History Of Santa Claus And Modern Christmas Traditions – How It All Began

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Every year, families celebrating Christmas decorate their trees and hang stockings in anticipation of Santa Claus's arrival. But how is this related to the religious holiday itself?

Tracing how the celebration of Jesus's birth evolved into today's festivities is challenging. Yet, there are clues to the cultural origins of modern Christmas, according to U of T Mississauga History of Religions professor Kyle Smith. While pinpointing a single starting moment is difficult, he notes that significant changes in Christmas celebrations occurred in the second half of the 19th century.

“Dutch immigrants to the United States, specifically to New York, are really important for the history of Christmas,” Smith says.

As immigrants from the Netherlands, Germany and other parts of Europe arrived in New York, they brought with them their own Christmas traditions. Because North America and Europe are situated in the Northern Hemisphere, where December is a cold month, those traditions reflect that.

Santa Claus is an obvious feature of modern Christmas celebrations. His origins relate to the Catholic St. Nicholas of Myra. St. Nicholas’ feast day in the Catholic Church is Dec. 6, close to Christmas time. Known as a “gift giver,” he’s been venerated since late antiquity.

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