The Legend of Santa blogmas#13

Today I'm going to tell you the legend of Santa Claus. 


The legend of Santa Claus goes back hundreds of years to a monk called Saint Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born around the year 280. Admired for his piety and goodness, St Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all his inherited wealth and travelled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of St Nicholas' most famous stories is that he rescued three poor sisters who were about to be sold into slavery or prostitution by their father. He did this by providing them with a dowry so that they could marry. Over the years, Nicholas' popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, 6 December. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make a big purchase or to get married. After the Renaissance, St Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the honour of saints began to be discouraged, St Nicholas retained a positive reputation, especially in the Netherlands.


Who is Santa Claus???? 

The legend of Santa Claus was created gradually and involved the Turks, the Dutch and the Americans. Thus, the legend of the good saint evolved into the story of a deity from the North Pole.


Historians disagree about the origins of the belief in Santa Claus, the man in the red coat with the white beard who makes children happy on Christmas morning. They also disagree on whether Santa Claus is actually one person or whether Santa Claus is a personification of several different people.


However, the prevailing view is that Santa Claus is descended from Saint Nicholas, a monk who lived in what is now Turkey from 280 AD to 350 AD. Saint Nicholas is said to have distributed all his possessions among the poor and the sick, and was also known as the patron saint of sailors and children.


Stories of his good deeds spread, and in the Netherlands Saint Nicholas was known as Sinterklaas, pronounced "Santa Claus" by early American settlers.


The legend spread and Americans enthusiastically included Santa Claus in their literary works, but especially popular were the works of Washington Irving and Clement C. Moore, who wrote "A Visit from St Nicholas", which became world famous for its introduction.


In 1863, the cartoonist Thomas Nast began to develop his image of Santa Claus, which was the basis for the image we know today. White beard and moustache, red hat and dressed in fur. In 1866, Santa was credited with making toys for children and in 1869, the North Pole was designated as his home.


Of course, Santa couldn't have done all the work if he hadn't had a good team. In 1939, a school for Santa's professional helpers was set up in New York.


Santa is also accompanied by NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command), which switches on its special radars on Christmas Eve. These then show where Santa is at the moment. You can follow him too, on the NORAD website


He visits us on Christmas Eve, the night of 25 December.

So that concludes today's post see you again tomorrow!

                                                                Rainbow Eve


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