Where did the story of santa clause come from?
The story of Santa Claus can be traced back to Turkey which used to be a largely Christian country. Over 1000 years ago a bishop there called Nicholas got a reputation for being a very holy man and for being particularly generous to poor people. After he died, he was named a Saint, Saint Nicholas – Santa Claus (in German, approximately). He was given a feast day – December 6th – and, because of his example of generosity, people celebrated his feast by exchanging gifts. In many countries, particulalry in catholic areas, people still give gifts,especially to children, on December 6th. The protestant reformation changed that in some areas. The reformers, Luther in particular, did not approve of saints so suggested that any gifts should come from Christ – from the Christ Child (Christkind) whose name still hangs on in the USA as Kris Kringle and should come at Christmas. In the UK Christmas was suppressed during the time of puritan rule as was the celebration of Saint Nicholas. People then
