Let me tell you how it happened for me.
When I was in my second year of junior high, I decided that I was getting too old to write letters to Santa and ask for things. So, I told my mother, well, actually I wrote a letter to Santa telling him I was getting too old for him and then my mother came over and told me that Santa isn't real.
In my third year of junior high, my tutor, about 8, 9 years older than me, that came to my house told me she believed in Santa Claus. She said, "Definitely. He's definitely out there somewhere and I will not stop believing."
So the reasoning I came to of who on earth the jolly old man was, is that he does come around at night on his sleigh visiting households with children. He doesn't leave presents. That's what the parents do. But what he does do is make sure every child is happy and safe and sound and is sleeping tight. The reason I say this is because "Santa" apparently means "Saint". It would make sense for a Saint Claus who loves children and who is kind of a guardian angel for them to visit them on that one special night.
I think if we think of him as a saint, in Christian beliefs and other religions, it would make sense his visits might coincide with Jesus Christ's birthday. I heard there is even specualtion on there being a fourth king that followed the star of Bethlehem but stopped to help a homeless person or something like that... And then I don't know if he died or what but somehow he was dubbed a Saint by the angels of god... He could be the Saint Claus... He could. I mean it does fit.
Okay, first we'll tackle the question, WHO IS SANTA CLAUS?
In 1996, there was an animated film called, "The Story of Santa Claus". Basically its all about how Santa Claus came to be and how he came to travel all around the world in one night to deliever presents to every single child, and about the whereabouts of the Northpole and how the whole elf thing got started and stuff.
"Nicholas Claus, nicknamed 'Santa' by his wife Gretchen, is a toymaker who wishes he could give a toy to every child in the world. It's explained that Nicholas grew up in the Angel's Island Orphanage, where he taught himself to make toys for the other children. However, Nicholas is now in debt because he gives away more toys than he sells. The Clauses are subsequently evicted by their greedy landlord, Mr. Minch.Now penniless, Nicholas and Gretchen decide to take their remaining toys to the children at the Angel's Island Orphanage. However, their ship is caught up in a storm and they are miraculously transported to the North Pole. There they meet the elves, including wizardly elf Nostros, his son Clement, and the know-it-all elf girl Aurora. When Nicholas saves Clement's life, Nostros is forced to grant him a wish. Nicholas wishes that he could deliver toys to all the children in the world on Christmas. Nostros declares that this is impossible and trying to fulfill it will doom the elves by destroying their magic. However, the wish can't be taken back because it is now 'etched among the stars'."
~Wikipedia "The Story of Santa Claus"~
Sorry for the wiki reference but I can't remember every single detail in order. Okay, so, I know this story doesn't look like it'll help us understand all the wacko-gacko-blah about Santa's origins but I think its most plausible for him to already have been Nicholas Claus, nicknamed "Santa", which is a cute take on the word "Saint". Gretchen says something like, "You truly are a Saint." And then she calls him "Santa". So it can be inferred that "Santa" means "Saint".
Okay so I'll come back to the elves and toys and the northpole later. Let's talk about "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town". This is a stop motion film aired in the 1970s. Sheesh, I had no idea it was so old. Probably most of you have seen it.
"Mailman Special Delivery 'S.D.' Kluger (voiced by Fred Astaire) is introduced after a newsreel prologue, telling the viewer how children around the world are preparing for the arrival of Santa Claus. His snowmobile/mail truck breaks down, so he begins to tell the story of Santa Claus, answering all of the children's letters they wrote to Santa.
The story begins in the gloomy hamlet of Sombertown, which is ruled by the ill-tempered Burgermeister Meisterburger (voiced by Paul Frees). A baby arrives on his doorstep, with a name tag reading 'Claus' and note requesting that the Burgermeister raise the child as his own, despite the Burgermeister's objections. He then orders his right-hand man and lawkeeper Grimsley (also voiced by Paul Frees) to take the baby to the 'Orphan Asylum.' On the way there, a gust of wind blows both sled and baby far away, to the mountain of the Whispering Winds. There, the animals hide him from the Winter Warlock (voiced by Keenan Wynn), a powerful wizard who dislikes anyone trespassing his land. The animals then bring the baby to the other side of the mountain to an elf family by the name of Kringle. Led by Tanta Kringle (voiced by Joan Garner), the elf queen, they adopt the baby and name him 'Kris.' A few years later, Kris hopes that he can one day restore the Kringle family as 'The First Toymakers to the King.' However, the fact that the Kringles can't pass the mountains without encountering the Winter Warlock has kept them from doing so." ~Wikipedia "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"~
Sorry for the second long wiki reference but did you expect me to type every single-mingle detail? haha, anyway, the second plausible Santa Claus theory, though a little pushed, is that Claus was an orphaned baby left alone on a doorstep of a ruler's door. But the ruler doesn't want anything to do with babies. In fact he hates children. So the baby is sent to an orphanage.
Up to here its kinda plausible and it can even be linked to the first film I talked about. We can say that little Claus made it to the orphanage, was passed down from orphanage to orphanage and ended up on the island orphanage in "The Story of Santa Claus". There he came to be known as Nicholas Claus.
Smart move to connect, don't you think? ;)
I decided to connect them because, you know, its so crazy that the baby got blown away and some wild animals brought him to an elf queen's house. I had no idea Tanta Kringle was an elf queen! I thought they were all kinda like the seven dwarfs or something.
*whispers* Wild animals could care less about a human baby. They need to survive, too! In real life, the baby would have died. Sorry, but that's the reality if we want to say Santa Claus is a real person.
Speaking of person, is Santa a person? I've heard theories of him being an elf. Well, if you take into account that he has been around for a REALLY long time without dying despite the old age he's in, he couldn't be human.
In a Japanese children's picture book about Santa, they didn't show there was just one Santa, but many Santas working at the same workshop. They all dressed the same and looked the same and all made toys and all delievered them. This would kinda make the "delivering toys to all children all around the world" thing more plausible.
I wonder if Santa had any kids? I wonder if he really did have a wife at all? Who knows, Mrs. Claus may well be his sister or something. Though I agree, a wife is more romantic sounding than a sibling.
Next post will be on the North Pole Theory. Hope you enjoyed the Santa Claus theory! I might write a third post on Santa Claus just to talk about the different interpretations and stuff. Did you know, Santa used to deliver coal at bad children's houses and presents at good children's houses and he didn't climb through the chimney? He knocked on the door! I heard some Santas used to / or still do hit naughty children with a whip! Evil Santa Much? (Totally Spies title phrasing copy).
links to websites I used and sorta used
Wikipedia; The Story of Santa Claus
Wikipedia; Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
Santa Claus Wikia
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