Santa Claus

As early as 1773, my name appeared in the American press as 'St. A Claus", but it was thanks to author Washington Irving that information about me really got into the public domain. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described my arrival on horseback each Eve of St. Nicholas. I became a fully-fledged American when in 1823, another writer, Clement Clarke Moore composed a poem called 'The Night Before Christmas.' He included details of the names of my reindeer.

Here's an extract:

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly,

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Sood gave me to know I had nothing to dread

In 1931 I starred in a series of illustrations and advertisements for the Coca-Cola company which were master-minded by Haddon Sundblom.

After the Reformation, my European popularity as St. Nicholas dwindled except in Holland where the spelling of my name Sint Nikolaas became Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace and I would reward them by tucking treats in for them to find. This position lasted until the 17th century when the Dutch colonists took me to America where my name became Claus.

I was born in 280 AD in Patara, Turkey where I became known as St Nicholas. My original training was in the church as a Christian priest (I later became a Bishop). My nickname was 'the giver of Myra'.  I gave gifts at nightime so that my identity would remain a secret. Back then I would travel the country visiting and helping people who were much less well off.