Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast EpisodesThe Story of St. Nicholas and Santa Claus
Season 10 Episode 6
On Day 6 of the Lifespring! WhyChristmas Advent Calendar, Steve Webb and James Cooper unwrap the story behind one of the most familiar figures of the season: Santa Claus. From a kind fourth-century bishop in Turkey to children leaving clogs out in the Netherlands, to reindeer and Rudolph, this episode follows the surprising journey of St. Nicholas as he becomes the Santa so many people know today.
St. Nicholas Day and Sinterklaas
James begins by explaining why this episode is perfect for the calendar: it is St. Nicholas Day. In many parts of Europe, especially in the Netherlands, this is the day when children receive presents from St. Nicholas. In Holland he is known as Sinterklaas, and James describes how he arrives in Amsterdam dressed in red bishop’s robes, traveling with his servant and riding a white horse instead of a sleigh with reindeer.
Children leave out their clogs or shoes on St. Nicholas’s Eve, hoping they will be filled with gifts. They may also tuck hay and carrots into the shoes for Sinterklaas’ horse. In return they hope to find sweets. James explains that, in Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas’ helper keeps a record of what children have done through the year and decides who gets presents and who might get chased with a stick. It is a mix of fun, folklore, and a little bit of healthy fear.
The Real St. Nicholas and the Stockings Legend
From there James goes back to the historical Nicholas: a fourth-century bishop in Myra, in what is now Turkey. Nicholas was known for his kindness and his habit of giving secret gifts to people in need. The most famous story tells of a poor man with three daughters who could not marry because their father could not afford a dowry. Secretly, on three different nights, Nicholas dropped bags of gold into the house. The gold landed in the daughters’ stockings that had been hung by the fire to dry, and the stocking tradition was born.
Eventually the father caught Nicholas in the act, and the bishop begged him not to tell anyone, because he did not want praise. Of course, word spread, and people began to suspect that any secret gift might have come from Nicholas. The picture that emerges is of a generous, quiet giver whose legacy kept growing long after his life on earth.
From Saint to Santa Around the World
James then explains how the stories of St. Nicholas became less popular in parts of Europe during the sixteenth century. Still, someone had to bring presents to children, so various cultures developed their own figures. In the UK there was Old Father Christmas, in France Père Noël, and in Germany the Christ Child or Christkind. In the early United States, St. Nicholas was sometimes called Chris Kringle.
Dutch settlers brought their stories of Sinterklaas with them to America, and over time Chris Kringle and Sinterklaas blended and evolved into the name and image we now know as Santa Claus. Later writers, poets, and artists in the Victorian era “rediscovered” St. Nicholas and helped to reshape him into a friendly gift-bringer in a fur-trimmed red coat and hat instead of formal bishop’s robes.
Reindeer, Rudolph, and Where Santa Lives
James notes that the 1882 poem often known as A Visit from St. Nicholas (or ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas) first named the eight famous reindeer. Their popularity grew even more when the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was written in the twentieth century. Steve adds extra detail, explaining that Rudolph was originally created in 1939 by Robert L. May as a promotional character for Montgomery Wa
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