A man named Nicholas was born to rich parents in a village called Myra, in modern-day Turkey, in around 280 AD.
He was known for his kindness – he gave away all his inherited wealth to help the poor and sick – and so, was soon declared a saint.
He became known as the protector of the children when various stories of him saving children from problems became popular.
He died on 6th December around 343 AD and the day became his feast day, which was considered lucky for making purchases and marriage.
He was said to travel on a donkey, and each year, on 6th Dec, children would fill their shoes with straw (for the donkey to eat) and in the morning the straw would be gone and the shoes would be filled with gifts (kept by the parents).
This tradition became popular in the 1200s and continued till the 16th century when a religious movement called Protestant Reformation started in Europe that began challenging the authority of the Catholic Church.
During this movement, paying respect to the saints was discouraged and so the traditions related to St. Nicholas became unpopular.
But someone had to bring gifts for the kids, and worried parents replaced St. Nicholas with baby Jesus and instead of 6th Dec, the gift-giving day was shifted to 25th Dec, Christmas.
In the Netherlands, however, families refused to give up Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for St. Nicholas) as the gift-giver.
When these people shifted to the US in the 1660s, they brought Sinter Klass with them and held Dutch gatherings to honour the death anniversary of St. Nicholas.
Also, to preserve their culture and traditions, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries when the English were settling in the US, some Dutch intellectuals gathered together and began calling themselves the “Knickerbockers.”
A prominent member of the group was Washington Irving, who published a book called The Knickerbocker’s History of New York, which had several references to Sinter Klaas flying across the sky in a wagon and dropping presents down chimneys.
The book became popular with the English settlers who adopted the joyful Dutch celebrations of St. Nicholas’ Day and later combined them with their own traditions of Christmas.
“Sinter Klaas” translated to “Santa Claus” because of the accent of an English-speaking New York population.
The story of Santa Claus evolved further – stockings, sleigh, and reindeers were introduced by Irving’s friend Clement Moore.
Santa’s image of being a jolly, chubby man appeared in the 19th century, during the American Civil War when a magazine wanted to boost the spirit of the troops & used cheerful imagery to do the same.
