Other Names:

• Other names for Santa Claus include:  Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, and Saint Nicholas.

Santa's Inspiration:

• The main inspiration for Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas of Myra.
• Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th century Greek Christian bishop of Myra, now called Demre, in Lycia.  Lycia is a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, located in present-day Turkey.
• Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor.
• Saint Nicholas was very religious from an early age and devoted his entire life to Christianity.

Santa Claus, Odin, and the Whole Stocking Thing:

• Many parallels have been drawn between Santa Claus and Odin, chief god in Norse mythology.  Odin was a major god amongst Germanic people prior to their Christianization.
• On the native Germanic holiday of Yule, Odin was said to lead a great hunting party in the sky.  Odin had an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir that could leap great distances.  Some believe this is where the idea of Santa's reindeer was seeded.
• Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, by the chimney for Sleipner to eat.  In return, Odin would reward those children by replacing Sleipnir's food with candy and/or gifts.  This practice was still continued in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands after they adopted Christianity.  It became associated with Saint Nicholas as a result of the process of Christianization, and can still be seen in the modern practice of hanging stockings on the chimney at some homes.
• The stocking practice came to the United States through the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, prior to British seizure in the 17th century.  It evolved into the hanging of socks or stockings at the fireplace.
• Many other pre-Christian Germanic winter traditions have continued into modern Christmas celebrations such as: Christmas ham, Christmas tree, Yule goat, and Yule logs.