The True Story of Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus

We’ve all heard of the jolly red man, but where does he come from? Where does the legend of Santa Claus originate? Let’s look into it! Transcript: Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Ol’ Saint Nick, he goes by many names but what was the story of Kris Kringle before he became the timeless icon for Christmas? As with the man himself, Santa Claus’ history is shrouded with mystery, but Saint Nicholas has some traceable origins, as well as a history book worth of legends. Today to get into the holiday spirit, let’s talk about who the real Saint Nick was before he became the magical Santa Claus. St. Nicolas was a bishop, or a senior member of the Christian clergy, back in the fourth century and lived in a place known as Myra, or otherwise known as Turkey today. As a little known fun fact, that’s why we eat Turkey on Christmas day. Just kidding, please don’t quote me on that. St. Nicholas became rich at a very young age, when both of his parents unfortunately passed away and their fortunes to their only son. As a devout Christian, Nicholas believed that the best thing he could do with this fortune is to spend it giving presents and money to the needy, the poor, and the sick. Nicholas became known throughout all of Myra for his generosity and his concern for those in need, and his love for children. As such, many legends began to circle the man, and while we don’t know which are true and which aren’t we can find the origins for a number of christmas traditions through the history of this one man. One particular story follows a poor man with three daughters who could not afford the necessities for a wedding, so his daughters were destined to never have a real marriage. Then one night, having heard of their struggles, Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down their chimney, and repeated this for three nights, dropping a bag of gold for the wedding of each daughter. And every single night, the gold would land in a stocking, hung in front of the fire place to dry. Because of his kindness, Bishop Nicholas became known as Saint Nicholas by all the children and adults alike throughout the land. So how did Saint Nicholas become related to the modern day Santa Claus? As the centuries went by, the legends of Ol’ Saint Nick fell to time. However, the first titles for the christmas gift giver began to surge, Father Christmas, Old Man Christmas, Christkind, and Kris Kringle. Eventually, Dutch settlers in the USA began to find similarities between Father Christmas and the fourth century Saint Nick and combined the names of St. Nicholas and Kris Kringle into Sinterklaas, and eventually into Santa Claus. We may never know how the Ol’ St. Nick became the Santa Claus that we know today, as with all unexplainable things, it may just end up being a dash of magic, but with a whole spoonful of christmas spirit. References: #close ______________________________________________________________ Subscribe to our channel: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other videos you may like: Dorothy’s Stolen Ruby Red Slippers - Wizard of OZ Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity Mining the Moon Products You Didn’t Know Were Made From Petroleum Beautiful Fall Colors The Colorado River The Mind - Your Best Friend or Worst Enemy Join us on social media! Facebook Instagram Coming soon ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image credits: YouTube Fair Use Music credits: