How Old Is Santa Claus in 2024?

Modern Santa’s image is a blend of winter gift-givers from different cultures and periods, so determining his actual age isn’t easy. Furthermore, he doesn’t age like ordinary people.

Santa may be anywhere from 73 to thousands of years old, but the most popular version of his birthday is March 15, 270, making him around 1,754 years old.

Santa’s wife, in turn, is a bit younger. Mrs. Claus’s age was never mentioned explicitly – after all, women prefer to avoid this topic. According to historical sources, she’s about 229 years old.

Saint Nicholas, the Real Santa

Did you know that Santa was based on a real person? Most people in the U.S. and Europe agree that the origin of Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas. He was born on March 15, 270, in Myra.

Those unfamiliar with Saint Nicholas’s story may wonder – why did he serve as the prototype for Santa?

This seems especially odd considering that the modern Santa lives on the Nort Pole and is a cheerful, plump man. This image is very different from a 4th-century Greek bishop.

Santa’s appearance has changed a lot throughout the years, but his kindness and generosity didn’t. Saint Nicholas was born in a wealthy family, but his parents died when he was young.

He inherited a lot of money but gave them all to the poor and dedicated his life to Christianity. Once, Saint Nicholas heard that his neighbor didn’t have anything to give as a dowry for his three daughters.

At night, Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the man’s chimney. He repeated this act of kindness twice more until all man’s daughters were married.

On the third time, the man caught Saint Nicholas. Although the bishop didn’t seek gratitude and begged the man not to tell anyone, soon, the entire Myra knew about Nicholas’ good deeds.

That’s only one of the legends describing how Saint Nicholas became associated with gift-giving. Over time, the word about him has spread around Europe, and his appearance transformed into the Santa we know today.

If we accept this most popular version of Santa’s origin, he must turn 1,754 years old in March of 2024. That’s the easy answer, though, as Saint Nicholas wasn’t the only figure who inspired Santa’s image.

Does Santa Age?

If Santa is a real person born in the year 270, his age is easy to determine. But one point many people neglect is that Santa isn’t an ordinary man, even if he once was such.

His age doesn’t change; otherwise, he would look like a skeleton by now. Why doesn’t Santa age, you may wonder? The widely accepted version is that the Christmas spirit has granted Santa magic powers, including immortality.

That’s the reason Santa always looks so young for his real age. But determining someone’s age only by looks is a tricky task. So, at what age did Santa stop aging, exactly?

Let’s assume that Saint Nicholas is the real Santa Claus. The date of his death is widely disputed, but the most popular version is December 6, 343. Today, December 6, is celebrated as Saint Nicholas Day.

This means that Saint Nicholas passed away when he was 73 years old. Afterward, he was revived as Santa, perhaps, preserving the age of 73 years.

Santa’s magic may be more powerful than time. He may forever remain a 73-year-old man not even aware of the changing dates on the calendar. This would explain why Santa never loses optimism – the clock doesn’t tick for him!

Father Christmas

Most modern British kids believe in Santa, just like Americans.

However, the British have their own version of the Christmas gift-giver, Father Christmas. Although these names are often used interchangeably today, they are two completely different figures.

Interestingly, Father Christmas significantly influenced our perception of Santa Claus’s image. He was also the inspiration behind The Ghost in Charles Dicken’s infamous poem A Christmas Carol. But when was Father Christmas born?

Father Christmas is so old that his age is hard to determine. His history stems from pagan times when Celtic druids celebrated the winter solstice festival on the same dates as Christians celebrate Christmas.

Of course, Father Christmas was known under different names at that time. But historians draw numerous links between ancient descriptions of winter spirit and contemporary Father Christmas.

We don’t know for sure when Father Christmas became the spirit of winter – perhaps, at the time of the first midwinter celebrations, around 220 BCE. In this case, he may be about 2,244 years old.

However, the first documented mentions of Father Christmas in relation to Christmas only date to the High Middle Ages. If we perceive the winter spirit transformation into Father Christmas as his rebirth, he may be relatively young – about 904 years old.

Norse Pagan Origins

There is no denying that Saint Nicholas has influenced the image of Santa Claus. But some of Santa’s characteristics, including white beard and sleigh pulled by reindeer, were inspired by someone else.

Long before Christianity took over paganism, people in Scandinavia believed in Norse gods. One of the supreme gods was Odin, the son of ice giants Borr and Bestla.

The connection between Odin and Santa may not seem convincing at first, but it becomes apparent after you learn Odin’s history.

During the winter solstice, Odin roamed the night sky in a sleigh pulled by his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, had a white beard, and gave gifts to good people.

Now, the main question is – how old is Odin? Like in the case of Father Christmas, the answer isn’t at all straightforward.

Odin was one of the first gods even born, so he could be millions or billions of years old. Either way, the Scandinavian Santa prototype is way older than British or American.

Age of Other Santa Variations

People around the world believe in different Christmas spirits, some of which are not even close to a white-bearded jolly man. In Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Czech Republic, Santa competes with Christkindl.

Christkindl is portrayed as a blonde child with angelic wings and a crown, dressed in a white and gold robe.

Martin Luther introduced him during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. This brings Christkindl’s actual age to over 424 years.

However, like Santa, Christkindl doesn’t know what aging is (aren’t they lucky?). His exact age isn’t stated anywhere, but one German tradition can help us identify it.

Every year, the Nuremberg Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, is opened by a local girl dressed as Christkindl. The same custom is observed in a number of other German towns.

Girls are chosen based on multiple criteria, one of which is age. The contest participants must be less than 12 years old, which makes Christkindl the youngest Christmas gift-giver.

Russian children believe in Santa’s eastern cousin Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost. His history stems from Slavic mythology, particularly Russian folk tales.

The first recorded mentions date to the 6th century, three centuries prior to the establishment of Christianity in the region.

Based on this information, Ded Moroz is about the same age as Santa Claus – around 1,504 years old. We don’t know when he stopped aging, though.

How Old Is Santa’s Wife?

A question that goes hand in hand with “how old is Santa?” is – “how old is Mrs. Claus?”. The answer is less tricky than in the case of Santa but still uncertain.

Mrs. Claus first appeared in print in 1849, in James Rees’s story “A Christmas Legend”, slightly over 175 years ago. However, she wasn’t a newborn in the story.

Rees writes that Mrs. Claus was born in a regular family of an Irish immigrant and Scottish homemaker in Washington D.C. She met Santa when she was still young and ran with him to England.

Mrs. and Mr. Claus returned to her parents decades later, disguised as travelers. The author describes them as elderly, and Mrs. Claus’s parents have long considered her dead. In other words, some time has passed.

Although Mrs. Claus’ age isn’t mentioned in the book, we can suggest she was at least 55 years old at that time. It’s unlikely that she would marry someone twice her age. Thus, Mrs. Claus is about 229–249 years old.

Some sources online argue that Mrs. Claus is over 1,004 years old but is humble about her age.

This statement lacks evidence, but the suggestion is valid since she isn’t an ordinary person either. Like Santa, Mrs. Claus doesn’t age.

We may not know the year, but we know that Mrs. Claus’ birthday is December 25, Christmas Day, according to Rees’ story. It looks like she was meant for Santa from the very beginning.

At the end of the day, age doesn’t matter. Both Mr. and Mr. Claus feel forever young, sharing holiday cheer with kids and their parents around the world.