Santa Claus is coming to town …

So, Did you know …..

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas of Patara, in modern day Turkey. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors.

St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.  The name Santa Claus evolved from the Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas. In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains the now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.

 

In 1822 Clement Clarke Moore wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas"). It was published anonymously the next year, and to this day the plump, jolly Santa described therein rides a sleigh driven by eight tiny reindeer.

Once firmly established, North America's Santa then underwent a kind of reverse migration to Europe adopting local names like Père Noël (France) or Father Christmas (Great Britain), or Grandfather Frost (Russia). "

You want me to do what?
no, I don't think so

Who are you again?

Take care.