Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best-known St. Nicholas stories is the time he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married.
His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance , St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation , when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century.
In December , and again in , a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.
Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in , and by the s, newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements, which often featured images of the newly-popular Santa Claus.
In , thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model. In the early s, the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families.
They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations. Those familiar Salvation Army Santas have been ringing bells on the street corners of American cities ever since. It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves and his wife, Mrs. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. There are similar figures and Christmas traditions around the world.
Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. In Italy, there is a story of a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.
But h e dressed him in many different colors. Many of the longest-held traditions celebrated during the Yuletide come from Germanic Europe, including Advent calendars , gingerbread houses , and Christmas tree s. As for the concept of Santa Claus? Nicholas , the patron saint of children. Originating in what is modern — day Turkey , Nicholas earned a reputation for secret gift — giving. His generosity included putting coins in shoes left out for him. And he gifted three impoverished sister s with dowries so they could get married in stead of becoming prostitutes.
Have fun explaining that one to your kids! The first pictorial images of St. Nicholas were religious icons. A great example is the 13 th -century St. But at best what Coca-Cola popularized was an image they borrowed, not one they created. Top Fact Checks. View all. Most Searched. Main Menu.
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