Who is Santa Claus? (Stories about Santa Claus)

Kids are excited to receive gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas. Do they know who Santa Claus is? Do you tell stories about Santa Claus to your kids? Have your kids ever asked you who Santa Claus is? Read on to find interesting stories behind Santa Claus and Christmas gifts.Christmas celebrations are incomplete without Santa Claus. It is not that only kids wait and rejoice when Santa comes, but also adults find everything very enthusiastic and passionate. Santa Claus is well known as a fat man with white beard and dressed in red suit trimmed with white fur. All of us know that Santa Claus brings lots of gifts and enters only homes of good children. Stories tell that Santa enters into the house through chimney and drops gifts into the stockings hanged by children at night. Well, Santa actually has a long and rich history apart from the stories you hear. Mythological Story of Santa Claus As per mythology Santa Claus is real and there is a true story behind him. Santa Claus or Nicholas was born to wealthy parents around 2000 years ago. His parents died at a very early age and he wanted to become a priest. There are stories that tell that when Nicholas was on a voyage with a priest, his prayers saved lives of crew and passengers. When Nicholas became the bishop, he was fearless and worked in favour of truth and faith. Among the many cultures that Nicholas started, giving gifts to children when they are sleeping on the eve of Christmas is being followed even today. Different Names of Santa Claus St. Nicholas – St. Nicholas was born in Patara, known as Turkey today. He gave away all his money to sick and poor in the country. He became known as the protector of children and sailors. It is believed that he saved wrongly accused or persecuted people as well. Sinter Class – Sinter Class is the nickname given to St. Nicholas by Dutch. He is defined as the patron saint of the city in ‘The History of New York’. Father Christmas – Father Christmas is popular in England as the person who comes down into homes through chimney on Christmas eves. He leaves treats, small toys and presents into the stockings hanged by children during night. Christkind – In German Christlike means Christ child and he is believed to be an angel that went along with St. Nicolas on his assignments. He is believed to bring presents to good children and is famous in Switzerland and Germany. He is sprite-like with blonde hair and has angel wings. Kris Kringle – Some people believe that this name is just mispronunciation of Christkind and is simply a misunderstanding. Another story says that Kris Kringle used to ring his bell and give gifts, cakes and nuts to children. History of Hanging Stockings The story of hanging stockings can be traced back to the time of St. Nicolas. Though there are variations in different cultures, the idea and intention always remained the same. Story – There was a rich nobleman who had three daughters. His wife died and he spent all his money in grief. One day some villagers were telling this story to the bishop which Saint Nicholas overheard. He went to the house of the nobleman and dropped three bags of gold through the chimney. These bags landed into the stockings of the three girls which were hung by the fireplace to dry. The gold coins were used as dowry and the girls got married. The story spread and after that children used to hang stockings by the fire and pray for the gifts they wanted. They also left some eatables or return gifts for Nicholas.