As every year the night of the 24th to the 25th it’s a magical night. A paunchy man with long hair and a white beard comes to our homes to leave gifts for the little ones in the home. This man, better known as Santa Claus or Santa Claus, is an endearing figure who has accompanied us from the Middle Ages, making that night a magical night to dream. But who is this chubby guy dressed in red? Why does he leave gifts for children? Did he really exist? The true story of Santa Claus will try to solve these and other enigmas related to this nice Christmas character.
The true story of Santa Claus | The Solstice Party
When asked, what do we celebrate? December 25 everyone, we will answer that we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, but the historical facts do not support this theory. No one can confirm the day that Jesus Christ was actually born. Throughout history, different dates have been proposed, but not even the Bible gives an approximate dating of the date of his birth.
The dance dates range from April 20 to May 20 and even to September 29, but nothing conclusive. The only clue the Bible offers us is the mandatory census that Herod had dictated, which is why Mary and Joseph were forced to start their march to meet Herod’s demand, at which time the birth seems to have occurred.
What all the experts agree on is the impossibility that he was born on December 24 at night, not even that he was born in December. So, Why do we celebrate Christmas on the 25th?
The answer is simple, until almost the end of the fourth centurythe day of the birth of Jesus It was celebrated on January 6, the same day of the arrival of the Magi. That day the Birth of Jesus, the Epiphany of the Magi and the Baptism of Jesus were celebrated.
Until well into the fourth century, in Rome the most popular festival of the year was celebrated, it was a pagan festival with a tradition of more than VI centuries The Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a festival that was celebrated in the temple of saturnin the Roman Forum, where a banquet was prepared for all citizens, in which an exchange of gifts was made, with a festive and carnival atmosphere.
The reasons for these celebrations were two, to celebrate the festival of Triumph and most importantly as tribute in honor of saturngod of agriculture.
At the end of the fourth century, the emperor Constantine the Great and Pope Julius I, decided to give a Christian meaning to this pagan festival of Saturnalia. A party that had been celebrated for more than 6 centuries, it was a party that coincided with the Winter Solstice, that is, the shortest day of the year due to the inclination of the earth with respect to the sun, the earth receives less sunlight, coinciding that day with the December 25th.
For the Romans, Saturnalia was the most important festival of the year, which is why it was chosen as the day for the celebration of Christmas. That was how the day Undefeated SunIt happened to be Christmas day.
The true story of Santa Claus | St nicolas
We stand in the year 280 AD, in a village near the city of Mira, in the current Turkey. That date is the birth date of Nicolás, belonging to a wealthy family. His merchant father in the Adriatic Sea wanted Nicholas to follow in his commercial footsteps, on the other hand his mother who wanted Nicholas to be like his uncle, a priest.
Priestly life at that time was a calm and relaxed lifeif we also take into account that Nicolás’s uncle was the Bishop of Mira, his situation would be highly enviable within the clergy. But a terrible epidemic of plague that devastated much of Turkey, took the lives of the parents of young Nicholas ahead.
This totally desolate, decided to give away his goods among the most needy to go live in Mira with his uncle, his decision had been made, he would be ordained a priest. At the age of 19 he was appointed a priest and on the death of his uncle he became his replacement in the position of bishop.
This is the story of Nicolás, from here on a number of miracles and unexplained events, converted to Nicholas in a very dear Saint, they highlighted the kindnesses he had with the most needy, carrying out his episcopal function by exercising love for others. Upon his death, Nicholas became patron saint of Greece, Turkey, Russia and Lorraine in France.
The true story of Santa Claus | the legend is born
Saint Nicholas has been associated with the children and his love for them. Nicolás understood that they were the most unprotected beings and he dedicated a lot of time to them.
Among the many stories, it is said that one day someone stabbed several children, When the Saint heard the news, he ran to the bed where the children were badly wounded, he knelt beside the bed and prayed with such fervor that the children they began to heal immediately.
The custom attributed to him of leaving gifts is part of another story in which it is related: once a man very poor that she had three daughters, and as was the custom if she wanted to marry them off, she would have to give the future husband a dowry by them. Being the man so poor, he did not have a dowry for his daughters, condemning them to an unloved bachelorhood.
When Nicholas found out about the poor man’s situation, he waited for they reached marriageable age, to give them a small bag full of gold coins, one each. According to legend, in order not to offend the dismayed father, Nicholas entered through a window at night and deposited the bag of gold within the socks of the girls, who were usually found hanging in the fireplace, for them to dry.
Another story tells that being some sailors In the midst of a terrible storm, totally helpless and lost at the mercy of the storm, it occurred to them to pray to God with prayers where they cited the kindness of their bishop Nicholas, asking for his salvation. The sailors say that at the moment of quoting the Saint, the figure of St nicolas He appeared to them and, stretching out his hands, calmed the waters. Since then, Saint Nicholas was named Sailors pattern.
Now it’s time to address what is the real name of the Saint. In the East he is known asmo Saint Nicholas of Mirawhile in Western Europe, it is known as Saint Nicholas of Bari. It received this name when after the Muslim invasion of Turkey in the year 10587, the Christians decided to hide the relics of the Saint in a safe place, so they moved them to the bari city in Italy.
Since his arrival in Bari, the saint began to perform a large number of miracles, which the Christians interpreted as a sign of gratitude from the saint for getting him out of Muslim territory. Quickly your fame and popularity spread throughout Europecoming to erect numerous temples in his honor.
The true story of Santa Claus | From Nicholas to Santa Claus
According to the investigations that have been carried out, it seems that the name change took place around the year 1624. The first dutch settlers, they began to settle in the new continent, founding the city of New Amsterdam, later it would change its name to New York.
With the arrival of the Dutch settlers they also brought their customs, myths and legends, among them Sinterklaas party, a festival celebrated in the Netherlands on December 5 and 6, in honor of its patron saint St nicolas which in German leagues was called Sinterklaas.
Washington Irving, in 1809 wrote history of New York, a satire on the early settlers, in this satire the name of the Dutch saint Sinterklaas was pronounced with an English accent. In this satire irving started naming him santa claus. In 1823, Santa Claus began to be described, the poet Clement Clarke Moore based on the character that Irving had created, Santa Claus. He described it as a to be dwarf, thin, more like a forest goblin.
This character’s ability was give toys to children the night before christmasthis being moved by sled which was pulled by reindeer, Rudolph being his reindeer guide. This was clearly a free version of what had happened many centuries ago in Turkey.
In December in New York, snowfalls are famous, so they took advantage of this fact to provide poor Saint Nicholas with a sleigh and reindeer.
The current figure, recognizable throughout the world, was achieved in 1863when the German cartoonist Thomas Nastdesigned a character chubby, good-natured and bearded for some Christmas strips.
He created the clothing inspired by the clothing of the bishops of the Middle Ages, to create this version of St nicolas which has nothing to do with the original San Nicolás de Mira.
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