Santas biography

1902 children's book by L. Frank Baum

This article is about the book. For other uses, see The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (disambiguation).

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a 1902 children's book, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark.

Setting

The story takes place in the Forest of Burzee and nearby lands. Baum pictures the forest as a mighty and grand forest, with "big tree-trunks, standing close together, with their roots intertwining below the earth and their branches intertwining above it;" a place of "queer, gnarled limbs" and "bushy foliage" where the rare sunbeams cast "weird and curious shadows over the mosses, the lichens and the drifts of dried leaves." Among the "giant oak and fir trees" are clearings where "the grass grew green and soft as velvet." The forest is populated by fairies, ruled by an unnamed fairy queen (in later books named either Lulea or Lurline), along with nymphs, gnomes, pixies, and species of beings invented by Baum including ryls, knooks, and gigans.

At the east of the Forest of Burzee is the Laughing Valley which was empty for years until Santa Claus built his house there.

Plot

As a baby, Santa Claus is found in the Forest of Burzee by Ak: Master Woodsman of the World (a supreme immortal) and placed in the care of the lioness Shiegra, but he thereupon is adopted by the wood nymphNecile.

Upon reaching young adulthood, Claus is introduced by Ak to human society, wherein he sees war, brutality, poverty, child neglect, and child abuse. Because he cannot reside in Burzee as an adu

Legendary Christmas figure

"Santa" redirects here. For other uses, see Santa Claus (disambiguation) and Santa (disambiguation).

Fictional character

Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in WesternChristian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the gifts in Santa's workshop, while flying reindeer pull his sleigh through the air.

The popular conception of Santa Claus originates from folklore traditions surrounding the 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas became renowned for his reported generosity and secret gift-giving. The image of Santa Claus shares similarities with the English figure of Father Christmas, and they are both now popularly regarded as the same person.

Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. He is popularly associated with a deep, hearty laugh, frequently rendered in Christmas literature as "ho, ho, ho!"

This image originated in the United States during the 19th century, after Dutch settlers brought the legend of Sinterklaas ("Saint Nicholas") to 17th-century New Amsterdam (present-day New York City). The 1823 American poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", written by an anonymous author, recounts Saint Nicholas arriving at the author's home on Christmas Eve in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. The poem laid the foundation for modern depictions of Santa Claus, strengthening the association between Santa Claus and Christmas. Over time, this connection has been maintained and reinforced through song

That the Santa Claus custom is largely based in recent American tradition may seem unlikely, in that early-17-century Puritan immigrants actually outlawed Christmas and other rowdy nonbiblical holiday customs in parts of the New World. Yet subversive celebrations spread, and the Puritans’ law was repealed before the end of that century. Second- and third-generation immigrants began forming a new middle class with the luxury of disposable income and family-centered leisure time. Wider availability of affordable printed matter contributed to social cohesion, and people devoured it heartily. Whatever was in print became the common reality, and this eventually succeeded in forging the disparate traditions of an immigrant population into a more homogeneous set of customs, including one heroic Christmas figure for all.

But Santa’s pedigree goes back much farther than America’s European immigrants. In fact, by working backward through history, we find that he has been with

The Legend of St. Nicholas: The Real Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best-known St. Nicholas stories is the time he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. 

Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Sinter Klaas Comes to New York

St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fir