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[[Image:Thomas Nast Santa Claus.JPG|300px|right|Santa Claus, by Thomas Nast]]

[[Image:Thomas Nast Santa Claus.JPG|300px|right|thumb|Santa Claus, by Thomas Nast]]

[[Image:Christmas Eve 1862.jpg|thumb|'''Christmas Eve 1862.''' Nast shows the wife and husband thinking of each other on Christmas Eve. The illustrations in the top corners show Santa visiting homes and military camps.]]

: ''This article is about the American legendary secret Christmas gift-giver. For the real man behind this legend, see [[Saint Nicholas]].''

: ''This article is about the American legendary secret Christmas gift-giver. For the real man behind this legend, see [[Saint Nicholas]].''

== Origins ==

== Origins ==

The ultimate basis of Santa Claus is [[Saint Nicholas]], the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop]] of [[Myra]]. In the ninth century AD, coincident with the [[Muslim]] invasion and re-invention of [[Rome|Roman]] [[Asia Minor]] as the [[Ottoman Empire]], the bones of Saint Nicholas were transported to [[Europe]]. The many legends about this bishop--including a persistent legend about the "[[manna]]" coming from his body after his death--fostered the growth of new legends of Saint Nicholas being somehow larger than life.

The ultimate basis of Santa Claus is [[Saint Nicholas]], the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop]] of [[Myra]]. In the ninth century AD, coincident with the [[Muslim]] invasion and re-invention of [[Rome|Roman]] [[Asia Minor]] as the [[Ottoman Empire]], the bones of Saint Nicholas were transported to [[Europe]]. The many legends about this bishop--including a persistent legend about the "[[manna]]" coming from his body after his death--fostered the growth of new legends of Saint Nicholas being somehow larger than life.