[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: For many good little boys and girls in the United States, there is no figure more revered than Santa Claus. And if you're a believer, the question of where Santa came from may not seem that important, so as long as he keeps coughing up the presents. But if you're among those who question how reindeer can fly, how a single bag can carry millions of toys, or how Santa hasn't been investigated for violating elf labor laws, you may want to know, where did people get this crazy idea? Who is this Kris Kringle we hear so much about?
Was Santa Claus a real person? The answer, appropriately enough, is maybe. Christian tradition claims that old Saint Nick was, indeed, a real man. But you may have to take it on faith. Santa Claus first came to America as Sinterklaus, a traditional Dutch gift-giving figure. Sinterklaus is based on St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop who is believed to have lived in modern day Turkey during the fourth century. St. Nicholas wasn't exactly the jolly old elf we hear about today, though he was a patron to children.
One of his most notable miracles was resurrecting three children who had been dismembered and pickled by a butcher. Another time he is said to have saved three young women from a life of prostitution by secretly providing them with marriage dowries. He dropped the gold down the chimney into their stockings, of course. Unfortunately, there is also a serious question as to whether St. Nicholas himself ever existed. No contemporary sources mention him. And his biography wasn't written down until centuries after his supposed death.
And don't get your hopes up about finding a birth certificate for Kris Kringle. Kris Kringle is an Americanization of Christkind, or Christkindl, a gift-giving child figure popular in German speaking areas, variously described as a manifestation of Jesus Christ as an infant, or a child like angel. But there is some cause for hope. Some scholars think the stories of Saint Nicholas shouldn't be dismissed too quickly.
It's true that he left no writings and he had no disciples. But medieval Christians presumably had some reasons for building churches in his name. And remains alleged to be his are now resting in Italy. So maybe St. Nicholas did live once, after all. All we can say is that scholars and skeptics of all ages are left with the same question, do you believe in Santa Claus?
