Everyone knows Santa as the holly, jolly fat man in a red suit that has delivered our presents for centuries, but there is a lot more behind the legend of St. Nick than most would think.

    The “legend” of St. Nick was actually dated back in the early 1800s. There was a poem, published in New York, about “Old Santeclaus,” which described a jolly plump man who rode on a sleigh dragged along by reindeer. “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” which is better known now as “The Night Before Christmas,” was published anonymously in Troy, New York, and has contributed the most to the Saint’s appearance and figure. Later on the author who had supposedly attributed to the story, Clement Clarke Moore, was recognized in 1823. The story comes from New York and pictures a jolly, plump man who rode on a sleigh flown by flying reindeer and came down chimneys to give children presents. According to History.com, however, the original names of the reindeer were, in fact, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem. Dunder and Blixem came from the old Dutch words “thunder” and “lightning,” which were later changed to the more German sounding words, Donner and Blitzen

The rest is history, and as far as Santa Claus goes. Who knows? Maybe Chris Kringle could come down your chimney in a green suit. More contributions to the appearance and story of Santa Claus are sure to accumulate over the years.

Information found from:

History.com