Santa Claus was an evolutionary creation, brought about by the fusion of two religious personages (St. Nicholas and Christkindlein, the Christ child) to become a fixed image which is now the paramount symbol of the secular Christmas celebration.
Sankt Nikolaus, who died on December 6th, 343.
Brief History:
Nicholas' parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. He went to live with his uncle who was a priest.
Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money.
This family was so poor they had nothing left to eat.
The night before the oldest daughter was to sold, she washed her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then all of them went to sleep—
In the morning the daughter saw a lump in her stocking. Reaching in, she found a small, heavy bag. It had gold inside! Enough to provide food for the family and money for her dowry. Oh, how happy they were!
The next morning, another bag with gold was found. Imagine!
Not knowing who was helping them the father stays awake in hopes of catching the person responsible. The father falls a sleep and wakes up in time to catch glimps of Nicholas in the home and exclaims: "Nicholas, it is you! Thank you for helping us—I hardly know what to say!" Nicholas said, "Please, do not thank me—thank God that your prayers have been answered. Do not tell others about me."
Nicholas continued helping people. He always tried to help secretly. He didn't want any attention or thanks. When there wasn't any food, he found wheat; so no one went hungry. He always helped people in trouble. .
The people loved Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of the good and kind things Nicholas had done. Sailors took these stories about Nicholas everywhere they went.
Some of the stories were about his special care for children—helping and protecting them when danger threatened. And so more and more people learned about good, kind Nicholas. They wanted to be like him. He is an example of how we should live. That is why he became a saint.
This is the story of the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. To this day people say that St. Nicholas, or Santa, is the special friend of children.
You should explain to your child that St. Nicholas was a kind and compassionate man who lived many, many years ago. From the stories passed down generation-to-generation, he became Urban Legend, much like Paul Bunion and his big Blue Ox Babe, Johnny Appleseed and many other folk legends.
In the early 1800's, we created a jolly ole fellow with a big red suit and black boots for illustration in a literary classic "The Night Before Christmas" and the legend grew from their. You may not approve of the commercialization of the legend of St. Nick, but you are lying to your child by saying that he was hit by 747.