how began santa clause?

Answer 1

Santa Claus and Xmas are both Pagan originally..
Saint Nicholas' Day
When the old Gods ruled the world, Odinn the All-father rode the skies of Germania and Scandinavia in winter with a crowd of elves and spirits; those mortals who offered him reverence were rewarded with gifts.. In later years, Odinn's horse, elves and gifts became the accouterments of a Christian saint named Nicholas..
Nicholas lived in Asia Minor..Because he calmed the storms at sea during his life, he became the patron of sailors; and because he restored to life three murdered youths, he became the patron for boys..But the most famous tale concerning him was that of three maidens whose imppoverished father planned to sell them into slavery.. Nicholas redeemed them with three bags of dowry gold, which he flung through their windows one night and which landed on their shoes, set to warm before the fire..For this deed, he became the patron of maidens, and Frenchwomen prayed to him for husbands..
He also became the patron of pawnbrokers, and his bags of gold are remembered in the three golden balls that are the sign of the trade..
But gift-giving was his most important act..In Germany and Holland, children set out their shoes on the eve of his feast day, filling them with hay and carrots for his white horse, just as provender had been left for Odinn's horse by their ancestors.. Nicholas, they knew, would ride over the rooftops in the night with his elvish companion Knecht Ruprecht.. Ruprecht carried a switch for use on naughty young ones.. But Nicholas carried baskets of toys and sweets, to be left in the shoes of all good children...

That is the origin of Santa, and the red suit he wears has only been around since about the 1930's when he was part of a huge Coke campaign..
Blessings.. )O(

Answer 2

Possibly the first representation of Santa Claus was Sinter Klaas, the Dutch old man who brings presents, candy, and sweets to kids in a December 5th parade.

Sinter Klaas and Black Peter, a Moor, arrive by steamboat. Sinter Klaas wears a bishop's robe, gloves and red neckwear and rides a white horse. Black Peter wears stockings, special pants, and a special jacket. He also carries a big red book, which contains records of how good or how bad children have been.

That's one version of the story. Here's another:

Dutch children would leave their shoes in the chimney so Sinter Klaas--riding from house to house on his white horse--can drop presents down the chimney and into the shoes. Black Peter, on the other hand, would go right down the chimneys and leave the presents that way.

Either way, we can trace the name and the idea of Santa Claus back to Holland in the 1600s. Sinter Klaas became Sint Klaes, then Santa Claus. -

Answer 3

The figure we know as Santa Claus was invented by the Coca Cola company in the 1930s..But Santa draws from Odin, Father Christmas, St Nicolaus and others..

Here is a link

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_Santa

Answer 4

while i grew to become into little i've got been given instructed this that there grew to become into this guy referred to as saint nicholas clause and he lived for the period of this area with alot of adverse young ones without households and stuff. so each christmas he might drop off promises at thier living house in the process the night and he dressed interior the form of stuff santa does

Answer 5

Pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore merged with the British character Father Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas. The name Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch name for the character based on St. Nicholas. He is also known there by the name of Sint Nicolaas which explains the use of the two fairly dissimilar names Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas or St. Nick.

Saint Nicholas of Myra is the primary inspiration for the Christian figure of Santa Claus. He was a 4th century Christian bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, now in Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity.

Answer 6

Read Winter Solstice by John Matthews. It explains a lot of the origins of the typical "christmas" traditions.

Answer 7

Sorry, but I don't know.