Santa Claus, also known as
Saint Nicholas,
Saint Nick,
Kris Kringle,
Father Christmas, or simply
Santa, is a legendary figure of
Western culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved ("good" or "nice") children on
Christmas Eve(24 December) and the early morning hours of
Christmas Day (25 December).
[1] The modern Santa Claus grew out of traditions surrounding the historical
Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Greek
bishop and gift-giver of
Myra, the
British figure of
Father Christmas, the
Dutch figure of
Sinterklaas (himself based on Saint Nicholas), the
German figure of the
Christkind (a fabulized
Christ Child), and the holidays of
Twelfth Night and
Epiphany and their associated figures of the
Three Kings(based on the gift-giving
Magi of the
Nativity) and
Befana. Some maintain Santa Claus also absorbed elements of the
Germanic god
Wodan, who was associated with the pagan midwinter event of
Yule and led the
Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.
Wodan would certainly explain flying through the sky in a sleigh. He may be part of the Santa tradition, but so, strongly, is St. Nick for whom he is even named. The gift giving part, esp.
I like what Sassy posted about him. Santa is all about magic and happiness for little kids and Santa should be whomever/whatever they think he is.
This didn't start as a racist OP. Why did it have to be turned into one? No one over 7 should be allowed to have an opinion on this, and that is the bottom line.