Origin of Santa Claus: From Saint Nicholas in 7 Key Dates

Santa Claus grew out of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of Myra, in what is now Turkey, who became famous for giving gifts in secret, at night. But nobody invented Santa all at once: the sleigh, the reindeer, the chimney and the North Pole came later, from an American poem and an American cartoonist in the 1800s.

And the red suit? Almost everyone has heard that a soft-drink brand came up with it, and the real story is different. Below is Santa’s timeline in 7 dates, short enough to tell the kids on Christmas Eve, followed by what is actually known about the saint and what is legend.

Santa’s timeline in 7 dates

Who Was Saint Nicholas? The Bishop of Myra, Remembered on December 6

There are very few reliable historical facts about Saint Nicholas. Christian tradition holds that he was the bishop of Myra, in the region of Lycia, on the southern coast of present-day Turkey, and that he lived between the late 3rd century and the first half of the 4th century. His exact dates of birth and death aren’t known for certain.

What we do know is that devotion to him grew early, first in the East and then across all of Europe. He became the patron saint of children, sailors and many other groups, and his feast day is celebrated on December 6, the date tradition links to his death.

One well-documented event happened centuries later: in 1087, sailors from the Italian city of Bari took the relics attributed to the saint from Myra. Ever since, the basilica dedicated to him in Bari has been one of the main centers of devotion to Saint Nicholas in Europe.

The Three Dowries: the Legend That Tied Saint Nicholas to Gifts

His reputation for generosity comes mainly from stories told about him. They have no historical proof, but they’ve been passed down for generations. The best known is the story of the three dowries.

According to the legend, a poor man had no money for his three daughters’ dowries, which would have left them unable to marry and in danger. Nicholas is said to have tossed a bag of gold coins through the family’s window, at night and in secret, for each of the daughters. In later versions of the story, the gold lands in stockings or shoes drying by the fire.

Several things that are still part of Christmas today come from this story:

• the gift given in secret, without anyone seeing who delivered it;
• the nighttime visit, while the household sleeps;
• stockings and shoes left out in hopes of a surprise, a custom found in many countries;
• the link to charity, since the saint helps people who have no way to repay him.

Because of these stories, several parts of Europe took up the custom of giving children gifts on the night of December 5 into December 6, in the saint’s honor.

Who Invented the American Santa: From Sinterklaas to Santa Claus

With the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, devotion to saints lost ground in parts of Europe. In Protestant German-speaking regions, the job of bringing gifts passed to the Christ Child, the Christkind, and gift-giving gradually moved to Christmas.

In the Netherlands, however, the feast of Saint Nicholas held on. There he became Sinterklaas, a popular form of the saint’s name, and he still brings gifts to children on the eve of December 6, dressed as a bishop with a miter and a staff.

For a long time it was repeated that Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas to New Amsterdam, the city that later became New York. Historians point out, however, that there’s little record of this custom in the colonial period, and that the American character really took shape in the early 19th century at the hands of New York writers. The name Santa Claus, on the other hand, does come from the Dutch Sinterklaas.

In 1809, the writer Washington Irving published a satirical history of New York in which Saint Nicholas appears several times, with a good deal of humor, as the city’s protector and a bringer of gifts for children. It was the start of a transformation: the stern bishop was turning into a friendly, familiar character.

How Santa Got His Sleigh, Reindeer and Red Suit

Three moments, all in the United States, helped shape the modern Santa Claus.

The 1823 poem

In 1823, a newspaper in New York State published, without a byline, the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas. It’s usually credited to Clement Clarke Moore, although some researchers argue it was written by another poet, Henry Livingston Jr. The poem set details that became the rule: the visit on Christmas Eve, the sleigh pulled by eight named reindeer, the trip down the chimney and the figure of a cheerful, chubby old man.

Each of those reindeer has a name and a story of its own, which we cover in our article on the names of Santa’s reindeer.

Thomas Nast’s drawings

Starting in 1863, cartoonist Thomas Nast began drawing the character for Harper’s Weekly, and he kept doing it for many years. His illustrations include the home at the North Pole, the toy workshop and the book where children’s behavior is recorded. It was Nast who cemented the look of a round-bellied, good-natured grandfather.

The red suit wasn’t invented by a soda brand

You’ll often hear that a soft-drink brand invented the red-suited Santa. That isn’t true: illustrations of Santa in red were already circulating earlier, in magazines and on cards. What the ads illustrated by Haddon Sundblom from 1931 onward did was spread a warm and highly consistent version of the character around the world for decades, which helped standardize the image we have today.

Santa’s Many Names Around the World

The English name Santa Claus comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas. In France he’s Père Noël, which means “Father Christmas,” and the Portuguese name in the table below means the same thing. Many countries follow that “Father Christmas” pattern, while others kept the saint, the Christ Child or the Three Kings.

Around the world, the character changes names and sometimes shares the stage with other figures:

Looking at the table, one thing stands out: in many places the gift-bringer isn’t tied to December 25 at all. The dates follow the older religious calendar, from the feast of Saint Nicholas in early December to Epiphany in January, which is a nice reminder of how much the modern Santa still owes to the saint and to the traditions around him.

A Winter Santa in a Warm-Weather Christmas

Santa’s look was born in the Northern Hemisphere, where Christmas falls in winter. That’s where the sleigh, the snow, the velvet coat and the heavy boots come from, even in places where December 25 is usually a hot day.

Families in warm climates have adapted the character in their own way. A few ideas that fit warmer weather and stay true to the saint’s origins:

• tell the kids the story of Saint Nicholas, who helped people in need without expecting anything in return;
• turn the letter to Santa into a moment of gratitude, not just a wish list;
• choose a family donation, in memory of the legend of the three dowries;
• if someone is dressing up as Santa, choose lightweight fabrics, keep water nearby and hand out the gifts quickly, before the heat sets in.

In Australia and New Zealand, December 25 falls at the start of summer, so the snowy Santa of the old illustrations arrives in the middle of the beach season. There’s nothing wrong with that mismatch. The saint behind him lived on the warm Mediterranean coast, a long way from any North Pole, so a Santa who sweats a little is, in a way, closer to the original.

For more ideas with the kids, see these Christmas activities to do as a family and our guide to writing a letter to Santa.

However you tell the story at home, may this Christmas keep the best part of Saint Nicholas: a gift given quietly, just for the joy of someone else’s surprise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Saint Nicholas?

He was a Christian bishop of Myra, in ancient Lycia, in present-day Turkey, who lived around the 4th century. Little is known about his life for certain, but the legends about his generosity inspired Santa Claus.

Did Coca-Cola invent the red-suited Santa?

No. Santa in red was already appearing in illustrations before the 1930s. The ads illustrated by Haddon Sundblom from 1931 onward helped spread and standardize that image, but they didn’t create it.

Why does Santa ride a sleigh pulled by reindeer?

Those details were made popular by the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, published in 1823 in the United States, which describes a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer on Christmas Eve.

Where does the name Santa Claus come from?

Santa Claus comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, a popular form of Saint Nicholas’s name. In France he is called Père Noël, which means Father Christmas.