Fun Fact Friday #25 - You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry...🎅

      Did you know that Santa Claus was a real person? 

The first depiction of the red suit Santa wears.
Thomas Nast c. 1869

     Of course you did!  Most people know that he is based off of somebody known as Saint Nicholas, but historically, we do not know much more about him. According to tradition, or legend, Saint Nicholas was known to to be the secret gift giver to children on December 6, the day the Church celebrates him and supposedly the date of his death. In Europe it became a custom for people to place nuts, apples, and sweets in shoes left beside beds, on windowsills, or before the hearth on his day.

      It is a popular notion that these traditions of gift giving in North America come from the Dutch when they founded New Amsterdam (New York) and then passed around from there. 

       Ever since the anonymous poem "The Night Before Christmas" was popularized in 1823, Santa was depicted as an elfin figure with "a little round belly/That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.". Even today the image of the jolly big guy continues to thrive.

Learn more about the history of Christmas traditions at the Backus-Page House Museum. Book a tour today!
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
519-762-3072