Christmas Lyn
One of the trickiest questions your child can ask you is – when was Santa born? Although Santa looks about 70, his real age is much older than that.
Google would give you a very straightforward answer – Santa’s birthday is on March 15, 270.
But is this answer correct? It’s the most popular version of Santa’s birthday for sure, based on the birthday of his prototype Saint Nicholas. But Saint Nicholas has little to do with modern Santa.
Santa’s image changed drastically over the centuries, so one could tell he was reborn multiple times.
Furthermore, people in some regions believe Santa has origins other than bishop from Myra, and thus, a different birthday.
Perhaps, that’s a matter of perspective. You may believe that Santa is a real person or just a job title taken by people living in different periods. One thing is certain – Santa looks great for his age.
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The Origin of Santa Claus
The widely accepted origin of Santa Claus is a real person – a bishop from Myra named Saint Nicholas, born on March 15, 270. However, the exact date of Saint Nicholas birth is disputed due to the scarcity of historical evidence.
The issue lies in the fact that historical accounts of Saint Nicholas’ life were written centuries after his death in 343.
Any chronicles that Nicholas himself may have written were lost during the unrests in the Roman Empire of the following centuries.
We know for sure that Nicholas was born in a wealthy family, but his parents died when he was young. Despite inheriting a lot of money, he gave them all to charity and dedicated his life to Christianity.
If we consider that the modern Santa is Saint Nicholas, he must be about 1,754 years old in 2024. That’s the simplest answer to the question “how old is Santa Claus?”.
However, the legend of Santa wasn’t born on the same day Saint Nicholas himself was born – it originated much later. Some may argue that Santa’s birthday must be the day he became the main Christmas symbol. But when was that?
Saint Nicholas Turns Santa
To understand when Santa as a Christmas symbol was born, we must dive into the story of Saint Nicholas becoming the holiday gift-giver. This was happening gradually.
One of the most famous stories about Saint Nicholas states that he secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney of a poor man. The money served as a dowry for the man’s oldest daughter.
Nicholas repeated this act of generosity twice more to help the man give away his younger daughters. On the third time, he was caught and begged the man not to tell anyone – Saint Nicholas didn’t seek validation or gratitude.
As you may have guessed, the man didn’t keep his mouth shut, and soon, the entire Myra knew about Saint Nicholas’ good deeds.
The birth of this legend could be considered Santa Claus’ birthday since it first drew the association of him with the Christmas gift-giver.
The problem is, we don’t know for sure when the event happened (if it ever happened) or when the legend appeared.
Instead, we may determine the time when Saint Nicholas officially became Santa Klaus. Over centuries, legends of his kindness were passed around the Roman Empire and reached Europe in the Middle Ages.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, people would dress up as bishops and go from door to door, giving children treats or other small gifts.
When the tradition arrived in the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas’ name morphed into Sinterklaas, derived from Dutch for the saint – “de sint,” and the shortened version of Nicholas – “klaas.”
Dutch immigrants came to the U.S. in the 1770s, and the legend of Sinterklaas has quickly spread around. Soon, his name transformed into the English version “Santa Claus.”
However, some scholars suggest the name Santa Claus originated from a different group of immigrants.
So, in Switzerland, Saint Nicholas was known as Samichlaus or Santi-Chlaus. Since the Swiss and Dutch settled in the U.S. at the same time, determining the right version nowadays is complicated.
So, the modern American Santa Claus figure may only be about 254 years old.
It all depends on the point of view – you either perceive Santa as a real person or as an allegorical figure who may have different birthdays depending on the region.
Other Santa Prototypes
Most sources state that Santa’s origin is Saint Nicholas and determine his birthday based on this information.
However, some may say that’s a simplified version. The truth is, Santa’s modern image was influenced by more figures than Saint Nicholas alone.
In Scandinavia, Santa’s figure is based on the Norse supreme god Odin. His history stems from Norse paganism, so he’s older than Christianity altogether, let alone Saint Nicholas.
According to Norse legends, Odin was born from a giant Borr and Bestla not long after the world was created.
We don’t know the exact date of Odin’s birth, but science states the world is billions of years old, so, could Scandinavian Santa be that old, too?
In Britain, the main Christmas gift-giving figure is Father Christmas. He was born back in Celtic pagan times under a different name but was later adopted by Christians. Celtic paganism itself appeared between 500 BCE and 500 CE.
Father Christmas’ first mentions in relation to Christmastide date to approximately 1100, the High Middle Ages. Thus, the British Father Christmas is at least 924 years old.
Victorian Era Cultural Influence
Even though Saint Nicholas was perceived as a Christmas gift-giving figure since the early Middle Ages, you wouldn’t recognize the old and jolly Santa in him if you tried.
Saint Nicholas’ appearance and personality were very different from the modern Santa Claus. He was Greek, likely with olive skin, didn’t have a white beard, was rather slim, stern, and solemn like a bishop should.
Furthermore, we know for sure that Saint Nicholas is dead, and his relics are stored in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy.
In other words, Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas, but he isn’t the same person unless he was miraculously resurrected.
The image of Santa Claus we know today appeared in the 19th century. The right question, in this case, would be “who invented Santa Claus?” rather than “when was Santa Claus born?”.
The old solemn bishop Saint Nicholas turned into a jolly and plump old man with a white beard dressed in a red suit in 1837.
It was the year “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, also known as “The Night Before Christmas”, was published by Clement Clark Moore. This relatively short story has forever changed our perception of Santa Claus.
In the poem, Saint Nicholas enters the house through a chimney with a large sack of toys. It’s the first time Santa was described as a rose-cheeked, cheerful old man whose only intention was to bring joy to kids.
After The Night Before Christmas was published, Saint Nicholas began his transformation.
During the 1860s, American cartoonist Thomas Nast created dozens of illustrations for Harper’s Weekly featuring Santa in his modern appearance.
Nast’s Santa was always white-bearded and plump, carrying a sack of gifts and often smoking a pipe.
This image was further enhanced by Coca-Cola in the 1930s. Santa used to appear in the brand’s Christmas campaigns since the 1920s, but prior to 1931, he was depicted as a solemn man resembling Saint Nicholas.
Then, Coca-Cola hired Swedish-American illustrator Haddon Sundblom to create a holiday advertisement.
The author clearly drew inspiration from Moore’s and Nast’s Victorian-era works, presenting the world with a smiling Santa with a thick white beard, dressed in a red suit with a buckled belt.
Since that time, any different depictions of Santa were gone. His appearance didn’t change for nearly a century now – every Santa we see today in shopping malls, cartoons, and movies, or on Christmas cards looks the same.
So, we can consider either 1837 or 1931 to be the birthday of the modern Santa Claus, meaning he’s either 187 or 93 years old as of 2024.
Modern Days – Santa’s Rebirth
As you can see, “when is Santa’s birthday?” is a tricky question. Some may say it’s March 15, 270, others – 1837 or 1931.
Funnily, some contemporary scenarists don’t agree with either opinion, showcasing Santa as a relatively young man in their movies.
Of course, Santa shown as a 60-year-old in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) doesn’t change the reality, but it proves that Santa’s birthday is a topic for debate, just like “is Santa real?”.
Could “Santa” be a title taken by different people throughout history rather than Saint Nicholas alone? This would mean that different Santas have different birthdays.
Meanwhile, we know for sure that Mrs. Claus was born on Christmas Day in 1849, first mentioned in the story A Christmas Legend. She can’t be older than her husband, can she?
If you send an email to Santa, he will reply that he stopped counting his birthdays after he turned 550.
Perhaps, that’s correct, and we shouldn’t ask about his birthday either. Despite advanced age, Santa feels younger than ever and shows no signs of retiring.
