The Top Ten Facts About Santa Claus

Whether you believe or not, whether you celebrate him or not, there is no denying that Santa Claus is a mainstay of the Christmas Holiday. Unfortunately to some, it has become apparent that Santa's visage has eclipsed Jesus Christ's as the face of the real reason for the Holiday. However you look at him, Santa is, and always will be, a man whom children pine for on Christmas Eve. Here are 10 facts about the man and the legend. 10. Santa's Workforce In some images of the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the idea emerged that he had numerous elves responsible for making the toys, but the toys were still handmade by each individual elf working in the traditional manner. This visage was reinforced even more with the numerous depictions of Santa's workshop in animated and live-action Christmas Specials. In one instance, in the classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, many elves work in harmony building the many items children wish for in their letters to Santa. 9. Santa: Shop-Front Philanthropist The image of Santa Claus as a benevolent character became reinforced with its association with charity and philanthropy, particularly organizations such as the Salvation Army. Volunteers dressed as Santa Claus typically became part of fund-raising drives to aid needy families at Christmas time. Typically modern times has placed him directly in front of store fronts, generally with a bell in hand ringing away just shy of asking, verbally, for assistance. 8. Norwegian Roots In other countries, the figure of Saint Nicholas was also blended with local folklore. As an example of the still surviving pagan imagery, in Nordic Countries the original bringer of gifts at Christmas time was the Yule Goat, a somewhat startling figure with horns. In the 1840s however, an elf in Nordic folklore called "Tomte" or "Nisse" started to deliver the Christmas presents in Denmark. The Tomte was portrayed as a short, bearded man dressed in gray clothes and a red hat. This new version of the age-old folkloric creature was obviously inspired by the Santa Claus traditions that were now spreading to Scandinavia. By the end of the 19th century this tradition had also spread to Norway and Sweden, replacing the Yule Goat. The same thing happened in Finland, but there the more human figure retained the Yule Goat name. But even though the tradition of the Yule Goat as a bringer of presents is now all but extinct, a straw goat is still a common Christmas decoration in all of Scandinavia. 7. The Americanized Santa In the British colonies of North America -and later the U.S.- British and Dutch versions of the gift-giver merged further. For example, in Washington Irving's History of New York, (1809), Sinterklaas was Americanized into "Santa Claus" and was at first pictured as a thick-bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe in a green winter coat. Irving's book was a lampoon of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention.Modern ideas of Santa Claus seemingly became canon after the publication of the poem,Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit From Santa Claus (better known today as "The Night Before Christmas") in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1883. In this poem Santa is established as a heavyset individual with eight reindeer (who are, incidentally, named for the first time -except for Rudolph, he would come along much later). 6. Santa's Suit Santa Claus has a suit that comes in many colors depending on the country. The most common depiction (red with white cuffs, collar, and black leather belt and buckled-boots) became the more popular image in the United States in the 19th century due to the significant influence of Thomas Nast. In the mid-20th Century a series of Coca-Cola advertisements featuring a Santa Claus drawn rotund and jovial by artist Haddon Sundblom popularized Nast's depiction. However, though certainly a part of historic outfit, this has been widely debated. 5. Modern Origins Modern representations of the gift-giver from church history and folklore merged with the British character Father Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The name Santa Claus is derived from Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for the character based on St. Nicholas. He is also known there by the name of Sint Nicolaas which explains the use of the two fairly dissimilar names Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas or St. Nick. 4. Santa: False Idol? There are controversial aspects of the Santa Claus fiction. Some Christians feel he takes the focus of Christmas away from Jesus Christ; others feel it is unhealthy for parents to orchestrate over-elaborate and blatantly false lies to their children to enforce their belief in Santa Claus. Others still oppose Santa Claus as a symbol of the commercialization and conspicuous consumption of the Christmas holiday, and as an intrusion upon their own national traditions. 3. Oz Author Has a Hand in the Mythos Later popularization was L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, a 1902 children's book. Much of the Santa Claus mythos was not set in stone at the time, leaving Baum to give his "Neclaus" (Necile's Little One) a wide variety of immortal support, a home in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, and ten reindeer which could not fly, but leaped in enormous, flight-like bounds. Claus's immortality was earned, much like his title ("Santa"), decided by a vote of those naturally immortal. Also established Claus's motives: a happy childhood among immortals. When Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, shows him the misery and poverty of children in the outside world, he strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children, and eventually invents toys as a principal means. 2. The Distribution (An Excerpt from a 2004 Article) "Santa’s main distribution center is a sight to behold. At 4 million square feet, it’s one of the world’s largest facilities. A real-time warehouse management system is of course required to run such a complex. The facility makes extensive use of task interleaving, literally combining dozens of DC activities (putaway, replenishing, order picking, sleigh loading, cycle counting) in a dynamic queue...the DC elves have been on engineered standards and incentives for three years, leading to a 12% gain in productivity... The WMS and transportation system are fully integrated, allowing (the elves) to make optimal decisions that balance transportation and order picking and other DC costs. Unbeknownst to many, Santa actually has to use many sleighs and fake Santa drivers to get the job done Christmas Eve, and the TMS optimally builds thousands of consolidated sacks that maximize cube utilization and minimize total air miles." 1. Santa Claus: To Believe or Not to Believe The editors of Netscape framed one of the common complaints about the Santa Claus myth: "Parents who encourage a belief in Santa are foisting a grand deception on their children, who inevitably will be disappointed and disillusioned." In an AP-AOL News poll, 86% of American adults believed in Santa as children, with the age of 8 being the average for learning that he is not real, although 15% still believed after the age of 10. So who really cares and is it honestly hurting anyone to believe and encourage such beliefs in children? That may only matter if you have kids of your own... that will help you answer the question.