Waking up on New Year's or Christmas morning, the kids all over the world first of all rush to a decorated Christmas tree or festive socks hung by the fireplace in order to find gifts there with a joyful squeal...

What does Santa Claus look like, what country does he live in, does he have a family? These questions concern not only children, but also adults who wholeheartedly want to continue to believe in a beautiful New Year's fairy tale.

Who really was Saint Nicholas

It is interesting to know that the prototype of the current Santa Claus was a real-life historical character. nicknamed Myrlikian, was in fact a Christian bishop from the city of Myra in Lycia (modern Turkey). He lived in the IV century and became famous for his charity and good deeds.

There are many legends about him. So, having learned that one of the inhabitants of the city had become so impoverished that he was going to sell his three daughters to a brothel, St. Nicholas secretly threw three bags full of gold into the window of this man’s house at night. According to another belief, he miraculously revived three children who were killed and imprisoned in a barrel. Therefore, he is considered the protector of babies, the patron of the lost and the innocent, and also protects travelers and sailors on their travels.

In Russia, this saint is also very revered. He is called the Pleasant, or the Miracle Worker.

Appearance of Saint Nicholas

Having studied the relics of St. Nicholas with the permission of the Vatican, British scientists, using computer technology, recreated the appearance of this saint. Thanks to them, it became known for certain what "Santa Claus" looks like, which actually existed.

St. Nicholas was short - 168 centimeters, had olive skin, a short gray beard, dark brown eyes and not much in common with a modern fairy tale hero bringing Christmas gifts ...

Why does Santa Claus bring gifts on Christmas?

Santa Claus became a Christmas character not immediately. Initially, in Europe, gifts were given to children on December 6 - the day of veneration of St. Nicholas. However, this tradition changed during the Reformation. The child Christ began to be considered a character giving gifts to children, and the holiday when this happened was moved to the eve of Catholic Christmas.

After the victory of the Counter-Reformation, Saint Nicholas again began to bring gifts to children, but still at Christmas, at the end of December. Although, for example, in the Netherlands this saint (here his name is Sinterklaas) sometimes pleases kids with surprises for both holidays.

History of Santa Claus in America

The English Puritans, who were the first to explore the North American continent, did not celebrate the Christmas holidays at all. The history of Santa Claus on these lands begins in the middle of the 17th century, when the settlement of New Amsterdam (later New York) was founded by the Dutch colonists.

In the early 19th century, Washington Irving wrote a History of New York, in which he mentioned the custom of honoring Saint Nicholas in New Amsterdam. In the development of this topic, 14 years later, from the pen of Clement Moore, the book "The Night Before Christmas, or the Visit of St. Nicholas" was published. In it, he first described what Santa Claus looks like, how he drives around the sky and what happens when he visits houses on Christmas Eve with gifts.

This poem significantly influenced the idea of ​​Santa Claus throughout the English-speaking world. And today it is one of the most beloved Christmas stories by Americans.

It was from this time that the image of the character distributing gifts to children finally ceased to be associated with the saint.

What does Santa Claus look like?

In the work of Clement Moore, Santa Claus appears as a cheerful elf with a fat belly, smoking a pipe and loving to eat deliciously. The cartoonist Thomas Nast was the first to fulfill the desire of adults and children to know how this twenty-four years looked like Santa Claus on the Christmas cover of the weekly edition of Harper's Weekly, which was very popular. However, Santa Claus, performed by Nast, was black and white, although the fur coat, and the wide belt, and the headdress, and sparkling boots were almost the same as we are used to seeing them now.

The fairy-tale grandfather's fur coat was painted red at the end of the 19th century by the publisher Louis Prang, who was the first in America to start producing color lithographic Christmas cards.

In 1930, the American company Coca-Cola, wanting their drinks to be equally popular in winter and summer, included Santa Claus in their advertising campaign. The work was assigned to the Chicago artist Haddon Sundblom. For thirty years he has been creating images of a "Christmas grandfather" who brings gifts to children. The prototype of Santa Claus, now known to the whole world, was the friend and neighbor of the artist, Lou Prentice.

Images where Santa Claus no longer looked like an elf, but a kind smiling giant, fell in love with people. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer invented by the artist in Santa's team, was also well received.

Does Santa Claus have a family?

You can often hear a question that haunts many: "Does the Santa Claus family exist, or does the "Christmas grandfather" live alone?"

The answer to it is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. According to the classical Catholic tradition, the "historical" Santa Claus, that is, Saint Nicholas, was a clergyman, that is, he definitely did not have a family. But as for the current fairy-tale character, they do not at all exclude the possibility that he may well be in a happy marriage.

According to some reports, the first information about Mrs. Claus appeared on the pages of the American magazine "Harper" in 1881. According to another version, eight years later this lady was invented by the writer Catherine Lee Bates, who dedicated a funny song to her.

One way or another, but, according to the most common version, the wife of Santa Claus is an ordinary human woman. Her "fabulous age" is about sixty years old. No one knows the real name of Mrs. Claus - some sources call her Goody, others - Wilhelmina, others - Jessica ... She is plump, cheerful and very sociable, wears a red dress almost all the time, because she loves this color, puts on glasses, and also twists gray hair into a bun at the back of the head. She often bakes delicious buns and loves to watch how the elves - faithful helpers of Santa Claus - make toys for children's gifts. It is said that once, when Santa Claus became very ill just on the eve of the Christmas holidays, Mrs. Claus put on his fur coat, put on a fake beard and went herself to deliver gifts for the kids.

Where does Santa Claus live?

The cold "country of Santa Claus" - Lapland, the kingdom of eternal snow and ice - is actually the northern province of Finland. However, the residence of the "Christmas grandfather" actually exists there! It is located in the capital of the province - Rovaniemi.

A kind gray-bearded gentleman in red welcomes guests here all year round. From the central mail of Santa Claus, you can send a postcard to any corner of the world. And the dreams of adults and children about the holiday come to life in the fabulous Santa Park and the Christmas Village.

Santa Claus and Santa Claus

The image of Santa Claus, so popular in TV shows and advertising, does not leave our screens and shop windows in December-January. Often, children simply identify Santa Claus with the original Slavic Grandfather Frost. However, besides the fact that both of these fairy-tale characters bring gifts to kids on winter holidays, they do not have much in common, as it might seem at first glance.

So what is the difference between Santa Claus and Santa Claus? First of all, the fact that the latter has nothing to do with St. Nicholas. The history of our Santa Claus is rooted in the folklore of the Eastern Slavs. There he is presented in the form of a fabulous hero, a giant, fettering rivers and lakes with frost and ice.

Over time, the image of Frost changed. From a formidable stern character, he gradually turned into a kind and fair Grandfather, who gave gifts to children. His granddaughter, the sweet and beloved Snow Maiden, traditionally keeps him company.

The image of Santa Claus

Outwardly, Santa Claus also looks different - completely different from what Santa Claus looks like. The photo below allows you to fully represent these differences.

Grandfather Frost is powerful and strong, of impressive growth, wears a thick white beard. He is dressed in a long fur coat to the very ground, wears a boyar hat on his head, and certainly felt boots on his feet. He doesn't wear glasses. Unlike Santa Claus, Father Frost's vehicle is not fairy-tale deer, but a Russian horse troika. He does not enter houses at all through the fireplace, but in an inexplicable magical way inherent in a magical creature. And he never puts gifts in a sock, preferring to hide them under the branches of the Christmas tree.

The fact that these are different does not in any way mean that some of them are better and some are worse. Just do not forget that on winter holidays, along with the world-famous Santa Claus, our Grandfather Frost also majestically marches through his possessions, easily carrying a huge bag of gifts behind his back ...

Santa Claus is translated from Dutch as Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas). St. Nicholas - Nicholas the Wonderworker - St. Nicholas of Myra the Wonderworker - Nicholas the Pleasant - a real historical figure. He became famous as a great saint - God's helper. He helps everyone who asks him for help and intercession.

To understand why St. Nicholas became the prototype of Santa, let's go back in time...
Saint Nicholas was born in the 4th century, in Lycia, located in southwestern Asia (the territory of modern Turkey) and was a province of the Great Roman Empire, in the seaport of Patara from wealthy parents. In his youth he traveled as a pilgrim to Egypt and Palestine, and on his return to Lycia he became a bishop in the city of Myra. Having distributed his inheritance to the poor, he visited Palestine, bowed to the holy places and returned to Patar, where his uncle was a bishop. On the advice of his uncle, St. Nicholas became a priest. Later he became the bishop of the city of Mir in Lycia, whence his name Nicholas of Myra.

Nicholas was imprisoned during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Diocletian, but was released during the reign of Constantine the Great.

Nikolai Ugodnik is considered their patron by fishermen and sailors, they light a candle before swimming, they pray to him in a storm and a storm. There are legends where Nicholas the Wonderworker, with a prayer to God, calmed the storm and saved the sinking ship, returned the sailor who fell from the mast of the ship and crashed to death to life.

They also pray to Nikolai Ugodnik for healing from various ailments, for the patronage of the family hearth, for help in various troubles, from sadness and despondency, for children, in order to attach daughters to marriage, for help in poverty and need, for intercession for widows and orphans, oh compassion for the defenseless, captured by enemies.

In Rus', the fame of the miracles of St. Nicholas has been going on for a long time, starting with the adoption of Christianity. Numerous temples and monasteries were erected in his honor. Among the peasantry, Nicholas the Wonderworker enjoyed great respect and was considered the eldest and closest saint to God. The day of memory of St. Nicholas is celebrated twice a year: in the spring on May 22 and in the winter on December 19.

Since ancient times, Russian soldiers considered Saint Nicholas to be their special heavenly intercessor, along with other holy champions of the Russian land. This is evidenced by the cross-vests that have survived to this day, worn by our ancestors-soldiers under the shell, on which there was an image of St. Nicholas. The Streltsy guards in ancient Moscow, during the roll call, proclaimed in the third voice: "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, pray to God for us!"

Nicholas the Wonderworker became famous for performing real miracles during his lifetime.
In the hometown of Nikolai Ugodnik, there lived a certain rich man who had three beautiful daughters. This rich man went bankrupt and fell into such poverty that he decided to offer his daughters so that the family would not die of hunger, to earn a living with their beauty. To save the beauties from dishonor, Nikolai crept up to the house of the unfortunate father at night and quietly threw bags of gold through the window. The father of three girls took this as a miracle and successfully married off his daughters with the money sent down. So St. Nicholas, in the popular imagination, became the organizer of all happiness. The beneficence of the Saint to the three poor girls became the basis for turning to the Wonderworker with a prayer before entering into a marriage union. Thanks to this story, the custom of discreetly making Christmas gifts also arose. Saint Nicholas must, while no one sees him, enter the house and leave a bag of gifts under the tree.

Since ancient times, Nikolai Ugodnik has been considered the patron saint of children. There is a belief in the Netherlands that on the night of Christmas, St. Nicholas rides on a white horse and distributes gifts to good children.

A similar belief exists in other European countries. All the children on Christmas Eve are full of impatient expectation, will the “good grandfather St. Nicholas” give them something?

How did Nicholas the Wonderworker become Santa Claus?

The cult of Saint Nicholas was very widespread in Holland. Since the seventeenth century, the Dutch have been celebrating on December 6 the day of St. Nicholas (in the Orthodox Church - December 19), the famous patron saint of sailors and children.

Since St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, gifts were given to children in the evening: a wooden shoe was filled with fruits and sweets (now the shoe has been replaced by a sock hanging over the fireplace).

During the Reformation of the Church, the cult of St. Nicholas weakens and almost disappears from Europe. Only in Holland are they still celebrating the day of St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas, as they call it there. This custom, with traditional gifts for children, is brought by Dutch settlers to New Amsterdam, as New York was once called. In America, the Dutch Sinterklaas becomes Santa Claus. Under this name, the saint who became an American is now known to the whole world.

In 1823, seminary teacher Clement Clarke Moore came up with the image of Santa Claus. On Christmas eve, Clarke read to his wife and children a poem he had composed, "Christmas on the Doorstep, or the Visit of Santa Claus." He portrayed Santa Claus as a kind elf who arrives on eight reindeer and enters the house through the chimney. Moore did not intend to publish his essay, but one of his friends, without the knowledge of the author, took Moore's opus to the Sentinel newspaper.

The first image of Santa Claus was drawn in 1862 by cartoonist Thomas Nast. For 24 years, he painted him for the cover of the popular Harper's Weekly magazine. The artist settled Klaus at the North Pole (and not in Lapland). The covers were incredibly popular.

During the Civil War, Lincoln asked Nast to draw Santa along with northerners. Historians argue that the Confederate army was demoralized by the appearance of Klaus on the side of the enemy.

Santa Thomas Nast had one drawback - he was black and white. The red fur coat was presented to the fabulous grandfather in 1885 by the publisher Louis Prang. He brought to America the Victorian tradition of Christmas greeting cards, made in the technique of color lithography. So Santa Claus changed the furs in which Nast dressed him up with a solid bright red outfit.

Finally, in 1930, the Coca-Cola Company came up with a cunning publicity stunt to ensure their products were not forgotten in summer or winter - Chicago artist Haddon Sundblom depicted Santa Claus in the red and white colors of Coca-Cola.

Thus was born the modern image of Santa Claus, where he was no longer portrayed as an elf by Clement Moore, but as a giant. Sundblom introduced a ninth reindeer named Rudolph into his team. Sundblom's friend and neighbor Lou Prentice served as the prototype for Santa.

Thus, Santa Claus - a fat, cheerful old man who delivers gifts, has become an integral part of the celebration of Christmas around the world. He must have a white beard, a red jacket, pants and a hat with a white fur trim. He rides around on a reindeer-drawn sleigh filled to the brim with gifts. He enters houses through the chimney and leaves gifts under the tree or in a special sock, but only for obedient children.

America is a huge country with different climatic zones, so not everywhere Santa Claus can appear on a sleigh. He arrives in Hawaii on a Christmas ship, and in California on a surfboard.

Where does Santa Claus live?

Santa lives far in the north, but in America he has already 2 houses.
There is a Christmas village in Torrington, Connecticut where Santa and his elves distribute presents. In Wilmington, New York, at Whiteface Mountain, a house is built in which Santa Claus lives permanently. He has a blacksmith to shoe a deer, a chapel and a post office. Over 100,000 people visit Santa's house every year. There is also a city of Santa Claus in America. More than three million letters addressed to Santa arrive annually in this city. There you will also find a multi-colored statue of the American Santa Claus, almost eight meters high.

And of course, if you want Santa Claus to drop by your house and leave you presents, don't forget to leave some milk and cookies for him - millions of kids do this before heading to bed on Christmas night.

Our New Year is not conceivable without the kind Santa Claus and his granddaughter Snegurochka. Not a single Western Christmas (Europe, England, USA and others) is complete without the most important character - Santa Claus. But who is this kind-hearted gift giver? Is this a real character or fictional? Why is he called that and where does he live? I will try to answer all these questions for you today. Santa Claus I can say for sure that Santa Claus is a very real person who lived in antiquity. True, his name was different, he looked different and he was not born in Lapland, as is commonly believed, but in the place of Myra Lycian in 253 AD, in modern Turkey. And then they called him Saint Nicholas. He was a simple bishop who was ready to accept death for his faith and always fought for good.

There were legends that St. Nicholas himself was very prosperous, but not greedy. He helped all the unfortunate and poor, at night imperceptibly tossing coins into their shoes, which they left at the door, and putting delicious pies on the windows. So St. Nicholas became the favorites of children. However, merchants, bakers, prisoners and sailors also chose him as their intercessor and saint.

But how did it become a symbol of Christmas? Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6th. In the 10th century, in the cathedral of the German city of Cologne, students of a Christian school began to distribute pastries and fruits on this day. Very quickly, this tradition has become widespread in other cities and countries. Remembering the legend, people began to hang special festive stockings or shoes at night so that Nikolai would put his gifts there.

It is generally accepted that the Saint, who enters houses at night, descends the chimney, brings gifts to obedient children, and rods to mischievous people, naughty people and pranksters. Therefore, long before the holiday, children try to behave well, and parents, in case of their bad behavior, immediately remind that rods can be received as a gift. Sometimes, even with presents, children are given small twigs.

How did Saint Nicholas become Santa Claus? This character came to the USA from Holland in the 17th century. In 1626, a frigate of several Dutch ships arrived in the New World. On the prow of the main ship "Goede Vrove" stood the figure of Nicholas, who, as I said, was also the patron saint of sailors.

The sailors bought land from the native American Indians for $24 and gave the settlement the name "New Amsterdam". Today, this "village" has become the largest city in the United States and one of the most famous cities in the world - "New York". The Dutch removed the figurine of the saint from the ship and moved it to the main square so that Nikolai would protect the village.

Only now the Indians and new residents spoke their own language, and not English. They could not clearly pronounce the name of the saint and the phrase sounded like "Sinter Klas", then it turned into "Santa Klas", and over time into the familiar "Santa Claus" to us. This is how St. Nicholas was miraculously transformed into Santa Claus, who on Christmas Eve brings gifts home.

However, the story of the transformation of Santa Claus does not end there. Clement Clarke Moore's poem "The Coming of St. Nicholas", published on Christmas Eve 1822, was an important step in the reincarnation. 20 quatrains describe the meeting of a child with Santa Claus, who brought him gifts. In the poem, there was practically nothing left of the former saint; he was completely devoid of rigor and seriousness. Santa on a sleigh By K. Moore Santa is a cheerful, cheerful elf with a pipe in his mouth and a round paunch. As a result of this metamorphosis, Nicholas forever lost his episcopal appearance and moved to a team with deer. In 1823, in the poem "The Night Before Christmas", the names of 8 Santa's reindeer were listed:

• Blixem (Lightning)
• Dunder (Doodle)
• Cupid (Cupid)
• Comet (Comet)
• Vixen (Spiteful)
• Pranser (Prancing)
• Dancer (Dancer)
• Dasher (Awesome)

It wasn't until 1939 that the ninth reindeer, Rudolph, appeared, with a large and shiny reddish nose. Rudolf Meanwhile, the illustrator Thomas Nast completed the image of Santa Claus in detail in 1860-1880. in Harper's magazine. Santa has such irreplaceable attributes as a list of bad and good children, the north pole. But this is not the end of the transformation.

Klaus, completely devoid of the holy halo, was dressed up in all sorts of colorful clothes. But in 1931, the well-known brand Coca Cola launched an advertising campaign, the face of which was Santa Claus. Haddon Sundblom, an American artist, depicted a white-bearded, good-natured old man in red and white clothes and holding soda in his hands.

As a result, Santa Claus acquired the image that we can all see today. This is a plump, cheerful old man delivering presents on Christmas night. He must have a red jacket or short fur coat, a white beard, a red hat and pants with a white trim. Santa Claus travels on a sleigh pulled by 9 reindeer and filled to the brim with gifts for obedient children around the world.

In the UK, it is customary to call it "Father Christmas", which means "Father Christmas". But our Russian Santa Claus has nothing to do with St. Nicholas. Our Grandfather Frost is a folk ritual character living in the forest or, as it is believed today, his residence in Veliky Ustyug. Winter is his wife. Together they rule the earth from November to March. In very old tales, he is sometimes called Morozko or Grandfather Treskun.

Where does Santa Claus live today?

The closest relative of Santa Claus is Yolupukki, who lives in Lapland, where Santa Claus also lives. Since 1984, by decision of the UN, Lapland has been officially proclaimed the Land of Santa Claus. Here is also the residence of Santa, in which he, along with the gnomes and elves, lives all year round. It is there that children from all over the world write letters with wishes to the address: Arctic Circle, 96 930, Finland or to the Internet site: santamail.com.

The Finnish government elevated Santa Claus to a cult rank, built a house for him on the slope of Mount Korvatunturi, made advertisements, created a website and announced his email address to the whole world. It is Yolupukki from Lapland (Finland) who receives the most daily letters from adults and children from all over the world.

Every year on December 24 at noon, he arrives on his reindeer in the oldest Finnish town of Turku, accompanied by a tontu, his young assistants - girls, boys in red overalls and caps. Here, from the city council building, the arrival of Christmas is proclaimed and New Year's songs are sung.

But thanks to American advertising and perseverance, Western Santa Claus gradually replaced the English Father Christmas, the Finnish Yolupukki, and the French Santa Claus. And even our beloved and dear Santa Claus. I will say even more, the Turks erected a monument to St. Nicholas in the city of Demra, but it is not the bishop who stands on the pedestal, but a cheerful bearded man with a huge bag of gifts!

However, apparently, these are not the final changes in the image of the saint. For example, in Israel, where religious traditions are strictly observed, Christmas is not celebrated. And if you want to buy Christmas cards or other accessories there, then it will be very problematic for you to find them.

But then they and the Jews will find a way out of any situation! On the shelves of Israeli stores on Christmas Eve, postcards began to gradually appear with the image of Santa Claus, who flaunts a Jewish kippah on his head instead of the traditional red cap. So far, there are no holiday greetings on the postcards, but something tells me: there will still be Tolya!

Well, seriously, it seems to me that it doesn’t matter who knocks on your door on New Year’s or Christmas night: Santa Claus, Santa, Nikolai, Father Christmas or Yolupukki. The main thing is to believe in magic and kindness, so that a cheerful wizard brings smiles and joy along with gifts. And what is his name, you ask him yourself when you meet on a magical night.

The main character of Christmas is, of course, Santa Claus or Christmas grandfather. Santa Claus, whom we know today, combines many legends and stories that have undergone some changes over time. The legend about him leads us to ancient times, to King Holly. He sat on a goat with a healthy bowl in his hand and symbolized abundance.

Since the 17th century, he is first mentioned as a "holly elf" with a large nose and a white beard, as well as a red cap on his head. He descended through the chimney when everyone in the house was asleep, and presented obedient children with gifts.

The appearance of the name Santa Claus is also associated with a pagan character - Old Nick (nick - "spirit"), who annually performs various tricks, in mockery of people. And in early Christianity, the image of the Christmas elf was associated with St. Nicholas, a bishop of the 9th century. Later, the Christmas elf, Old Nick and Saint Nicholas joined together, taking on the appearance of Santa Claus.

Nicholas was later canonized and is now known in the Christian world as Saint Nicholas the Pleasant. In the Orthodox Church, Saint Nicholas is considered the patron saint of travelers. The Roman Catholic Church honors St. Nicholas as a saint who helps children and the poor. Saint Nicholas has become the main saint to whom they pray for children. December 6 is the name day of St. Nicholas.

However, Santa Claus is not the only, although his most common name. In Germany, he is Santa Nikolaus (Saint Nicholas), in Finland - Iolupukke, in Italy - Babbo Natale, in France - Pere Noel, in Norway - Yuletomte, in Russia - Santa Claus, etc. But he has one mission - to give children gifts for Christmas.
Satellites of Santa Claus

At first, Santa moved on foot, and was accompanied by one elf assistant, dressed in green clothes and a hat. Then, in the 19th century, the writer and poet K. Moore took care of the problem of their transport and came up with a magic sleigh pulled by white reindeer. Later, the number of Santa's elves-helpers increased, they help Santa manage with gifts and are always dressed in red caps, inherited from their predecessor.
Stockings over the fireplace

According to legend, Santa Claus flies in his magical sleigh over sleeping cities on Christmas night and, descending through the chimney into houses, leaves gifts for children in stockings, socks or shoes, which they specially leave under the tree or hang over the fireplace.

This symbol was also introduced into use by K. Moore, in the poem "The Night Before Christmas". But there is another story about this custom.

One day a family was preparing to celebrate Christmas. But they were so poor that they couldn't afford to buy a Christmas tree under which Santa could put his gifts. And the sad children went to bed, not hoping for gifts, but in the morning they nevertheless found them in stockings hung by the fireplace to dry. The children were very happy, and the custom of hanging socks over the fireplace has remained to this day.

Children always wanted to know where he comes from and where he spends the whole year from Christmas to Christmas and where he gets presents. From these questions grew the legend that Santa lives at the North Pole, in the same place where his gift warehouse is located.

But in 1925 there were no reindeer pastures at the North Pole and the newspapers reported that Santa Claus actually lived in Finnish Lapland. "Uncle Markus", Markus Rautio, who hosted the most popular program "Children's Hour" on the Finnish state radio, discovered a great secret in 1927: Santa Claus lives in Lapland's Korvatantura - "Ear Hill"

The hill, which is located right on the east coast of Finland, resembles the ears of a rabbit, but is actually the ear of Santa Claus, with which he listens to the behavior of children from all over the world. Santa has helpers, they are a group of elves who have their own history in Scandinavian legends.

Santa Claus - who is he?

Probably, few people realize that the usual character of the Christmas festivities, Santa Claus, is not some kind of mythical image: the brother of the gnomes and cousin of the brownies, but a real person. True, his name was somewhat different, and he did not live in cold Lapland, but in warm Asia Minor.

Origins of the legend of Saint Nicholas

His name was Nicholas, he was born in the Asia Minor city of Lycian Myra, on the territory of present-day Turkey, around the year 245, and ended his earthly journey around the year 334, on December 6. He was neither a martyr, nor a monk, nor a famous church writer. And he was a simple bishop.

Therefore, we should not be surprised that we fail to find any mention of this shepherd made during his lifetime or shortly after his death. Those were not the times. We find the oldest mention of his name in the "Praise" written by the Patriarch Proclus of Constantinople at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries.

Theodore the Reader, who lived a century later, includes Bishop Nicholas of Myra of Lycia in the list of participants in the First Ecumenical Council, held in 325 in Nicaea, at which the first version of the Creed, now called Niceno-Constantinople, was developed. Eustratius of Constantinople, who lived in the second half of the 6th century, tells how Saint Nicholas acted as a defender of three Byzantine officials unjustly sentenced to death. Here, it seems, is all.

As usual, the lack of information was supplemented by pious folk legends that appeared over the centuries. From them we learn that St. Nicholas helped the poor and unfortunate, imperceptibly at night tossing gold coins into the shoes left at the door, and putting pies in the windows.

By the way, around 960, the future Bishop Reginold wrote the first piece of music about St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, where he proposed a new translation: instead of the word "innocentes" (innocent) in relation to the three inhabitants of Mir, unjustly sentenced to death, he used "pueri" (children ). Due to the fact that the medieval musical about the holy bishop was an incredible success, the tradition of venerating St. Nicholas as the patron saint of children was born. However, even before that, sailors, prisoners, bakers and merchants had chosen him as their heavenly intercessor.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

But let's go back to the 6th century, it was then that the life of a monk named Nikolai, the abbot of the monastery of St. Sion and the bishop of Pinara, appeared, whose veneration then layered on the veneration of the Myrlikian bishop, as a result, some episodes from the life of the monk-bishop began to be attributed to our saint. Well, the first established biographer of St. Nicholas of Myra of Lycia is Archimandrite Michael, who wrote the so-called "canonical life" in VIII, in which he brought together all the information about the holy bishop that existed on paper and in oral legends.

But be that as it may with our historical research, the veneration of St. Nicholas very quickly spread throughout the Christian world, both in the East and in the West. Numerous churches were dedicated to him, he was asked for prayer, hoping for healing and help from the Lord with his prayerful support and intercession.

And when in 1087 the invasion of the Turks crushed the Byzantine Empire and the Greeks fled from Mir, 62 brave Italian sailors "stole" the relics of St. Nicholas from the city captured by Muslims and thereby saved the shrine revered by all Christians from abuse. The relics were brought to the city of Bari, located in southern Italy, in Puglia. All the inhabitants of this province, both Catholics and Orthodox inhabitants of the monasteries subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, solemnly celebrated on May 9 the day of the transfer of relics.

In Bari, a majestic Basilica was built, in which a shrine with the relics of the holy bishop was placed. This hitherto unremarkable city attracted pilgrims from all European countries. Even the invaders who succeeded each other, from the Normans to the Suebi, revered the sanctity of the St. Nicholas Church, providing him with all kinds of protection and care. Even when in 1156 Bari was captured by William the Cruel, who razed the city to the ground, sparing no houses or churches, the Basilica of St. Nicholas remained untouched among the smoking ruins.

Another interesting point related to the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas. In 1088, Pope Urban II officially established the liturgical celebration of this event on May 9th. In the Byzantine east, this holiday was not accepted, but, despite this, in Rus' it became widespread and has survived to this day, popularly called "Mykola - summer."

By the way, in Rus' Saint Nicholas is one of the most revered saints. To some extent, this happened due to the combination in folk religiosity of Nicholas the Wonderworker with the image of the pagan deity Volos, with whom the god of thunder fought. Since then, in peasant mythology, Nikolai has been strongly associated with a kind character who helps people. Moreover, the peoples who communicated with the Russians even called Nicholas "the Russian god."

However, later pagan motives disappeared, but the kind and selfless veneration of this saint remained. For example, in the 16th-17th centuries, Russians avoided giving children the name Nikolai because of their special reverence, and disrespect for the Wonderworker was perceived, no more and no less, as a sign of heresy. For Russian Orthodox Christians, Nicholas became the most "democratic" saint, the most accessible, quick and indispensable helper.

The attitude to this saint is best shown by one of the countless Russian legends.
Traveling across the land, Nikola and Kasyan (St. Cassian of Rome) saw a peasant bustling about his cart, deeply bogged down in the mud. Kasyan, afraid to soil his snow-white robes and afraid to appear before God in an inappropriate form, did not want to help the poor fellow, but Nikola set to work without any reasoning. When they managed to pull out the cart, the assistant turned out to be smeared up to his ears with mud, and besides, his festive robes were badly torn. Soon both saints appeared before the throne of the Most High. Having learned why Nikola is so dirty, and Kasyan is clean, the Lord gave the first two holidays a year instead of one (May 9 and December 6), and reduced Kasyan to one in four years (February 29).

For Russian Christians, Nicholas the Wonderworker has always been both a majestic bishop and a simple, kind saint and quick helper.

Saint Nicholas - patron saint of children

But still, how did Saint Nicholas turn into Santa Claus and become strongly associated with the Christmas holidays? To deal with this, we need to go back to the Christian West.

Around the 10th century, in the Cologne Cathedral, they began to distribute fruits and pastries to students of the parochial school on December 6, the day of memory of St. Nicholas, who, as we remember, thanks to a kind of musical, began to be revered in the West as the patron of children.

Soon this tradition went far beyond the boundaries of the German city. Remembering ancient legends, they began to hang specially made shoes or stockings in houses at night, so that Nikolai had somewhere to put his gifts, which over time had already noticeably outgrown the framework of buns and fruits, although sometimes he still can’t do without them.

It is worth noting that the day of the saint's memory falls on the Advent fast, when everyone is looking forward to the Joyful Feast of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word and the beginning of the New Year. Apparently in this regard, the Bishop of Myrlik, who enters houses at night, brings gifts to obedient children, and rods to naughty ones, thereby reminding them of the need for good behavior. Therefore, the children try not to misbehave long before the holiday, and the parents diligently, at every opportunity, remind them of the rods, which can be received as a present on December 6th. However, often along with a gift they still give rods, or twigs, but small and wrapped in foil, or painted in gold or silver paint.

In some countries, the holy bishop does not hide and comes to houses not at night, but during the day on the day of his memory in full liturgical vestments and not alone, but with an angel and an imp. The head of this unusual company questions the young inhabitants of the house about their behavior, with the angel and imp acting as a lawyer and prosecutor, respectively, and then, according to the results of a kind of investigation, a gift is presented (or not).

The Reformation, which arose in the 16th century, thanks to the speech of Martin Luther, excluded the veneration of saints from the liturgy of the new Churches. Together with their cult, the feast of St. Nicholas also disappeared. But if it is easy to eradicate anything on paper, then it is more than difficult to fight folk traditions.

Therefore, in the so-called Catholic countries, there is still the feast of St. Nicholas, joyfully celebrated on December 6, and in Protestant countries, the miracle-working bishop has changed into a slightly different character, but who still brings gifts and joy to children.

How did Saint Nicholas become Santa Claus?

Saint Nicholas came to North America, which played an important role in the history of the Christmas miracle worker, from Holland.

In 1626, several Dutch ships led by the frigate "Goede Vrove" on the bow of which stood the figure of St. Nicholas arrived in the New World. Seekers of happiness bought land from the Indians for $24 and named the village New Amsterdam (now this village is called New York). The Dutch moved the figurine of the saint from the ship to the main square.

Yes, that's bad luck, the new inhabitants of the new land spoke not in English, but in their own way. And the phrase "St. Nicholas" sounded like "Sinter Klass", then, over time, the name of our character changed into "Santa Klass", and a little later into "Santa Claus".

So they began to call in America that funny character who delivers gifts home before Christmas. But the New World is therefore new, in order to see everything in a new way.

The history of the transformations of St. Nicholas, sorry, Santa Claus, does not end there.

An important stage in the reincarnation was the poem "The Coming of St. Nicholas", written by Clement Clark Moore and published before the Christmas holidays of 1822. In twenty quatrains, it was told how on the eve of Christmas the baby met with the saint who brought him gifts.

In this poetic work, the venerable saint was completely devoid of a halo of seriousness and severity. The American poet depicted Santa Claus as a cheerful, cheerful elf with a round belly and a pipe in his mouth, from which he constantly emitted snow-white puffs of fragrant tobacco smoke. As a result of this unexpected metamorphosis, Santa Claus just lost his miter along with other episcopal vestments and moved to a team of reindeer.

The Americanized image of Santa Claus was elaborated by illustrator Thomas Nast in Harper's magazine from 1860 to 1880. Nast added attributes such as the north pole and a list of good and bad children.

The Christian saint, deprived of a halo, was dressed in all kinds of multi-colored sheepskin coats, until in 1931 the well-known Coca Cola company launched its new advertising campaign, the main character of which was Santa Claus.

Artist Haddon Sundblom painted a good-natured white-bearded old man dressed in red and white clothes with a bottle of carbonated drink in his hands. And so the familiar modern image of Santa Claus was born to all of us. In 1939, Rudolph appeared - the ninth deer with a large shiny red nose.

Thus, Santa Claus - a fat, cheerful old man who delivers gifts, has become an integral part of the celebration of Christmas around the world. He must have a white beard, a red jacket, pants and a hat with a white fur trim. He rides around on a reindeer-drawn sleigh filled to the brim with gifts. He enters houses through the chimney and leaves gifts under the tree or in a special sock, but only for obedient children.

In England, it is called Father Christmas, which translates as Father Christmas.

Russian Santa Claus has nothing to do with St. Nicholas. Santa Claus is a ritual folklore character who lives in the forest. His wife is Winter. And they dominate the earth from November to March. Sometimes in very old fairy tales he is called Santa Claus, sometimes Frost. Although the eccentric Morozko is most likely Santa Claus in his youth.

The closest relative of Santa Claus lives in Lapland and is called Yolupukki. For a long time it was believed (and many still think so) that Yolupukki is the real Santa Claus.

Maybe it's because the Finnish government has long elevated it to a cult rank, made an advertisement, built a house on Korvatunturi mountain, came up with a postal address and announced this address around the world.

Be that as it may, but the Finnish Yolupukki receives the largest number of letters from children and adults from all continents. Every year at noon on December 24, he rides reindeer, accompanied by his young helpers tonttu (boys and girls in red caps and red overalls) to Turku, Finland's oldest city. Here the Christmas peace is proclaimed from the City Hall.

Moreover, the enterprising Turks who erected a monument to St. Nicholas in the city of Demre (ancient Worlds), but on the pedestal is not a wise bishop, a participant in the Council of Nicaea and a defender of the poor, but a brave bearded man in a hooded robe with a huge bag on his shoulders. That's life...

However, this, apparently, is not the last modification of the image. As you know, Israel is a state with strict religious customs and officially Christmas is not celebrated there. And if no one forbids you to attend the Christmas service in the homeland of Christ, then there will be big problems with the purchase of cute Christmas cards and other holiday accessories.

However, human imagination is limitless. And now, postcards gradually began to appear on Israeli shelves, so far without holiday greetings, but already with Santa Claus, on whose head instead of a red cap he has a Jewish kippah. It's only the beginning!

And speaking more seriously, then, perhaps, you should not rack your brains over the question of who will knock on your door on the eve of Christmas: St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, Christmas grandfather, Yolopukki or Santa Claus. The main thing is that together with gifts it brings joy and smiles. And even better, so that happiness is in your homes! And about what his name is, in the end, you can ask him yourself.