What year was Santa Claus born? Where did Santa Claus come from. Where does Santa Claus live

Origin of the legend

The saint was called Sankt Nikolaus in Germany and Sanct Herr Nicholaas or Sinter Klaas in Holland. In these countries, St. Nicholas was sometimes depicted galloping across the sky on a horse. He presented himself in the robes of a bishop and at times was accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who was supposed to spank naughty children. The celebration of St. Nicholas Day - the day when people exchanged gifts among themselves - usually took place on December 6th. After the Reformation, German Protestants recognized the veneration of the son of Christ and created their own day of celebration for him - December 25th. When the tradition spread widely, it began to be closely associated with Christmas.

American origin

This Danish-American image of St. Nick became completely national for the American people in 1823 after the release of Clement Clark Moore's poem "A Visit From Saint Nicholas" better known as "The Night Before Christmas" ("The Night Before Christmas"). Moore added such details as the names of deer, laughter, nods and winks of Santa, and also described the way in which Santa, like an elf, returned back from the pipe (Moore did not take the interpretation from his head, but referring to the work of Irving in 1809).

And some funny pictures with Santa:

It seems that the good old Santa Claus, who gives gifts to good children and grants their wishes, has existed since ancient times.

In fact, this is not entirely true - the progenitor of this fairy-tale character really really existed in antiquity, but Santa Claus, known to us in his current form, was “born” by the standards of historical science recently - no more than 200 years ago.

The kind grandfather swam across the ocean twice before becoming famous all over the world. The real prototype of Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, a real character who lived in Asia Minor during the time of Rome and later became the archbishop of the city of Mir Lycian in the Roman province of Lycia.

Coming from a family of wealthy Christians, Nicholas devoted himself entirely to the service of God and gave his inheritance to the church. In the Orthodox tradition, he is considered Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of travelers and seafarers, a benefactor who gives gifts to children.

He is well known to us on the feast of St. Nicholas of the Winter on December 19, when obedient children find gifts from St. Nicholas under their pillows.

In Catholicism, there is a legend about three dowry sisters who could not get married because of poverty and the only way they could go to a brothel was to sell themselves for money. Saint Nicholas found out about this situation and secretly threw a bag of gold coins to two older sisters.

Their father found out about this and decided to track down the donor. The saint found out about the insidious plan and threw a bag of money into the chimney. The bundle landed safely in the youngest daughter's stocking, which was drying by the fire. It was this episode that formed the basis of the traditional idea of ​​Santa Claus bringing gifts through the chimney on Christmas Eve and hiding from people.

This legend was very popular in the Netherlands and, together with the Dutch settlers, crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Founded by emigrants from Holland, New Amsterdam became New York after a while, and the kind grandfather from the tales of the Old World took root in a different society and was overgrown with fresh legends and myths.

This is especially interesting because Puritan New England did not celebrate Christmas at all. Legends about Santa Claus existed in the form of oral tradition and were passed on as the population mixed from the descendants of the Dutch to new immigrants.

Only at the beginning of the 10th century, in 1809, did a written mention of this character appear.

American writer Washington Irving ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle"), now considered the father of American literature, wrote "History of New York", where he spoke about the veneration of Santa Claus during the existence of New Amsterdam. With this, he laid the foundation for the popularity of this character.

The baton was picked up by Clement Moore, who wrote a poem about Santa Claus, and then the artist Thomas Nast for the first time portrayed him the way we are used to seeing him today. It is believed that Nast portrayed himself in the guise of Santa - a cheerful, full, elderly man with a full beard and lush mustache.

Santa Claus got his final look in 1931 under the brush of Haddon Sundblom - it was a red suit and cap with white fur trim. It was in this guise that the good miracle worker crossed the Atlantic for the second time and returned to Europe in order to finally take possession of the entire planet.

The popularity of this hero among the general population began to actively exploit various commercial enterprises in their advertising campaigns.

On Coca-Cola ads on Christmas holidays, Santa still delivers drinks and gifts around the world, now not on reindeer, but on a large truck. Deer, elves and other supporting characters are always present in the stories about Santa, helping him in all good deeds.

It is very difficult to answer the question "Who is Santa Claus" unequivocally, because many peoples have their own analogue of a kind grandfather who brings gifts to obedient and well-mannered children in winter and lives somewhere far away at the North Pole.

For the French, this is Pere Noel, for the Russians, Santa Claus, and for the Finns, Joulupukki. All these characters are united by common features - they appear in winter, live somewhere far away at the end of the world, are middle-aged, plump and very kind.

It doesn't matter what his name is - Santa or Ded Moroz, what is more important is that with him joy, fun and hope for a happy future come to the house.

It seems that this kind old man with a snow-white beard has always existed, but he became a symbol of the New Year holidays only about 200 years ago. The image of Santa took shape gradually, and each nation brought something of its own to it, but its obligatory attributes were a white mustache and beard, gloves and a bag with gifts.

On December 19, all Orthodox Rus' celebrates the day of the saint Nikola Ugodnik. It was he who became the prototype of today's Santa Claus, as he is called in the West. Where did the fat New Year's man in a red zipun come from, who rides around on reindeer, lives for some reason in Lapland and gives gifts to all the children? But Santa Claus, that is, St. Nicholas, lived in the 4th century in the city of Myra in the country of Lycia (present-day Turkey), was a thin monk and hardly even saw snow. How did it happen that the name of one of the greatest ascetics of the Church became a character in a New Year's fairy tale for children? The answer is simple - apostasy, a general falling away from the Christian faith, from the Mother Church. Today's American does not understand what Christ is in Christmas, because the very word Christmas - Christmass ("Christ's Mass") began to be written like this - "X-mas". The proximity of the memory of this saint to Christmas made him the hero of this holiday, which has lost all Christian roots for Westerners.

In many countries of the world, until recently, Santa Claus was the symbol of the New Year. Each nation called it in its own way, sometimes very funny: Yolupukki (Finns), Deda Mraz (Croats), Noel Baba (Turks), Pere Noel (French).

Here, in fact, because of this very bag of gifts, another confusion occurred, which led to the fact that in England and America the traditional Santa Claus began to be called ... Santa Claus. And then in many other countries the same way: Santa Nicholas (in Belgium), St. Mikalaus (in the Czech Republic), Site Kaas or Sinter Klaas (in Holland). All these names are translated into Russian in the same way - St. Nicholas.

Who was this very Saint Nicholas, who is revered all over the world, albeit in an absolutely invented image? The answer to this question is given by his biography, or, in the language of the church, his life.

The future saint was born around the year 270 in the city of Patara, in Lycia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (now it is the territory of Turkey). His parents were noble and wealthy, but had no children until old age. Through their ardent prayers, the Lord gave them a son, whom they named Nikolai, which means "the conquering people."

From a young age, the boy spent almost all his time in the church, at a more mature age he took the priesthood. When his parents died, leaving Nicholas a rich inheritance, he had no doubt that it should be used to help those in need. Such an opportunity soon presented itself.

Nearby lived a once noble and rich man, who now fell into extreme need. Having exhausted all the possibilities for a way out of a difficult situation, he decided on an extreme measure: to sacrifice the honor of his three beautiful daughters. Upon learning of this, Saint Nicholas decided to help them. Three times at night he sneaked up to their wretched dwelling and threw a bag of gold out the window. Soon all the sisters successfully married, the merchant's business went smoothly, and he, in turn, also began to help people. When Nicholas was elevated to the rank of Bishop of the city of Mira, he remained the same kind, sympathetic and caring. The doors of his house did not close - he equally helped both the powerful and the poor; He was a father to orphans, a breadwinner to the poor, a comforter to those who weep, an intercessor to the offended...

Saint Nicholas died in 342, but his death did not stop his blessings: countless miracles, one more amazing than the other, did not stop and do not stop being performed for everyone who calls on his holy name.

Special veneration of Saint Nikolaus in Germany began as early as the 6th century, in Rome - from the 8th century, and therefore, already in the Middle Ages, a good custom was established here and in other European countries: on St. Nicholas Day, December 19, give gifts to children, following his example.

But here's the problem: when, after a little over two weeks, Christmas came with its "gift" traditions - the Magi, who found the Infant Christ with the help of a guiding star, presented Him with gold, frankincense and myrrh as a gift - again it was impossible to do without gifts. And therefore, over time, both of these "gift" traditions merged together, eventually becoming an indispensable attribute of the Christmas holiday. And St. Nicholas turned into ... a kind wizard who gives gifts to children (remember the episode from his life with bags of gold) and fulfills their cherished desires. And since the 10th century, it was Santa Claus who congratulated German children; in Poland, since the 13th century, scholarships were distributed in schools on his behalf.

Today's Santa Claus is a joint brainchild of the Dutch (so to speak, trendsetters of "fashion"), Americans and the British. They tormented him for a long time: either they wrapped him in a cloak, or they gave him the appearance of a slender chimney-sweep smoker throwing his gifts through the chimneys, or they portrayed him with lush sideburns, dressed in fur from head to toe ... The beard was painted to him in 1860 by the American artist Thomas Knight. Then he was dressed in a red fur coat trimmed with fur. The image of a good-natured fat man with an indispensable bag of gifts was invented by the Englishman Tenniel.

And then, somehow imperceptibly, this ubiquitous Santa Claus became (nothing less) a symbol of Christmas! His first appearance in this capacity happened in 1885 in America: on the first Christmas greeting card (following the example of the British), he was already drawn - in red robes and a hat, with white sideburns and thick eyebrows, with a red nose and a bag full of gifts.

Where does Santa Claus live

Many northern countries are still arguing about where Santa Claus lives. Some believe that he lives at the North Pole, others that he settled in the town of Rovaniemi in northern Finland. In modern Finland, there is even a special service for answering on behalf of Santa Claus, and this is understandable, because. on average, in December, he receives up to 80 thousand letters from children from different countries with requests and wishes.

The English Santa Claus comes from the nickname Sinterklaas (from the word "ash") St. Nicholas (in the Orthodox tradition Nicholas the Pleasant) by the first Dutch settlers in America. He was considered the patron of sailors and children, for whom he prepared gifts all year long, and on Christmas night he delivered them and left them in stockings prepared for gifts. True, it began to be considered so later, and among the Dutch, Sinterklaas was rather a stern educator, for he poured ashes into the stockings of those children who did not behave as they should. The main Christmas character gained particular popularity after the American professor of Greek and Oriental literature, Clement Clark MUR, in 1822 wrote a poem for his children for the holiday about St. a bag full of presents to leave for the children. In a fur coat, with a white beard and a red nose, he rides on a team of eight deer, and his approach can be recognized by the creak of runners and the melodious ringing of bells tied to deer necks.

The poem quickly sold out and became popular, which somewhat offended the professor, as he was very serious and did not approve of the fun that the celebration of Christmas turned into.

And forty years later, cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus, and the image acquired completeness: a red fur coat and headdress, a wide leather belt and sparkling black boots.

Russian Santa Claus looks a little different, and his story goes back to Morozko from Slavic folklore. If Santa Claus is more like a gnome, then Santa Claus is a giant, a hero, patrolling his possessions, icing rivers and lakes, and at the same time giving gifts to children. His disadvantage is that he often asks to perform something for himself. Not because of greed - just the soul asks. But for the voiceless, legless, suffering from sclerosis, everything pays off with the fact that our Grandfather has a Snow Maiden - she will not only give gifts, but she can also kiss.

Where was Santa Claus born?

The modern image of the good-natured fat Santa Claus appeared in the United States relatively recently, on Christmas Day 1822. It was then that Clement Clark Moore wrote the poem "The Coming of St. Nicholas", in which the Saint appeared as a cheerful and cheerful elf with a round, tight belly, indicating a passion for delicious food, and with a smoking pipe. As a result of the reincarnation, Saint Nicholas got down from the donkey, acquired eight deer, and in his hands appeared a bag with gifts.

Christians have long suspected that Santa Claus is an evil plan of Satan to distract people from Jesus to his brainchild**. Some have compared the name "Santa Claus" to "Satan claws" (claws of Satan) and does not mark the birth of Jesus at all.

Satan came up with Santa and gave him his name, rearranging one letter (santa = satan), in order to replace Jesus with him, to draw people's sympathy from Jesus to him. Therefore, Santa appears during the expected Christmas (Christmas).

He sometimes carpenters and loves children, like Jesus; he administers his judgment, like God, deciding which child is worthy of a good gift, which one is worse; he travels through heaven like an angel; children should pray to Santa for gifts, and they will receive them only if they believe in him as in God;

But besides this, his house is in the north, like that of Satan (Is. 14:13); his assistants are elves and gnomes, who are nothing but devils and demons; he comes into the house, like a brownie, through the stove and only at night, like all evil spirits; parents put gifts and lie to children that Santa Claus left them, because where Satan is, there there is always a lie. When children grow up, they think that Santa Claus is a fairy tale for children, and Jesus is a fairy tale for adults. This is exactly what Satan wants.

Very strange and suspicious fact. It has long been noticed that Santa constantly imposes the Coca-Cola brand. Today it has already been proven that this drink is practically a poison for the human body. Initially, the original composition of Coca-Cola included a few mg of cocaine. Hence the "Coca" in the name.

According to a Coca-Cola company representative, cocaine is no longer included in the composition of the drink. However, this is hard to believe because. the very recipe for modern Coke is known to only two people on the planet (why such secrecy?) + to this day, the Coca-Cola company imports coca leaves, which are used to make cocaine in the United States.

Coca Cola is the only American corporation legally authorized to import coca leaves into the United States, suggesting the presence of drugs in Coca-Cola.

For example, the Interregional Public Organization of Consumers “Open Association of Consumers” demanded through the court to ban the sale of Coca-Cola because The Coca-Cola Company - specifically does not indicate the full composition on the label of its product.

There is another interesting point. In the production of Coca-Cola, a certain secret ingredient X7 is used. This is a white powder that is brought ready to the cola factories and added to the finished product. The management of factories and technologists are not informed about the composition of the powder. What is there, no one knows.

There is definitely some element in the composition of Coca-Cola that provokes buying this poison again. Many claim that they add coca, in other words, something like synthetic cocaine, otherwise it is impossible to explain the huge number of people who are addicted to this drink.

The meaning of the name santa

We hope that no one will doubt the fact that Santa Claus is not even a product of the devil, but the DEVIL HIMSELF.

For example, in the East In Germany, he is widely known as the Shaggy Goat (what would it be for?), As well as the Scavenger and Rider. In the Netherlands, he is Zanta Klaus, who is meekly served by the "Black Peters" (devils).

Also, if you look at his name as if through a looking glass, then his name is transformed into SATAN-LUCAS (lucas is a shortening of the devil). "Santa" is an incomplete anagram for "Satan". And take my word for it, it's not just a coincidence.

And what about KLAUS, Claus in the permutation of letters is read as LUKAS - L-U-C-A-S, and LUKAS is an abbreviated form of LUCIFER. For example, in 1929, one New Age Organization changed its name from Lucifer Trust at Lucas Trust. Do you think it's a coincidence?

The devil bears that name old Nick

In The History of the Hobgoblin, author Allen W. Wright writes: "The name Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the devil, and his distinctive laugh was "Ho ho ho!"

- Around the 1600s, Robin Goodfellow played the devil in many, many plays. And the performances were then very popular, because they did not have such theaters and cinemas as they do today. So theatrical productions were an essential part of the society of those times, and before the devil appeared on the stage, he declared himself with his trademark "ho ho ho." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where Santa's "ho ho ho" came from.

Let's move on to the Oxford English Dictionary, in which the definition of the devil is indicated ... this is incredible! It says here: "The Devil" - bears such names as Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, ... and in common colloquial speech is known as ... Old Nick.

Yes, yes ... the same old Nick who we talk about, whose hands we let our kids sit on in malls, we watch movies revolving around old Nick.

But if you look at him in the ancient days, that's what that old Nick looked like! That's old Nick used by ha-satan... satan... that's what the devil's name is, old Nick. And again: "But it doesn't mean that to me at all!"

And I hope by now you have understood that it does NOT matter what it means to me. ONLY what it means to Him matters. All these things are very difficult to swallow at once... there is no doubt about it!

The Second Vatican Council officially declared

In 1970...let's continue... The Second Vatican Council...listen to this!...officially declared that a Roman Catholic priest named Nicholas never existed!

They demoted St. Nicholas, took away his sainthood, because the Vatican received clear evidence that it is quite possible that he never even existed...along with many other saints.

Further, the Second Vatican Council recognized, that the legends associated with this "saint" are not of Christian origin and may have come from pagan traditions themselves! Thus we see that Saint Nicholas was most likely a fictional saint who was associated with the sun god, later known as Odin.

They needed to christianize it, make it a saint...over time the colors have been changed, we see elves appearing on the horizon, transforming from vicious into cute little creatures making toys...all this is an American modernization of a very satanic evil pagan holiday in origin .

Helpers and friends of Santa, and what!

By the 1500s in Holland...there Saint Nikolaus became "Sinter Klaas". Okay... so Saint Nikolaus turned into Sinter Klaas - a kind and wise old man, with a white beard and in white clothes, in a red robe and with a staff... and he rode across the sky and over the rooftops on his white horse in the company of their black jacks, who were the Krampus we just saw, leaving gifts for the people under their sacred tree, which was the Christmas tree!

He will visit you on his birthday - December 25th, of course... and give you gifts if you were good, or if you were bad, then his black jacks will beat you.

To be honest, Santa Claus also has helpers, and what kind of helpers! In different countries these are angels and devils, as well as Black Peter, Shaggy Goat, Beelzebub, Black Prankster, Hans Muff, Knecht Ruprecht.

The latter, for example, portrayed the devil, wore a white cloak (later red) with a hood, rattled chains, flogged delinquent and disobedient children with rods, and put the really bad ones into a bag and carried them away.

Krampus the Christmas demon is Santa's best friend

Krampus was a purely pagan creature that came from Scandinavian mythology, but the Catholic Church decided to associate him with the Christian tradition and make him friends with Saint Nicholas (now Santa Claus). Since the 17th century, Santa Claus and Krampus have become a kind of Catholic Christmas yin-yang. Santa Claus brings gifts, but Krampus appears in front of him bringing pain.

Krampus has many different looks. He can be the twin brother of the devil, a bat, a goat, a creepy snowman... As a rule, horns and animal skin are used in the image.

Krampus traditionally has a long tongue, almost to the stomach, and one human leg and one goat (Satan) leg.

When Austria was under the rule of Nazi Germany, Krampus became a symbol of sin, anti-Christian ideals. The newspaper of the Austrian Catholic Union called for a boycott of Krampus. The Krampus holiday (December 5) was banned, and anyone who dressed up as Santa's friend went to jail for violating the law. After the war, in 1953, the head of the Vienna kindergarten system published a pamphlet calling Krampus an "evil man".

The idea is to leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus.

Encyclopedia WorldBook says the following: “The belief that Santa enters the house through a chimney comes from a Norwegian legend. The Scandinavians believed that the goddess Herta appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the house.

From here, in general, the English word Hearth came from - a fireplace, it comes from Hertha, who was the goddess northern peoples. So you see again, straight out of the WorldBook Encyclopedia, that Santa Claus coming into the house through the chimney has nothing to do with anything good, but again it has to do with god coming through the fire. Ladies and gentlemen, I know of only one god who comes through fire, and that is Satan himself, and one day he will be thrown into the lake of fire.

And here we continue: “Druid householders left a treat of milk and pastries to appease this deity. coming through the chimney into their fireplace." That's where the idea of ​​leaving milk and cookies for Santa Claus came from. We think we made it up ourselves, which is funny, but it all comes from a long time ago, ladies and gentlemen, from the Druids, when they left milk and pastries for their god, who came through the fire in the fireplace on December 25th, on the day his birth.

“The spruce tree was considered magical because it remained green all year round. In some cultures it was decorated with fruit to symbolize new life, while in other cultures it was decorated with 12 candles in honor of their sun god. ... --Because the feast of Saturnalia lasted 12 days, that's where the 12 Christmas candles came from... --Today we even sing songs to him! Exactly as they did in their pagan rituals."

Every year Santa Claus comes to millions of children around the world and gives them gifts. How much does it cost? Where does he get this money from? HSE Senior Lecturer and Project Manager Danil Fedorov, especially for Sravni.ru, figured out how the financial life of Santa Claus works.

How much does Santa Claus earn per year?

This is difficult to estimate, given that the sources of income are not reliably known. Forbes magazine in 2005 Santa Claus in the list of 15 richest fictional celebrities, estimating his fortune at infinity. The following year, however, Forbes was forced to Santo from the ranking, taking into account the many evidence that he is real.

How much does he spend?

According to There are almost 2 billion children aged 0 to 14 in the world. If we assume that Santa Claus visits about half of them (that is, they live in those countries where visiting Santa Claus at Christmas is mandatory, and also behave well during the previous year), then it turns out that Santa needs to give about a billion gifts. According to some estimates, the average cost of a Christmas present in the US is around $40. If we take this figure as a basis, then it turns out that the entire value of the gifts that Santa gives is 80 billion dollars, which is approximately equal to And .

A lot of money is spent on delivering gifts around the world. If we assume that the gifts weigh an average of 500 grams, then the total weight of the gifts is about a million tons. It is difficult to say how much cargo a carriage drawn by magical deer can carry, but if Santa Claus used Airbus A380F aircraft instead (one of the largest cargo aircraft in the world), then at least 6,000 of them would be required. Each such aircraft costs more than $400 million, which means that Santa's entire fleet can cost more than $2 trillion (not counting fuel). Although, perhaps, deer are cheaper than airplanes.

The expenses of the Russian Santa Claus are more modest. Center for Confectionery Market Research that the average cost of a sweet gift for the New Year in Russia is 524 rubles. There are approximately 25 million children in Russia, so a little more than 13 billion rubles will go to gifts for all of them. This amount is comparable to how much Moscow has spent on replacing curbs or on equipping Zaryadye Park.

Where does Santa get the money from?

There is no exact data on how Santa Claus earns, but it would be strange if Santa did not try to get a commission from everyone who uses his image for their own purposes. According to , fake Santas who work in shopping malls during the Christmas week, receive from 35 to 50 dollars per hour, and Santa's salary at the elite parties of Russian oligarchs can reach up to 1000 dollars per evening. The real Santa is too busy to be involved in this, so he's probably selling the franchise, getting paid by anyone who wants to be like him.

At the same time, it is interesting that Santa has no competitors: the market for delivering New Year's gifts to children is quite clearly divided between several magical grandfathers in different countries, and they rarely try to grab other people's shares. Perhaps there is a conspiracy between them, which could be of interest to the antimonopoly service of the North Pole.

It is possible that Santa is secretly selling some of the gifts made by the magical elves to pay for his expenses. Of course, in order not to be revealed, he can only do this through online stores. Who knows - maybe Santa is behind Amazon.com? The success of the Amazon is difficult to explain by anything other than the use of the labor of magical elves (more on that below). It is also possible that Santa Claus is behind Yandex.Market.

In addition, Santa Claus is the celebrity with the most expensive personal brand in the world. Brand Finance Agency Santa's $1.6 trillion brand, 18 times the price of Apple's brand.

Can he be called a public worker?

It doesn't look like Santa Claus reports to anyone, so he is most likely an entrepreneur, and a very successful one at that: billions of people around the world have been loyal to his brand for a very long time. On the other hand, given his line of work, Santa can be called a social entrepreneur - at least corporate social responsibility is definitely present in his factory.

By the way, what about the elves? Do they get paid?

Exists theories about the conditions under which Santa's magical elves work. Given the number of gifts, these conditions can be monstrous: long shifts, short breaks, a strict boss. Do not forget that it is very cold at the North Pole, and the night lasts half a year, and there is also no state and courts that the elves could apply to in case of violation of their rights by Santa. It is not known if Santa pays a salary at all, but he certainly provides the elves with a place to sleep and food. It is also unknown if the elves can quit and leave the magical factory (or at least go on vacation), or if they are in the position of slaves there. The last option seems unlikely: it's hard to imagine that Santa, who spends his life making children around the world happy, could enslave these funny creatures. Most likely, the elves do not leave the North Pole just because they like their work.