Santa Claus is an anamorphosis of St. Nicholas who lived in the fourth century in Asia Minor (present day Turkey). He was appointed the Bishop of Myra. His generous nature, propensity to help the needy and miraculous abilities to heal with faith and bring the dead back to life, earned him honour and recognition far and wide. Nicholas is believed to have stealthily distributed gifts of gold and silver to the poor at night. During his lifetime he earned the wrath of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who imprisoned him. Emperor Constantine the Great, who established the Christian Church as the official religion, later released him. Nicholas died on Dec 6, 345 A.D Later his remains were exhumed and taken to Italy and the Pope canonized him as St. Nicholas of Bari, in the eleventh century.
With the passage of time people in Europe started celebrating December 6 as the St. Nicholas day by exchanging gifts and holding feasts. He came to be known as the patron saint of seafarers and children. Russians worshipped him as their chief saint. In England he came to be called as Father Christmas, in Germany as Sankt Niclaus and in Holland as Sanct Herr Nikollaas or Sinter Klaas. With the discovery of the new world the Dutch emigrants shipped the legend of St. Nicholas with them, across the Atlantic. They perpetuated the tradition of holding the Sinter Klaas Day feast in New York. Santa Claus first appeared in the American media as St. A. Claus.
In 1804, the New York Historical Society was established with St. Nicholas as the patron saint. The members of the society started distributing sweets on his day. In 1809, the celebrated author Washington Irving, in the History of New York described St. Nicholas (Dutch Sinter Klaas) driving into the town in a wagon drawn by a horse, bringing in loads of gifts and sweets for children. Some years later William Guilley wrote a poem called ‘Santeclaus’ in which he described him as an old man dressed in fur coats driving a sleigh driven by a single reindeer. A dentist of repute, Clark Moore in his poem printed in 1822, increased the number of reindeers to eight and named them as Blitzem, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donder, Prancer and Vixen. He described in detail how the elf like Santa winks, nods, laughs and the way he comes down the chimneys, to stuff the stockings, hung on the mantelpieces by children.
During the Civil war an illustration drawn on the request of President Lincoln showed Santa Claus standing with the Republican army. From I860 onwards, the mythical character of Santa found life in the illustrations of Thomas Nast, in the Harper’s Magazine. He created the imagery of his abode on the North Pole, complete with a toyshop from where he embarks on his annual mysterious voyage. An amazing clairvoyance, to keep note of good and bad deeds of kids, was attributed to him. Someone later questioned the myth of his home on the North Pole, where there was no grass for his reindeers to graze on, through out the year. Hence the dwelling of our ageless and deathless Santa Claus was moved to Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland, an area reindeers are known to inhabit. Here Santa Claus is said to be living with a host of elves, fairies and hobgoblins already in existence in Scandinavian legends.
Another landmark incident in the infinite life of Santa was a letter of an inquisitive little girl, Virginia O’ Hanlon written to New York Sun enquiring about his authenticity. Journalist Francis P. Church replied in his immortal lines, “Yes Virginia there is Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exists and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.” The full text of the letter was repeated by the New York Sun, over and over again till 1949, when it went out of business. But by now the New York Sun had made Santa Claus, an inseparable part of American psyche and Christmas celebrations.
However, it was left to commercial barons Coca- Cola, to make the most appealing and lasting additions to the profile of Santa Claus. Santa was shown as a rotund, human sized grandpa, wearing read and white clothes in their ads in thirties, much like his present day appearance. Red and white, the corporate colours of Coca-Cola were deliberately used to identify him with the company.
But how the celebrations of St. Nicholas Day, earlier held on Dec 6 came to coincide with Christmas remains a mystery, steeped in the nineteenth century American history. Myths apart the character of Santa Claus today has become an indispensable part of the Christmas celebrations worldwide. Little children wait the year around for this legendary figure to emerge out of snows and sally forth in his sleigh, drawn by his reindeers and delight them with his gifts. Santa Claus is our shared secular mascot of love, devotion, generosity, and mysticism, which unites us across the geographical, political and ethnic boundaries and reminds us of our common world heritage on the great day of Christmas-the Day celebrated in remembrance of the Messiah, the Epitome of Love, Spirituality and Faith, and the Son of God – Jesus Christ.
We wish our visitors a Merry Christmas.
