User:SantaClausCyberCTF

Santa Claus

History

Today, the tradition of Santa Claus giving gifts to babies is common around the world. But perhaps many people do not understand where this tradition comes from and who is Santa Claus, why giving gifts to so many children...

 Santa Claus, or Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa, is a character with legendary, historical, and folk origins in many western cultures.

Associated with the act of bringing gifts to the house for obedient children on the night of December 24 every year. The modern portrait of Santa Claus brings together features of the English Father Christmas, the Dutch Saint Sinterklaas and the Myra Saint Nicholas (in Greece).

 During the Christianization of Europe, this character was added with elements of Saint Odin - a character associated with the pagan German winter solstice festival Yule and the myth of a group of ghost hunting in the sky.

Father Christmas dates back to 16th century England, during the reign of King Henry VIII. At that time, Father Chrismas was described as a fat old man wearing a green or that color cloak with fur.

 He represents the spirit of merry Christmas, bringing peace, joy, food, wine and revelry.

Since the British no longer observe the feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6, the activities to celebrate Father Christmas are moved to December 25 in time for Christmas. Father Christmas is said to be the most like Santa Claus.

 Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century Christian bishop of Myra in the Byzantine Empire, Greece (now in Turkey).

Saint Nicholas is famous for his generosity, giving gifts to the poor, especially the act of giving a dowry to the 3 poor daughters of a pious Christian so that they would not have to become prostitutes. .

Nicholas was devout from an early age and devoted his life to Christianity. The remains of Saint Nicholas are still kept in Italy today.

 Italian sailors took his remains and brought them to Bari, where they are still kept today.

In 1087, the city of Bari, Italy, carried out a campaign to find and excavate the remains of Saint Nicholas and built a great synagogue that same year to preserve the remains of Saint Nicholas and the site became a place of prayer. for pilgrims.

But the Bari sailors only collected half of the skeleton of Saint Nicholas, leaving many small bones in the grave.

These bones were collected by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade and taken to Venice, where a church of Saint Nicholas was built in San Nicolò al Lido, northern Italy.

 This story is confirmed by two serious scientific studies in Bari and Venice, which confirm that two Italian cities are holding two parts of one set of remains.

Saint Nicholas was later considered the guardian of many different groups, from archers, sailors, children to pawnshop owners. He is also considered the patron saint in both Amsterdam and Moscow.

In the Middle Ages, usually on the eve of the feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6, children received gifts in memory of this saint.

 The period of the Protestant Reformation and opposition to veneration of saints in many countries led to the date being moved to December 24 or 25 and Saint Nicholas changed to Santa Claus.

The tradition of giving gifts to children at Christmas was replicated by Martin Luther to continue the tradition of St Nicholas' gift giving, to emphasize children's delight in God rather than adoration of the saints.

Santa Claus is often depicted as a stout old man with a long white beard, glasses, red clothes with white collar and sleeves, black belt and shoes. Santa Claus is always cheerful and often carries a bag full of gifts for children.

This image has been popular in the US and Canada since the 19th century due to the influence of the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (A Visit of Saint Nicholas) in 1823 and a caricature by Thomas Nast.

Since then, this image has been maintained and enriched with children's songs, stories, books and movies.

In the 20th century, from the idea in the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" released in 1934, Santa Claus was believed to make lists of children around the world.

Categorize them based on their "nice" or "bad" actions to give gifts, usually toys and candies, to good kids, coal to naughty kids around the world in just one Christmas Eve.

Santa performs this task with the help of servants who make toys in the workshop and flying reindeer pulling sleighs.