How did Saint Nicholas become Santa Clause?
The name Saint Nicholas evolved through the years into Saint Nick-Claus to the Dutch Sinter Klaas, and ultimately to Santa Claus. It was the great American writer Washington Irving who gave Americans the first detailed account of the Dutch version of Santa Clause in his “History of New York,” published in 1809. Some years later, in 1823, Clement Clark Moore penned “The Night Before Christmas, ” giving us the names of Santa’s reindeer, and introducing elves and a climb down the chimney to distribute presents to the lore. A series of images by illustrator Thomas Nast for Harper’s Magazine in the 1860’s gave us a visual depiction of Santa as the heavy-set, bearded man we now know. What is the significance of a Christmas Tree? In ancient times people believed the season of winter, with its yearly death of foliage and crops, occurred because the sun god had become weak and sick. The evergreen boughs that flourished year-round came to have special significance, and were hung over doors and w
