Santa Claus as we know him today was created from a real living person. Not only a person, but a saint. Nicholas was born on the southern coast of Turkey in the third century to a wealthy family. His parents died while he was a young man. Being of the christian faith he took his families wealth and gave to the needy and eventually became Bishop of Myra. Many stories and tales tell of his genorosity and miraculous deeds. He would later become known as a saint. As europeans came to the new world they brought with them the history of St. Nicholas and his deeds.
In the early 1800's St. Nicholas was transformed into Santa Claus. A poem of this time helped to create his new image. This portion of "A visit from St. Nicholas" paints a picture of the new "Santa Claus".
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot,
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack
I find it ironic today when some christian says that we are missing the point of Christmas by our attention to Santa Claus. Santa Claus aka St. Nicholas encourages the giving spirit and caring for those less fortunate than others. I'm sure Jesus, would be for, all that St. Nicholas tried to do. X.
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