Santa knows if you’ve been bad or good. BUt what do you know about the jolly ole elf?
How did he become Santa Claus? Where was he born (surprisingly, it’s not the North Pole!). Get ready to learn some fun facts about Santa.
Exactly how old is Santa?
According to the blog Email Santa, Santa Claus is 1,750 years old as of 2021. In fact, the origins of Santa Claus can be traced all the way back to a monk named Saint Nicholas, who was born between 260 and 280 A.D. in a village called Patara, which is part of modern-day Turkey.
Long before he became Santa Claus, there were many legends around Saint Nicholas performing acts of kindness, like providing monetary assistance to a family so that they wouldn’t have to sell their daughters into slavery. Another legend involves Saint Nicholas praying for sailors who were being threatened by a powerful storm and ensuring their safe return.
Because of these and other fabled deeds, he became known as a protector of children and sailors. People around the world continue to honor him with the Feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6.
When is Santa’s birthday?
SantaClaus.com states that Santa’s birthday is on March 15. Mark it on your calendar for next year!
How did we go from Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus?
According to TIME, the legend of Saint Nicholas continued to be passed around throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Netherlands, St. Nicholas Day was observed by someone dressing up as the saint and going door-to-door giving children either small gifts or coal, depending on how good or bad they had been.
But according to researchers, it’s a bit of a mystery as to how the legend of Saint Nicholas made its way to North America. In the 1770s, one New York newspaper referenced “St. Nicholas, otherwise called Santa Claus,” which is the first known reference to Santa Claus in the United States.
The author of Christmas: A Biography, Judith Flanders, shared with TIME that the large populations of Swiss people who settled in New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are probably the reason we know Santa Claus by that name today. “They came from regions that marked St. Nicholas’ Day, and St. Nicholas in various dialects of Schweizerdeutsch, or Swiss-German, becomes either Samichlaus or Santi-Chlaus.” And of course, it’s easy to see how “Santi-Chlaus” might have evolved into “Santa Claus” over time.
So, how old is Santa’s wife, Mrs. Claus?
According to Email Santa, Mrs. Claus is just a bit younger than her husband. She’s 1,139 years old. And don’t forget to wish her a happy birthday after you’ve opened your gifts this year: Her birthday is on Christmas Day, according to the website.
TRACKING SANTA – come Christmas Eve, your family can even track Santa on his journey across the world — the kids are sure to love it!
Courtesy of www.womansday.com
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