to sleeping children and adults who have been "good" all year; traditionally during the night of December 24, Christmas Eve. The popular American form Santa Claus originated as a mispronunciation of Dutch Sinterklaas, which is a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas).

Father Christmas is a well-loved figure in many countries and predates the "Santa Claus" character. "Father Christmas" is similar in many ways, though the two have quite different origins. Using "Santa" in places that predominantly call him "Father Christmas" is often viewed as an Americanism and is quite rare, although they are generally regarded as the same character. Father Christmas is also present instead of "Santa" in Afghanistan ("Baba Chaghaloo"), Albania ("Babadimri"), Armenia ("Gaghant Baba"), Brazil ("Papai Noel"), Bulgaria ("Dyado Koleda"), Chile (Viejo Pascuero), Denmark ("Julemanden"), Egypt ("Papa Noël"), Finland ("Joulupukki"), France and French Canada ("le Père Noël"), Germany ("Weihnachtsmann" or "Nikolaus"),Greece "Άγιος Βασίλης-Άyos Vasílis" Hungary ("Mikulás"), Iran ("Baba Noel"), Ireland ("Daidí na Nollaig"), Italy ("Babbo Natale"), Lithuania ("Kalėdų Senelis"), Malta ("San Niklaw"), Mexico ("El Niñito Dios"), Norway ("Julenissen"), Poland ("Święty Mikołaj"), Portugal ("Pai Natal"), Romania ("Moş Crăciun"), Russia ("Ded Moroz"), Scottish Highlands ("Daidaín na Nollaig"), Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Deda Mraz"), South Africa ("Vader Kersfees"), Spain and some of Spanish-speaking Latin America ("Papá Noel" or "San Nicolás" ), Sweden ("Jultomten"), Turkey ("Noel Baba"), and the United Kingdom ("Father Christmas").

Answer 2

The Santa Clause came from Buena Vista Pictures in 1994. Sorry... I just couldn't resist. :-)

Answer 3

Netherlands

Answer 4

Europe

Answer 5

confident Santa is actual he lives in human beings hearts that believes He won't have slightly purple sled He lives in human beings hearts a super type of folk provide latest to little ones that isn't get any Ask any of them, if Santa is actual he's

Answer 6

he was born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara, and, when young, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt. He became bishop of Myra soon after returning to Lycia. He was imprisoned during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians but was released under the rule of Emperor Constantine the Great and attended the first Council (325) of Nicaea.

After his death he was buried in his church at Myra, and by the sixth century his shrine there had become well known. In 1087, Italian sailors or merchants stole his alleged remains from Myra and took them to Bari, Italy; this removal greatly increased the saint's popularity in Europe, and Bari became one of the most crowded of all pilgrimage centres. Nicholas' relics remain enshrined in the 11th-century basilica of San Nicola, Bari.

Nicholas' reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy. He was reputed to have given marriage dowries of gold to three girls whom poverty would otherwise have forced into lives of prostitution, and he restored to life three children who had been chopped up by a butcher and put in a brine tub.

In the Middle Ages, devotion to Nicholas extended to all parts of Europe. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece; of charitable fraternities and guilds; of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers; and of such cities as Fribourg, Switz., and Moscow.

Thousands of European churches were dedicated to him, one as early as the sixth century, built by the Roman emperor Justinian I, at Constantinople (now Istanbul). Nicholas' miracles were a favourite subject for medieval artists and liturgical plays, and his traditional feast day was the occasion for the ceremonies of the Boy Bishop, a widespread European custom in which a boy was elected bishop and reigned until Holy Innocents' Day (December 28).

After the Reformation, Nicholas' cult disappeared in all the Protestant countries of Europe except Holland, where his legend persisted as Sinterklaas (a Dutch variant of the name Saint Nicholas). Dutch colonists took this tradition with them to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in the American colonies in the 17th century.

Sinterklaas was adopted by the country's English-speaking majority under the name Santa Claus, and his legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents

Answer 7

Sant Klaus - netherlands.

Answer 8

i honestly do not know sometimes i wonder why we make him up. but then to see childrens faces light up like that once a year is a priceless moment

Answer 9

from the land of legends

Answer 10

From the north pole duh