THE LEGEND OF SANTA CLAUS

Santa Claus is a character inspired Santa Claus is a character inspired by a Christian

bishop named Nicolás de Bari, who lived in the 4th century in Anatolia, in what is now
Turkey. He was one of the most loved people by the Christians of the Middle Ages.

De Nicolás de Bari, a bishop of the 4th century born in Patara -actually Turkish territory-
, was born the story of Santa Claus. Although in its image it does have some red hue, it is
not the color that stands out. In fact, in many representations it is dressed in green. It is
slender and carries stars and crosses in its attire, elements that the current Santa Claus
does not have.

He is credited with a miracle that gave him fame and with which the story of Santa Claus began.
According to historians, a ruined father was forced to prostitute his three daughters. Nicolás de
Bari slipped some coins through the chimney of the family home to alleviate their situation of
poverty and that the girls stopped selling their bodies. The coins fell into the woolen stockings
that the three sisters had hung to dry in the fireplace. From that anecdote came the idea that this
legendary character would slide down the chimney and leave his gifts in the hanging socks.

THE FIRST SANTA CLAUS: A THIN AND DWARF ELF

When 1624 Dutch immigrants founded New Amsterdam - now New York - they also
imported their customs, including the Feast of St. Nicholas. Different is the representation
that two decades later, in 1823, the poet Clement Clarke Moore made the Santa of Irving.
In this case, he defined the Christmas character as a dwarf and thin elf. As now, the goblin
gave toys to children on Christmas Eve and drove a sleigh pulled by reindeer, making the
first appearance of the beloved Rudolph (Rodolfo).

THE SECOND SANTA: GREEN, WITH BLACK POLKA

DOTS

L. Frank Baum consecrates the figure of Santa Claus as an old man

who distributes gifts at Christmas, with his lush white beard and
big belly, although illustrated with a green dress with a white
border with black dots. This image dates from the year 1902.
THE 'SIGNING' OF COCA-COLA

In 1931, Coca-Cola commissioned Haddon

Sundblom to redesign Santa Claus with the colors
of the company. And, according to the legend, it
has stayed that way. Red and completely pagan,
far from the green color and the crosses that
characterized him. The power of a multinational
that changed the symbol of Christmas for
thousands of children around the world.

To this day, the story tells that Santa Claus lives in the North Pole accompanied by Mrs.
Noel and a group of elves who are in charge of making the toys that children want from
all over the world. When the night of December 24th arrives, Santa Claus loads all his
gifts in a sack and travels around the world leaving the children's gifts under the Christmas
tree.

To be able to transport the gifts, Santa Claus would keep them in a magic bag and
distribute them at 00:00 on the 25th of December, in a magical flying sled, thrown by
Christmas reindeer, led by Rodolfo; A reindeer that lights the way with his red and shiny
nose.

Santa Claus, the old Pascuero or St. Nicholas is the character that illuminates the boys at
Christmas. It is important to keep the legend of Santa Claus alive in the minds of the
smallest as long as possible, so that the fantasy does not die.