Do you know senor Santa Claus ?
View(s):To many, Santa Claus is simply a jolly man in a red suit, but our favourite Christmas visitor has a complicated past. He is a collage of many different cultures and beliefs, including Christian and Pagan, Old Catholic, Scandinavian, Dutch, German and English. Here’s some other interesting trivia about the man.
Santa Claus actually existed – minus the reindeer, the suit, the sleigh, and well pretty much everything else.
Santa may have been inspired by St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who was born around the year 270 A.D.His wealthy parents died in an epidemic when he was still a young boy. St. Nicholas was a kind man with a reputation for helping the poor. He has a soft spot particularly for children – apparently children would leave their shoes out and wake up to find he had left coins and little treats in it for them. You may like him more when you hear he wasn’t all patience and virtuous – apparently he had a bit of a temper and once sucker punched a bishop. He’s recognized as the patron of saint of all in need – not just children and sailors, but thieves, captives, innocents accused of crimes, orphans, labourers and travellers among many, many others.
Santa Claus was a bachelor – but then Mrs. Claus came along in the 19th century.
Also known as Mother Christmas, Mrs Claus is a dab hand with cookies. The first mention of her dates back to a short story titled A Christmas Legend by James Rees in 1849. Her first name is much debated though with fans divided between whether it should be Mary,Annalina,Jessica,Layla,Ahoop,Seeki,Martha,Gretchen or Holly.
Santa Claus’ reindeer are male – or not.
They may have boys names but Rudolph knows better – only female reindeer still have antlers at Christmas – the males have all shed theirs before the season began.
Santa Claus can be rented for the day and thousands upon thousands of imposters are hired every years.
If you feel like you need to be trained and certified. For instance, the St. Nicholas Institute in Michigan, USA, its also known as ‘Santa School’ and offers ‘a multi-day seminar designed to empower candidates with the tools needed to convincingly portray bothSt. Nicholas and the “elfin” Santa Claus.’ Courses cover such essentials as beard care, costuming options, getting in touch with your inner child and personal hygiene a.k.a – bad breath and flatulence.
Post code: HOH OHO
In Canada, Santa Claus has his own zip/post code: HOH OHO