I’ve had a request to provide some information about Santa in my blog, so here goes —

Santa was originally a bishop of the Catholic church in Myra, which is now Turkey. He was orphaned at a young age and wealthy through inheritance. St. Nick was quite generous. One of the favorite stories of this time was his throwing gold through a window or dropping it down a chimney to provide a poor man with dowry money for his daughter. The money landed in a stocking hung by the chimney — creating the stocking story and tradition. 

The Catholic tradition requires a variety of miracles and other proofs before a person is considered a Saint. I know of some miraculous stories like saving sailors, but I don’t know all that went in to his becoming “Sainted.” All accounts that I’ve read indicate that he was a Christ-centered man who was extremely generous and concerned with the well-being of others – a model for the rest of us.

He had many adventures through the hands of believers after he died. Italians stole his remains and put them in a church. I believe they still have a tradition of carrying his statue to the sea once a year so he can bless the boats. William the conqueror prayed for him to bless his efforts before leaving France in 1066 to conquer England. Many churches have been dedicated to him through the years. Revolutionary Americans created St. Nicholas leagues as opposed to the St. George leagues of the loyalists in our early years. Jacksonville, Florida was named St. Nicholas Ferry for a while before it became what it is now. John Pintard started the New York historical society in 1804, naming St. Nick the patron saint of the society and of New York.

Washington Irving joined the New York historical society and wrote the Knickerbocker’s History of New York, including the St. Nick character. This was a majory influence on the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” which was published fourteen years later in 1823. 

The early 1800s were a rough time for Christmas in America. St Nick had been kicked out of the church in the 1500s through the efforts of the Puritans. Christmas had become secular. St. Nick and the traditions were still popular and hung around. Americans tended to celebrate Christmas in rowdy ways, which was a growing concern for churches and leaders. Childhood was beginning to be recognized as its own stage of life requiring more protection and consideration. Another book called the Children’s Friend was published in 1821 using St. Nick to teach good vs bad. Good gets presents, and bad gets switches. Irving, Children’s Friend, and “Twas the Night  Before Christmas” held powerful influences in returning Christmas to a family and wholesome celebration. Furthermore, the domestication of Christmas and the Oxford Movement brought caroling and Christmas songs back into the church at large. St. Nick was working for the church, even as a secular character.

Thomas Nast, a Civil War cartoonist who gave us Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant, started painting St. Nick in 1863. His first was St. Nick in the stars and stripes. Lincoln believed St. Nick was an advantage to the Union. His last St. Nick image was in 1881. By this time the modern image was nearly complete. In 1931, Coka Cola picked up St. Nick as their endorsement celebrity, making him an internationally recognized figure and solidifying his look around the world. This brought St. Nick/Santa to the modern view we have now. There is a lot more information about Santa on the internet. This was just a brief sketch regarding how we got our current Santa image. Consider the St. Nicholas Center online for more.

My personal experience of Christmas took a while to develop as well. I have the opportunity to be Santa at the Lake City Columbia County Museum. I will be there on the following dates this year: December 14, 20, and 21. Check the paper or lccchistory.com website for details. I wrote about it a year ago and suggest you consider my Christmas testimony: https://harryadventure.com/2018/12/12/a-harrable-about-christmas/