Why do people still believe in Santa Claus? Is he even real? Where did this myth come from? Well it all goes back to 300 AD when the great St. Nicholas was everyone’s walking miracle.
St. Nicholas was a man performing miracles and known as a hero. He did things such as prevented seamen from dying at sea or even demolished temples dedicated to the pagan gods. He was a generous and loving man especially to the poor. He was a remarkable man and his remarks inspired many others, one of them being Kris Kringle.
Kris Kringle was heavily inspired by St. Nick. He thought what St. Nicholas did was amazing and hundreds of years later, wanted to spread that cheer again. How did he do that might you ask, well he went to people’s houses and left presents for them. Kris did it for a long time and people suspected it was him and some knew it was him but he always denied it. Once Kris Kringle died parents stepped in to fill his gift giving role, but in order to keep the magic alive they created stories about Santa to share with their children.
Although St. Nicholas and Kris Kringle are real, Santa Claus is not. I like to believe Santa Claus is a made up person who has a lot of the characteristics of both St. Nick and Kris Kringle. For example, Kris Kringle went to people’s houses giving them presents to spread the holiday cheer. Another example is Santa being magical. Now St. Nick wasn’t magical but all his Heroic actions caused people to want to believe he’s a magical human with magic reindeers that can fly and little tiny magical elves.
He’s just a made up man to help spread the holiday spirit. Although Santa is a myth, he sure does make everyone’s holiday much better.
Photo Credits: The Santa Claus by AiArtShop on DeviantArt
Nïna Donaldson- Holy Trinity- DMSF Class of 2028