Rabbit Trail: Who is Santa Claus?

The Grinch dresses up to steal all the children's presents. Do you know who he pretends to be?

In different parts of the world, he's known as Pere Noel, Joulupukki, Sinterklaas, Babbo Natale, Christkindl, Kanakaloka, Papai Noel, St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, and Father Christmas. Here in the U.S., we call him Santa Claus.

He owns a toy factory, has a white beard, lives at the North Pole and drives a sleigh with flying reindeer. Every year he travels all over the world to bring gifts to good boys and girls on December 24th. But, you have to be good and go to bed, because he only brings them when everyone is asleep.

He puts the Christmas gifts under the tree for the boys and girls to find on Christmas morning. So remember "You have to believe, to receive."

Though no one truly knows what Santa looks like, many artists have drawn pictures of him over the years. Let's look at some of these pictures.

Here comes Santa Claus: a visual history of Saint Nick - in pictures

See how the great man has morphed from Nikolaos the wonder-worker in the fourth century to the jolly man in red we know and love today. Get ready for frescoes, stick-em-ups, Norman Rockwell, and his first outing as the Radio Times cover star

In 1822, a man named Clement C. Moore wrote a poem called, "The Night Before Christmas". It's a poem about Santa Claus that he wrote for his children and has become famous. You can print it out read it below.

null

null

What do you think Santa Claus looks like?

Complete and Continue  
Discussion

11 comments