Difference between revisions of "Santa Claus"

From Conservapedia
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Reverted edits by Félix An (talk) to last revision by King Conservative)
m
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Image:Thomas Nast Santa Claus.JPG|300px|right|thumb|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.]]
+
:<small>''This article is about the Christmas gift-giver. For the saint, see [[Saint Nicholas]].''</small>
−
: ''This article is about the Christmas gift-giver. For the saint, see [[Saint Nicholas]].''
+
  
−
'''Santa Claus''', or simply "Santa", is an [[United States of America|American]] and [[Canada|Canadian]] popular cultural icon, likely brought over from [[Germany|German]]-speaking countries, the [[Low Countries]], and [[Scandinavia]]. He has been a regular staple of the North American observance of [[Christmas]] for about two centuries or more, and as well as much of the world. Santa Claus brings presents to good children every Christmas, rides a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer and lives at the [[North Pole]].
+
'''Santa Claus''' (from Dutch: ''Sinterklaas''), figure of modern folklore, represented as a bearded, friendly old man who delivers presents to children on Christmas Eve.  A popular cultural icon since the late 18th century<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Santa%20Claus</ref>, Santa Claus had its origins within northern and western Europe, and was likely based upon legends and myths associated with St. Nicholas of Myra.
  
 
== 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]] (270-343 AD), the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop]] of [[Myra]]. Of the many legends attributed to him one of the most persistent is a gift of gold given to a deranged man, that his daughters may not prostitute themselves:
 +
:''"And when his father and mother were departed out of this life, he began to think how he might distribute his riches, and not to the praising of the world but to the honour and glory of God. And it was so that one, his neighbour, had then three daughters, virgins, and he was a nobleman: but for the poverty of them together, they were constrained, and in very purpose to abandon them to the sin of lechery, so that by the gain and winning of their infamy they might be sustained. And when the holy man Nicholas knew hereof he had great horror of this villainy, and threw by night secretly into the house of the man a mass of gold wrapped in a cloth. And when the man arose in the morning, he found this mass of gold, and rendered to God therefor great thankings, and therewith he married his oldest daughter."''<ref>https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/classic-sources/the-golden-legend</ref>
  
−
[[Holland|Dutch]] settlers in [[New Amsterdam]] brought with them the tradition surrounding this new legend of Saint Nicholas, whom they called ''Sinter Klaas'' in their language (and still do today).<ref name=Santa>Anonymous, "[http://www.lnstar.com/mall/main-areas/santafaq.htm Santa Claus Facts, Origins, and Fun Tidbits]," ''Lone Star Internet'', 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2007</ref> With the British takeover of [[New Netherland]] by troops loyal to the then-incumbent Duke of York, this mythical character gained a new name: Santa Claus.
+
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.
 +
 
 +
[[Holland|Dutch]] settlers in [[New Amsterdam]] brought with them the tradition surrounding this new legend of Saint Nicholas, whom they called ''Sinterklaas'' in their language (and still do today).<ref name=Santa>Anonymous, "[http://www.lnstar.com/mall/main-areas/santafaq.htm Santa Claus Facts, Origins, and Fun Tidbits]," ''Lone Star Internet'', 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2007</ref> With the British takeover of [[New Netherland]] by troops loyal to the then-incumbent Duke of York, this mythical character gained a new name: Santa Claus.
 
In the early nineteenth century, at least three prominent Americans contributed to the Santa Claus legend:
 
In the early nineteenth century, at least three prominent Americans contributed to the Santa Claus legend:
  

Revision as of 19:06, June 18, 2020

Santa Claus, by Thomas Nast
This article is about the Christmas gift-giver. For the saint, see Saint Nicholas.

Santa Claus (from Dutch: Sinterklaas), figure of modern folklore, represented as a bearded, friendly old man who delivers presents to children on Christmas Eve. A popular cultural icon since the late 18th century[1], Santa Claus had its origins within northern and western Europe, and was likely based upon legends and myths associated with St. Nicholas of Myra.

Origins

The ultimate basis of Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas (270-343 AD), the Roman Catholic Bishop of Myra. Of the many legends attributed to him one of the most persistent is a gift of gold given to a deranged man, that his daughters may not prostitute themselves:

"And when his father and mother were departed out of this life, he began to think how he might distribute his riches, and not to the praising of the world but to the honour and glory of God. And it was so that one, his neighbour, had then three daughters, virgins, and he was a nobleman: but for the poverty of them together, they were constrained, and in very purpose to abandon them to the sin of lechery, so that by the gain and winning of their infamy they might be sustained. And when the holy man Nicholas knew hereof he had great horror of this villainy, and threw by night secretly into the house of the man a mass of gold wrapped in a cloth. And when the man arose in the morning, he found this mass of gold, and rendered to God therefor great thankings, and therewith he married his oldest daughter."[2]

In the ninth century AD, coincident with the Muslim invasion and re-invention of 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.

Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam brought with them the tradition surrounding this new legend of Saint Nicholas, whom they called Sinterklaas in their language (and still do today).[3] With the British takeover of New Netherland by troops loyal to the then-incumbent Duke of York, this mythical character gained a new name: Santa Claus. In the early nineteenth century, at least three prominent Americans contributed to the Santa Claus legend:

  1. Washington Irving
  2. Clement C. Moore, author of The Night Before Christmas[4]
  3. Thomas Nast, the famous cartoonist, who, in 1881, drew the classic portrait of Santa Claus that survives today. (The image of Santa was progressively elaborated by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a rotund Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s.)

Features of Santa Claus

The hallmarks of the legend of Santa Claus include:

  1. A village located at the North Pole, containing a toy factory and other facilities for the production and distribution of toys via a sled driven by flying reindeer.
  2. An uncanny ability to know whether any child has been "good" or "bad," typically in the form of a list of all children, appropriately categorized.
  3. Rewards for the good, and punishment for the bad. Traditionally, the good children receive toys and the bad lumps of coal.
  4. A requirement for belief: Santa is said to deliver only to those who believe in him. Non-believers get nothing.
  5. Secret comings and goings to make deliveries, via the chimney. In homes without fireplaces, some flexibility is required.
  6. Placement of small candies and similar "party favors" in children's stockings. Children are encouraged to leave a gift in return on Christmas Eve - tradition dictates a mince pie, a glass of sherry, and one or more carrots for the reindeer.
  7. Accomplishment of all this order fulfillment and delivery on one night of the year: the night of December 24–25. The date may vary in different cultures.

See also

  • Rovaniemi - A city on the Arctic Circle claiming to be the hometown of Santa Claus where the Santa Park is located.

External links

Santa Claus.jpg

References

  1. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Santa%20Claus
  2. ↑ https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/classic-sources/the-golden-legend
  3. ↑ Anonymous, "Santa Claus Facts, Origins, and Fun Tidbits," Lone Star Internet, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2007
  4. ↑ Clement Clarke Moore, "The Night Before Christmas (A Visit by St. Nicholas)," 1823. Retrieved April 16, 2007, from Santa Claus Facts, Origins, and Fun Tidbits
Retrieved from "https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Santa_Claus&oldid=1659964"