Jonathan Meath: Why Should We Believe in Santa? A deceit or falsehood is never wise. The 2017 dating to the 4th century of a piece of pelvic bone attributed to St. Nicholas (now housed in the United States) offers a tantalizing piece of the puzzle. [79], Through the years, the Finnish Santa Claus (Joulupukki or "Yule Goat") has received over eight million letters. "[130], Under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign. Watch it on the Web!, 24 Dec 2005", "Welcome to The North Pole – A Virtual Earth 3D Experience! A number of websites created by various organizations claim to track Santa Claus each year. For example, in Washington Irving's History of New York (1809), Sinterklaas was Anglicized into "Santa Claus" (a name first used in the U.S. press in 1773)[28] but lost his bishop's apparel, and was at first pictured as a thick-bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe in a green winter coat. In the United States and Canada, children traditionally leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies intended for Santa to consume; in Britain and Australia, sherry or beer, and mince pies are left instead. [91], In 2010, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" formed partnerships with public schools and social institutions to encourage children to write letters and make use of postcodes and stamps. [143], "Santa" redirects here. [72], There are schools offering instruction on how to act as Santa Claus. [64], Each Nordic country claims Santa's residence to be within their territory. [136] "They are simply the actual bearings in the world from which he emerged. He was a bishop who was orphaned at … Another story describes how a young Nicholas secretly provided marriage dowries by dropping gold down the chimneys of three girls whom poverty would otherwise have forced into prostitution and that the gold landed in a stocking left to dry on the fireplace. "[148], Most children do not remain angry or embarrassed about the deception for very long. The building was named the Woolworth Building and it is still there today. [77], Many postal services allow children to send letters to Santa Claus. Santa Claus's home is traditionally said to include a residence and a workshop where he is said to create—often with the aid of elves or other supernatural beings—the gifts he is said to deliver to good children at Christmas. I wish to all a good comming into the new Year <3. From St. Nicholas to Santa Claus: the surprising origins of Kris Kringle. The practice of this has been credited[dubious – discuss] to James Edgar, as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton, Massachusetts department store. Interestingly, St. Nicholas’s alleged remains at Bari are missing part of a pelvic bone. In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride". We will Be Watching, 19 Dec 2005", "New technology to map Santa's flight, 24 Dec 2009", "DFW airport unveils Santa Tracker website, 18 Dec 2006", "DFW Airport's 'Santa Tracker' Is Operational, by BJ Austin, 24 Dec 2009", "From NORAD Santa Tracker To Twitter: Santa Tracking For Christmas Eve 2009, by Danny Sullivan, 23 Dec 2009", "Here Comes Santa Claus! The short answer, in every way that matters, is YES, Santa Claus is real! ; Literary Sleuth Casts Doubt on the Authorship of an Iconic Christmas Poem". Other devotees assert that the construction of churches dedicated to him during the early Middle Ages is evidence enough. The modern character of Santa Claus was based on traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas (a fourth-century Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra), the English figure of Father Christmas, and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas (also based on Saint Nicholas). After the children have fallen asleep, parents play the role of Santa Claus and leave their gifts under the Christmas tree. Nicholas’ parents died when he was a teenager. The WMS and transportation system are fully integrated, allowing (the elves) to make optimal decisions that balance transportation and order picking and other DC costs. Some, such as NORAD Tracks Santa, the Google Santa Tracker, the emailSanta.com Tracker[98] and the Santa Update Project, have endured. [74] There are associations with members who portray Santa; for example, Mr. Meath was a board member of the international organization called Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas. Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly. [22] During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky. [56], The tradition of Santa Claus being said to enter dwellings through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. Learn more about the real Santa Claus. The answer depends on whether you believe. The Real Santa Claus. The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly by organizations such as the Salvation Army. [78], Other Santa letter processing information, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, include:[78], Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus, and since 1982 over 13,000 Canadian postal workers have volunteered to write responses. A burglar dressed as Santa. His Christmas image in the Harper's issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works, which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P. He left no writings and had no disciples. In 1913 an Italian-American photographer accidentally proved that Santa Claus is Real. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the win… Saint Nicholas was later claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups, from archers, sailors, and children to pawnbrokers. "The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete," Kenney said in an official statement. [66] The actor dressed up as Santa is usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa. The Real Santa Claus , Sarah Jennings - Read more about Christian parenting and family. [8][31] St. Nick is described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly", that "shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly", in spite of which the "miniature sleigh" and "tiny reindeer" still indicate that he is physically diminutive. He loves to talk about presents, reindeer, elves, cookies, and, of course, Christmas Eve. [65], Actors portraying Santa Claus appear in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. They argued that a lack of documentation during his lifetime was not proof of his absence and called for a reconsideration of the texts that had been disregarded. According to these early medieval texts, Nicholas was born around 260 A.D.into a Christian family. Christmas bombshell: The harrowing true story behind the real Santa Claus - St Nicholas [114][115] In the case of Microsoft's website, however, there have been occasional unfortunate results. [144], Woolley posited that it is perhaps "kinship with the adult world" that causes children not to be angry that they were lied to for so long. [124] In the Dutch New Netherland colony, season celebrations focused on New Year's Day. [8][9] He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Moscow. The law came to attention when the beer brand Bud Light attempted to use its mascot Spuds MacKenzie in a Santa Claus outfit during a December 1987 ad campaign; Bud Light was forced to stop using the imagery. Irving's book was a parody of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention. [88] (see also: Ho ho ho). Having a Santa actor set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918.[69]. Posts. Santa Claus, Father Christmas, St. Nick—no matter the name, everyone knows the story of this plump, jolly, bringer of gifts. St. Nicholas was born late in … The traditional Christmas poem A Visit from St. Nicholas relates that Santa has: a little round bellyThat shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly. [54] A gathering of Santas in 2009 in Bucharest, Romania attempted to top the world record, but failed with only 3,939 Santas. Not only is Santa true, he is legendary! Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa's image. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century. Much of Santa Claus's mythos was not set in stone at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a wide variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, and ten reindeer—who could not fly, but leapt in enormous, flight-like bounds. In the Czech tradition, presents are delivered by Ježíšek, which translates as Baby Jesus. Some social scientists have found that boys and girls write different types of letters. Santa Claus is asking the children what they want for Christmas. [14] As England no longer kept the feast day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December, the Father Christmas celebration was moved to 25 December to coincide with Christmas Day. His alleged remains were removed from his church at Myra in 1087 to Bari, Italy. For instance, a Bloom County story from 15 December 1981 through 24 December 1981 has Santa rejecting the demands of PETCO (Professional Elves Toy-Making and Craft Organization) for higher wages, a hot tub in the locker room, and "short broads," with the elves then going on strike. The United States Postal Service uses the city's ZIP code of 99705 as their advertised postal code for Santa Claus. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. A drifter in a stable next door, gets accused for burgling. In Russia, Ded Moroz emerged as a Santa Claus figure around the late 19th century[39] where Christmas for the Eastern Orthodox Church is kept on 7 January. How have so many people agreed on this story? So after all is said, can we determine if Santa Claus was a real person? It is easy for children to call Santa. He receives over 600,000 letters every year from over 198 different countries with Togo being the most recent country added to the list. [citation needed] Elves had been portrayed as using assembly lines to produce toys early in the 20th century. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. This date was earlier than the original day of gifts for the children, which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many countries on 24 and 25 December. Santa Claus’s name comes from Saint Nicholas or St. Nicholas. That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence—now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production and distribution facility, equipped with the latest manufacturing technology, and overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus as executives or managers. [21] With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas. 718,248 Views. [5][6][7] This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, films, and advertising. According to one story, Nicholas restored to life through prayer three children who had been chopped up by a butcher and put into pickling barrels. [14][15], In the Netherlands and Belgium, the character of Santa Claus has to compete with that of Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas, Santa's presumed progenitor. It blossomed into a second career for him, and after appearing in parades and malls,[73] he appeared on the cover of the American monthly Boston Magazine as Santa. He is based on St. Nicholas of Myra, who, according to Christian tradition, was a bishop in that small Roman town during the 4th century. For other uses, see, "Letters to Santa" redirects here. Writing in Mothering, writer Carol Jean-Swanson makes similar points, noting that the original figure of St. Nicholas gave only to those who were needy and that today Santa Claus seems to be more about conspicuous consumption: Our jolly old Saint Nicholas reflects our culture to a T, for he is fanciful, exuberant, bountiful, over-weight, and highly commercial. "Lying To Kids About Santa Can Erode Their Trust, Psychologists Say", Materialism with the modern U.S. Christmas, "Without Magic, Santa Would Need 12 Million Employees", An article on the History of Santa Claus from the St. Nicholas Center, The History of Santa Claus and Father Christmas, Research guides for Thomas Nast and Santa Claus at The Morristown & Morris Township Public Library, NJ, "The Knickerbockers Rescue Santa Claus: 'Claas Schlaschenschlinger' from James Kirke Paulding's, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Claus&oldid=1010681854, Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints, Articles with dead external links from December 2010, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2016, Articles lacking reliable references from December 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2012, Articles with disputed statements from December 2016, Articles with minor POV problems from June 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. A real-time warehouse management system (WMS) is of course required to run such a complex. Images of Santa Claus were further popularized through Haddon Sundblom's depiction of him for The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising in the 1930s. Santa later appears in The Road to Oz as an honored guest at Ozma's birthday party, stated to be famous and beloved enough for everyone to bow even before he is announced as "The most Mighty and Loyal Friend of Children, His Supreme Highness – Santa Claus". – Bizarre Santa Claus Cameos in Comics by Robert Bazz, December 13, 2010", Kyrgyzstan: Central Asian Country Welcomes Santa Claus To His New Home, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-gathering-of-santa-claus, "R-Truth, Akira Tozawa and Santa Claus scramble to win 24/7 Title: Raw, Dec. 23, 2019", "A Parents' Guide To Christmas: Try Not To Cry", "Meet the parents who don't keep Santa's secret", "Canada Post – Newsroom – Letters to the Editor", "Беловежская пуща – Фотоэнциклопедия Беларуси", "James Edgar's Santa Claus—the spirit of Christmas", "Swiss Santas are banned from sitting children on their laps", "Autistic kids get quiet time with Santa at malls", "Canadian malls offer quieter, calmer visits with Santa for kids with autism", "WATCH: Elvis, Dracula and Santa entertain customers at Poundland store in Derry", "Town in the spirit: Dedham Square to be filled with song, shopping", "Miracle on Mass. Norway claims he lives in Drøbak. In Belarus there is a home of Ded Moroz in Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park. ( CC0) The article ‘This Christmas tell your children the real Santa Claus story ’ by Lisa Bitel was originally published on The Conversation and has been republished under a Creative Commons license. Other Christmas Eve Santa Claus rituals in the United States include reading A Visit from St. Nicholas or other tale about Santa Claus, watching a Santa or Christmas-related animated program on television (such as the aforementioned Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and similar specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, among many others), and the singing of Santa Claus songs such as "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and "Up on the House Top". [108][109] This "tracking" can now be done via the Internet and NORAD's website. Many television commercials, comic strips and other media depict this as a sort of humorous business, with Santa's elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss. December 29, 2019. They left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. Directed by Michael Pataki. Derry City, Northern Ireland had held the record since 9 September 2007, when a total of 12,965 people dressed up as Santa or Santa's helpers. "Ho, ho, ho! Essayist David Sedaris is known for the satirical SantaLand Diaries he kept while working as an elf in the Macy's display, which were turned into a famous radio segment and later published. Portrait of Saint Nicholas (BigStockPhoto), Santa Claus with tree and sack ( Public Domain ), and a modern depiction of Santa Claus. This work also established Claus's motives: a happy childhood among immortals. [91] According to the Royal Mail website, Santa's address for letters from British children is: Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ[92], In Mexico and other Latin American countries, besides using the mail, sometimes children wrap their letters to a small helium balloon, releasing them into the air so Santa magically receives them. [23], Wodan's role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas in a variety of facets, including his long white beard and his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American tradition. The number was mistyped, resulting in children calling the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) on Christmas Eve instead. Girls generally write longer but more polite lists and express the nature of Christmas more in their letters than in letters written by boys. We ask Kris Kringle, a.k.a. Before joining Encyclopædia Britannica in 2017, she worked at the... Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In pre-Christian Norse tradition, Odin would often enter through chimneys and fire holes on the solstice. In Hungary, St. Nicolaus (Mikulás) comes on the night of 5 December and the children get their gifts the next morning. Due to this, some companies offered video calls for a fee using apps such as Zoom where children could talk to an actor dressed up as Santa Claus at the other end. The editorial, which included the famous reply "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", has become an indelible part of popular Christmas lore in the United States and Canada. The play was re-produced in 1940 and 1944. [79], Children can also receive a letter from Santa through a variety of private agencies and organizations, and on occasion public and private cooperative ventures. immortalized in a 1949 song by Gene Autry. [75], Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Santa grottos were not operating for the 2020 Christmas season. They are hugging. The history of Santa Claus: is he real, how old is he and where does he live? Some stories and legends include a village, inhabited by his helpers, surrounding his home and shop. [144] However, the criticism about this deception is not that it is a simple lie, but a complicated series of very large lies.[145]. Spokesperson Vicki Hyde said, "It would be a hard-hearted parent indeed who frowned upon the innocent joys of our children's cultural heritage. Kids and adults, chat with Santa online here! However, the earliest stories of St. Nicholas seem to correlate with histories and church documents of the period. [143] Philosopher David Kyle Johnson wrote, "It's a lie, it degrades your parental trustworthiness, it encourages credulity, it does not encourage imagination, and it's equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior. From there, such 19th-century literary works as the poem known as The Night Before Christmas and a mid-20th-century Coca-Cola ad campaign transformed Sinterklaas from a saintly bishop to the white-bearded, red-capped Santa Claus that Americans recognize today. Mind-spirit. Children following the Dutch custom for sinterklaas will "put out their shoe" (leave hay and a carrot for his horse in a shoe before going to bed, sometimes weeks before the sinterklaas avond). It is now the country of Turkey. Then his existence is affirmed by friends, books, TV and movies. Don't tell the kids, but we've got Santa Claus all wrong. (What child has ever received a coal for Christmas?) A tradition began which continued under the name NORAD Tracks Santa when in 1958 Canada and the United States jointly created the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). [133][134], In December 2018, the city management office of Langfang in Hebei province released a statement stating that people caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished. [63], There is also a city named North Pole in Alaska where a tourist attraction known as the "Santa Claus House" has been established. His address is: Santa Claus' Main Post Office, Santa Claus Village, FIN-96930 Arctic Circle. In 1912 the actor Leedham Bantock became the first actor to be identified as having played Santa Claus in a film. Some Christians, particularly Calvinists and Puritans, disliked the idea of Santa Claus, as well as Christmas in general, believing that the lavish celebrations were not in accordance with their faith. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. According to Dr. Condry, "The most common response to finding out the truth was that they felt older and more mature. In Slovenia, Saint Nicholas (Miklavž) also brings small gifts for good children on the eve of 6 December. These letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior. Schmutzli carries a twig broom to spank the naughty children. [82] France's Postal Service in 2007 specially recruited someone to answer the enormous volume of mail that was coming from Russia for Santa Claus. In Finland, Korvatunturi has long been known as Santa's home, and two theme parks, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located near Rovaniemi. [52] In The Sopranos episode, "To Save Us All from Satan's Power", Paulie Gualtieri says he "Used to think Santa and Mrs. Claus were running a sweatshop over there. Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in Lycia. Through a battle of wits, Santa saves himself by winning Nero over to the joys of Christmas, and gives him a Stradivarius violin. In light of this, the character has sometimes been the focus of controversy over the holiday and its meanings. Actual, real reports from otherwise seemingly perfectly sane and sober people who insist that they have really actually seen or even encountered none other than Santa Claus, and … The reindeer were also named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem (Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words for thunder and lightning, which were later changed to the more German sounding Donner and Blitzen). The "Santa Letter" market generally relies on the Internet as a medium for ordering such letters rather than retail stores. St. Nicholas' vandalized sarcophagus can still be seen in the St. Nicholas Church in Myra. But Nicholas remained popular as gifts bearer for the people. The laughter of Santa Claus has long been an important attribute by which the character is identified, but it also does not appear in many non-English-speaking countries. Merry Christmas!" The Real St. Nicholas. In 1937, Charles W. Howard, who played Santa Claus in department stores and parades, established the Charles W. Howard Santa School, the oldest continuously-run such school in the world.[46]. [149] In other studies, a small fraction of children felt betrayed by their parents, but disappointment was a more common response. The post office welcomes 300,000 visitors a year, with 70,000 visitors in December alone. When Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, exposes him to the misery and poverty of children in the outside world, Santa strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means. In 1087, while the Greek Christian inhabitants of Myra were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuq dynasty, and soon after their Greek Orthodox church had been declared to be in schism by the Catholic church (1054 AD), a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the Greek church in Myra. His name was not mentioned in any contemporary texts; the earliest reference is more than 200 years after his purported death, and the first biography was written some 300 years after that. The real St. Nicholas lived a long time ago in a place called Asia Minor. [81], In 2006, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, France's Postal Service received the most letters for Santa Claus or "Père Noël" with 1,220,000 letters received from 126 countries. The custom of gifting to children at Christmas has been propagated by Martin Luther as an alternative to the previous very popular gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the interest of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. In continental Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany) he is usually portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes. Here, Santa carries more in his baggage than toys alone![137]. [20], Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule (Old English geola or giuli). [111], Many other websites became available year-round, devoted to Santa Claus and purport to keep tabs on his activities in his workshop. In the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, a Santa Claus Festival was held on 30 December 2007, with government officials attending. Kids are often told that the gifts were left by Santa Claus during his annual nocturnal journey around the world in a sleigh pulled by nine flying reindeer. Santa Claus is known as de Kerstman in Dutch ("the Christmas man") and Père Noël ("Father Christmas") in French. Typical objections to presenting Santa Claus as a literally real person, rather than a story, include: With no greater good than having some fun, some have charged that the deception is more about the parents, their short-term happiness in seeing children excited about Santa Claus, and their nostalgic willingness to prolong the age of magical thinking, than it is about the children. In some images from the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Whether or not you believe that Santa Claus is a real person who enters every child’s house by way of a chimney to leave presents, the legendary figure and the tradition of … It is also validated by hard evidence: the half-eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning. [122] Other nonconformist Christians condemn the materialist focus of contemporary gift giving and see Santa Claus as the symbol of that culture.[123]. that it associates good behavior with being materially rewarded with presents from Santa Claus, that tricking children into believing falsehoods interferes with the development of, This page was last edited on 6 March 2021, at 19:11. The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara in Asia Minor. [127] A number of denominations of Christians have varying concerns about Santa Claus, which range from acceptance to denouncement.