Santa Claus and other bringers of gifts
Gift-giving is a near-universal part of
Christmas celebrations. The concept of a mythical figure who brings
gifts to children derives from Saint Nicholas, a good hearted
bishop of Myra in fourth century Lycia, Asia Minor. He made a
pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine in his youth and soon thereafter
became Bishop of Myra. He was imprisoned during the persecution of
Diocletian and released after the accession of Constantine. He may
have been present at the Council of Nicaea, though there is no
record of his attendance. He died on December 6 of 345 or 352. In
1087, Italian merchants stole his deceased body at Myra and brought
it to Bari in Italy. His relics are still preserved in the church
of San Nicola in Bari. To this day, an oily substance known as
Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal
powers, is said to flow from his relics.
The Dutch modeled a gift-giving Saint Nicholas around his feast day
on December 6. In North America, other colonists adopted the feast
of Sinterklaas brought by the Dutch into their Christmas holiday,
and Sinterklaas became Santa Claus, or Saint Nick, known in some
West African and the UK countries as Father Christmas. In the
Anglo-American tradition, this jovial fellow arrives on Christmas
Eve on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, and lands on the roofs of
houses. He then climbs down the chimney, leaves gifts for the
children, and eats the food they leave for him. He spends the rest
of the year making toys and keeping lists on the behaviour of the
children.
One belief in the United Kingdom, United States, and other
countries passed down through the generations is the idea of lists
of good children and bad children. Throughout the year, Santa adds
names of children to either the good or bad list depending on their
behaviour. When it gets closer to Christmas time, parents use the
belief to encourage children to behave well. Those who are on the
bad list and whose behaviour has not improved before Christmas are
said to receive a booby prize, such as a piece of coal or a switch
with which their parents beat them, rather than presents.
The French equivalent of Santa, Père Noël, evolved along similar
lines, eventually adopting the Santa image Haddon Sundblom painted
for a worldwide Coca-Cola advertising campaign in the 1930s. In
some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or
Black Peter. In some versions, elves in a toy workshop make the
holiday toys, and in some he is married to Mrs. Claus. Many
shopping malls in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia
have a holiday mall Santa Claus whom children can visit to ask for
presents.
In many countries, children leave empty containers for Santa to
fill with small gifts such as toys, candy, or fruit. In the United
Kingdom, the United States, and Canada children hang a Christmas
stocking by the fireplace on Christmas Eve because Santa is said to
come down the chimney the night before Christmas to fill them. In
other countries, children place their empty shoes out for Santa to
fill on the night before Christmas, or for Saint Nicholas to fill
on December 5 before his feast day the next day. Gift giving is not
restricted to these special gift-bringers, as family members and
friends also bestow gifts on each other.
Contradicting. How could a mythical figure be real and be in the
museum? Anyone can explain?
So is Santa Claus real or it is just a myth?
