theoriginalsantaclaus,st.nicholas,wasbornintheancientsoutheasternturkishtownoflyciaearlyinthefourthcentury.hisgenerositywaslegend,andhewasparticularlyfondofchildren.weknowthisprimarilythroughromanaccountsofhispatronageofyouth,whicheventuallyledtohisbecomingthepatronsaintofchildren.throughoutthemiddleages,andwellbeyond,hewasreferredtobymanynamesnoneofthemsantaclaus.

　　childrentodaywouldnotatallrecognizethest.nickwhobroughtgiftstoeuropeanchildrenhundredsofyearsagoexceptperhapsforhiscascadingwhitebeard.hemadehisroundsinfullred-and-whitebishop‘srobes,completewithtwinpeakedmiterandcrookedcrozier.hewaspulledbynofleetfootedreindeer,butcoaxedinindolentdonkey.andhearrivednotlateonchristmaseve,butonhischristianfeastday,december6.thegiftsheleftbesidethehearthwereusuallysmall:fruit,nuts,hardcandies,woodandclayfigurines.

　　duringtheprotestantreformationofthesixteenthcentury,st.nicholaswasbanishedfrommosteuropeancountries.replacinghimweremoresecularfigures,whoingeneralwerenotatcenterstageatthatpointinhistory..thedutchkeptthest.nicholastraditionalive.asthe'protectorofsailors,'st.nicholasgracedtheprowofthefirstdutchshipthatarrivedinamerica.andthefirstchurchbuiltinnewyorkcitywasnamedafterhim.thedutchbroughtwiththemtothenewworldtwochristmasitemsthatwerequicklyamericanized.

　　insixteenthcenturyholland,childrenplacedwoodenshoesbythehearththenightofst.nicholas‘sarrival.theshoeswerefilledwithstraw,amealforthesaint‘sgiftladendonkey.inreturn,nicholaswouldinsertasmalltreatintoeachclog.inamerica,theshoewasreplacedwiththestocking,hungbythechimney.

　　thedutchspelledst.nicholas'saintnikolass,'whichinthenewworldbecame'sinterklass'.laterchangedto'santaclaus'.

　　muchofmoderndaysantaclauslore,includingthereindeerdrawnsleigh,originatedinamerica.dr.clementclarkemoorecomposed'thenightbeforechristmas'in1822,toreadtohischildrenonchristmaseve.thepoemmighthaveremainedprivatelyinthemoorefamilyifafriendhadnotmailedacopyofit(withooutauthorialattribution)toanewspaperandbecamepartofthesantalegend.

　　itwasinamericathatsantaputonweight.therosy-cheeked,roly-polysantaiscreditedtotheinfluentialnineteenth-centurycartoonistthomasnast.from1863until1886,nastcreatedaseriesofchristmasdrawingsforharper‘sweekly.thesedrawings,executedovertwentyyears,exhibitagradualevolutioninsantafromthepudgy,diminutive,elf-likecreatureofdr.moore‘simmortalpoemtothebearded,potbellied,life-sizebellringerfamiliaronstreetcornersacrossamericatoday.nast‘scartoonsalsoshowedtheworldhowsantaspenthisentireyearconstructingtoys,checkingonchildren‘sbehavior,readingtheirrequestsforspecialgifts.hisimageswereincorporatedintothesantalore.

　　santaisknownthroughouttheworldinmanydifferentnames,suchas:

　　saintnikolaas(sinterklaas),fromthedutchfatherchristmas,fromtheenglishkriskringle,fromthegermansbefana,fromtheitaliansbobouschka,fromtherussians(agrandmotherlyfigureinsteadofamale)

　　圣诞老人的传说在数千年前的斯堪的纳维亚半岛即出现。北欧神话中司智慧，艺术，诗词，战争的奥丁神，寒冬时节，骑上他那八脚马坐骑驰骋于天涯海角，惩恶扬善，分发礼物。与此同时，其子雷神着红衣以闪电为武器与冰雪诸神昏天黑地恶战一场，最终战胜寒冷。据异教传说，圣诞老人为奥丁神后裔。也有传说称圣诞老人由圣·尼古拉而来，所以圣诞老人也称st.nicholas.因这些故事大多弘扬基督精神，其出处，故事情节大多被淡忘，然而圣诞老人却永驻人们精神世界。

　　每年圣诞日，圣诞老人骑在白羊星座上，圣童手持圣诞树降临人间，随着世事变迁，作家和艺术家开始把圣诞老人描述成我们今日熟悉的着红装，留白胡子的形象。同时不同的国度和文化对圣诞老人也有了不同的解释。在德国，传说他扮成圣童把坚果和苹果放在孩子们鞋里。他乘双轮马车四处漫游，观察人们的行为，尤其是小孩，如果表现好，将会得到苹果、坚果、糖等诸多奖品。坏孩子则得一鞭子。家长们灵机一动纷纷采用此传说来鼓励孩子们听话。大大超过了新年，成为一个全民的节日。圣诞老人已经成为圣诞节最受喜爱的象征和传统。他赶着驯鹿，拉着装满玩具和礼物的雪橇挨家挨户给每个孩子送礼物的快乐老精灵的形象已深深地留在人们的记忆中。

　　11世纪末来自意大利的宗教士兵将nicholas圣人的遗物带回意大利，并在港口城市bari建造了一座教堂来纪念他。很快世界各地的基督教徒纷至沓来朝圣这位圣人。这些朝圣者将圣人nicholas的故事带回他们的本土，所以有关圣诞老人的传说在各个国家都各具特色。

　　12世纪欧洲出现了圣人nicholas纪念日，以互赠礼物和慈善活动为主。德国、法国、荷兰则将12月6日作为宗教纪念日，给孩子和穷人们赠送礼物。

　　荷兰殖民者来到美洲时，将他们的sintirklass主教也带了去，sintirklass身着红袈裟，骑着一匹白马。sintirklass的美国形象后来逐渐演变成一个快乐的老精灵。起初美国作家华盛顿.欧文在他的喜剧《纽约的历史》中将他描述成一个又圆又胖的荷兰老人。1823年，诗人clementmoore在他的诗歌《st.nicholas印象》中继续将sintirklass/saintnicholas的形象戏剧化，这就是各位在本篇开头看到的圣诞老人。

　　19世纪60年代卡通制thomasnash画了一幅胖胖的、慈祥的圣诞老人作为《harper的一周》的插图。这个圣诞老人的形象开始深深地扎根于美国人民的脑海中。随着时间的推移，圣诞老人的形象传