How did “Saint Nicholas” become “Santa Claus”?
Several factors contributed to this change: • Children’s pronunciation. Ask any 3 year old today to pronounce “Saint Nicholas” and listen to what it sounds like. • Early Dutch settlers in New York (once called New Amsterdam) brought their traditions of St Nicholas to the new country. As children from other countries tried to pronounce Sinter Klass, this soon became Santa Klass, which was settled as Santa Claus. The old bishop’s cloak with mitre, jewelled gloves and crozier were soon replaced with his red suit and clothing seen in other modern images. • The “De-Christianizing” of America’s history. More and more we distance ourselves from religious influences. Unfortunately, we now lie about the past to justify the present. • It is not “Politically Correct” to say anything nice about anyone who is important in Christian history. It is “politically safe” to talk about an imaginary myth while ignoring historical fact. • The First Amendment protects free speech, this we remember. However i
