Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Kris Kringle; all one man, yet he has so many different names and tales.

            As the holidays fall upon us you may find yourself wondering about ‘Santa’. Where did he come from? This man- or saint- who is said to deliver gifts to the good children of the world has so many different stories to go with his many different tales.

            It is said that Santa was originally believed to come from Turkey. In Turkey and Greece Mr. Claus is more commonly known as Saint Nicholas, or Saint Nick, however in Germany he is known as Kris Kringle. Santa Clause, and Father Christmas are more Americanized names, although Santa has become more universal.

            Greek and Turkish legend’s say that Saint Nick was raised a devoted Christian. Saint Nicholas is thought to be based off of a real man, a good and kind bishop in Turkey. All of Nick’s story’s differ, yet something they all have in common is he is a good hearted man, who did some good deed or another for someone less fortunate. This fatherly or saint like figure is well known for looking out for people, whether they are aware of this or not.

            One of the most common tales for the Turkish Saint Nicholas is that, in order to save the 3 daughters of a poor man into slavery he gave them gold without their knowledge of him giving it to them. He supposedly did this by throwing it through a window or dropping it down their chimney, where it conveniently landed in their stockings, hung by or near the fire to dry. This is why children began leaving stockings on the fire place for Santa to fill with gifts.

This is also probably why the American Santa is known for giving gifts to good little boy’s and girls by sliding down their chimney or crawling through their window.

Regardless of the how he got to be what we know him as today, or the name we call him, most can agree that Santa represents the good in man kind, the gift of giving, and the true meaning of Christmas.