Christmas is a widely known holiday full of family, friends, and presents. This monumental holiday has been around for nearly two thousand years. Christmas is celebrated by Christians as the commemoration and celebration of the birth of Jesus.  Christmas usually comes along with family tradition, such as decorating a tree, attending some type of church service, and making food to eat as a family. Children sleep restlessly each year on the night of December 24^th, in hopes of waking up to presents underneath the tree. Christmas is most well-known for one man, who carries a sack full of goodies for children around the world. His name is St. Nicholas, or better recognized as Santa Claus.

Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk, born sometime around 280 A.D. near Turkey.  He is most commonly known for his generosity. St. Nicholas was also said to have traveled the countryside, helping the poor, and giving away all of his wealth in order to benefit others. A well-known anecdote about the man in the red suit himself is when he saved his three sisters from being sold into slavery, and giving them money so that they could get married on their own. He has his own holiday on December 6^th, known as St. Nicholas’ Feast Day. While most families choose to exchange gifts on either December 24^th or December 25^th, some choose to exchange gifts on St. Nicholas Eve, which is December 5^th. St. Nicholas and his wonderful influence spread quickly across Europe. He was named a Saint because of his kindness, and his legend still continues to live on.

For more information on the historic Santa Claus, visit http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus.