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Jaiden Hemphill-Kron
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Some people think Santa Clause is a "made-up" Christmas character who is known for going around the world the night before Christmas and giving out presents to kids who have been good throughout the year. What if I told you that Santa was actually real? There was a man long ago by the name of Saint Nicholas, where the nickname "Santa" comes from. He was known for giving away all of his inheritance to the poor and people who were sick. Back around 280 A.D., when he was said to be born, thousands of people were sick, and they didn't have the medicine that we have today and he went to them and gave them money for medicines.
Legend has it that he saved three sisters from their father who was going to sell them into slavery. He even provided them with a dowry, which means he helped them with money they would give to the men they were going to marry. It’s said that St. Nicholas went on to keep doing these friendly acts and as he did more people started to hear about him. He died on December 6th 343 A.D. People celebrated that day and it was said to be a lucky day for people to get married. Over time he became the most popular Saint in Europe and he always kept his reputation of being the nice guy. It wasn't until December of 1773 that the Americans started to celebrate his story.
In 1773 it was a Dutch family started it in America and they got the name Santa Claus from his Dutch nickname Sinter Klaas which is shortened for Saint Nicholas in Dutch. It wasn’t until the 1840’s that the Santa we know came to be. Business owners thought it would be a good way to attract kids and parents and they were right; because that's what it did and almost 200 years later we still see him in stores. I believe that the story of Santa is one of the biggest stories ever because it spread across countries and is still being told centuries later.
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