Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.
Claus portrayed by Jonathan Meath
A 13th-century depiction of St. Nicholas from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai
"Ghost of Christmas Present", an illustration by John Leech made for Charles Dickens's festive A Christmas Carol (1843)
Sinterklaas, Netherlands (2009) on his horse named Amerigo
Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia during the time of the Roman Empire. Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus through Sinterklaas.
Full-length icon by Jaroslav Čermák, showing Saint Nicholas with a halo, dressed in clerical garb, and holding a book of the scriptures in his left hand while making the hand gesture for the sign of the cross with his right
The dowry for the three virgins (Gentile da Fabriano, c. 1425, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome)
Saint Nicholas Saves Three Innocents from Death (1888) by Ilya Repin
Detail of a late medieval Greek Orthodox fresco showing Saint Nicholas slapping Arius at the First Council of Nicaea
