As the Christmas season approaches, children all around the world are mostly thinking and talking about Santa Claus, wondering if they have been good enough to earn a Christmas gift or not. The very mention of Santa Claus brings to mind a heavy-set man, with a long white beard, and a potbelly dressed in red and white with a red sack that contained Christmas presents for children, that made the deliveries on the eve of Christmas day. Some people believe that Santa is real, some believe that he is only a tale told to children to make the Christmas season happier. However, there exists a story about the famous Santa Clause that not very many people know.
Santa is the story of an almost completely unknown bishop who became the most recognized and celebrated holiday character. He was an anonymous gift giver, who gave away all of his inherent wealth and traveled the countryside assisting the poor and the sick, who came to be appreciated as the patron saint of children. Although his name was not Santa Claus, the character played by Santa Claus was deduced by the good deeds that this man did some centuries back. As much as the modern image has been refined again and again over the year the good deeds remain.
St. Nicholas was Santa’s original ancestor, after his death, began the evolution of Santa the joyful gift bringer. From a white-bearded man who had magic powers like flight to a pipe smoking Nicholas soaring over the rooftops with a magic wagon and delivered presents to good girls and boys to a plump jolly Santa riding a sleigh driven by eight familiar reindeers. The present day standardized Santa is the one dressed in red with white fur trim, starting out from the North Pole in a reindeer driven sleigh and keeping an eye on children’s behavior.
Low class families are better and dedicated in teaching their children to be well-mannered, kind and obedient, for them to receive gifts from Santa on the eve of Christmas compared to upper class families this is because, traditionally Santa’s gift giving was meant for the poor and the sick and also the children who had been on their best behavior.
A low-class family may not have the money to buy their children that toy they so desire or the new play station that their children want so badly. Therefore, they tell their children tales about Santa and how generous he is while, on the other hand, upper class families are capable of buying their children whichever gift they desire for Christmas. To them a Christmas with or without Santa will still be a happy festive season. This shows that at different social classes hold different levels of significance towards Santa.
Works Cited
Perkes, Alden. The Santa Claus Book. Secaucus, N.J: Lyle Stuart, 1985. Print.
Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996. Print.
