Santa Claus ki kahani | Story Of Santa Claus
Every year the festival of Christmas is celebrated all over the world on 25 December. The biggest attraction of this day is Santa Claus, who goes from door to door giving gifts and chocolates to children. In present times this tradition of gift giving has become even more popular. Children wait for Christmas all year long and especially look forward to the arrival of Santa Claus. On the next day of Christmas, prayers and cultural programs are organized in churches to commemorate the birthday of Lord Jesus.But do you know who is Santa Claus and when and how did this tradition of giving gifts to children begin?
History of Santa Claus
The stories and history related to Christmas are very interesting. Santa Claus’ real name was “St. Nicholas” or “Kris Kringle”. The image of Santa that we see today—a man dressed in red and white, with a long white beard and hair, who brings an abundance of gifts for children has a long history behind it.
It is said that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, but there is no confirmation of this. In some stories he is described as living in North America. Santa Claus was a sage who later married and his wife became known as “Mrs. Claus”. He was also addressed as “Father Christmas”.
Santa Claus is linked with Lord Jesus, but there is no mention in the Bible that confirms any relation between them. According to historians, Saint Nicholas was born in a noble family in Myra (present-day Türkiye) in the 3rd century. Unfortunately, he was orphaned in his childhood. Having deep faith in Christianity, he dedicated his life to serving the needy.
gift giving tradition
Saint Nicholas was famous for giving gifts to the needy and children. They would quietly leave gifts at the homes of children and the poor at night so that their identities remained hidden. According to a famous incident, he helped the three daughters of a poor man. The man was so poor that he was unable to even raise dowry for his daughters’ marriage. Saint Nicholas went to his daughters’ house at night and placed bags full of gold coins in their socks. This ended his poverty and he happily married his daughters.
After this incident, the tradition of children hanging socks and receiving gifts in them started. In France, children hang red shoes on the chimney and leave carrots for Santa.
Popularity of Santa Claus
After the death of Saint Nicholas, the celebration of “Saint Nicholas Day” on December 6 began in France in 1200. In 1773, a person first appeared in the media as “Santa Claus” in America. In 1930, Hayden Sundblom, an artist for Coca-Cola, drew the image of Santa Claus in red and white clothing, which became the basis for today’s Santa Claus image.
Magic of santa claus
Today Santa Claus has become a part of children’s imagination. It is said that he lives in the North Pole with his wife and elves and has a huge toy factory there. Every year lakhs of toys are made in this factory, which are distributed among children on Christmas day.
Children all over the world write letters to Santa. Finland is one of the most popular addresses for writing to Santa. A team of volunteers works to answer these letters. In modern times, Santa is also contacted through email.
The generous and loving personality of Santa Claus is still alive in the hearts of children and adults. His story not only increases the joy of Christmas but also gives the message of helping the needy.
