The American Version of the History of Santa Claus
Each country has their own version of Santa Claus, and each of those has their own history and traditions that center around Santa Claus and Christmas. The American version of the Santa Claus has its own unique history.
Santa Claus received its inspiration and its name from the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas. Sinter Klaas was brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century. So, let’s take a closer look at the history of Santa Claus in America:
The celebration of St. Nicholas, or in Dutch “Sinter Klass” is a tribute to St. Nicholas of Turkey who used his inheritance to help the needy and poor. Several countries honored and celebrated his good works.
As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as “St. A Claus.” It was spoken of because the Dutch had a feast and celebration for the patron saint. However, although he was mentioned at the time it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. This version was published in his “History of New York,” published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker. In this account, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback each Eve of Saint Nicholas.
However, even after this, Santa Claus was not yet Santa Claus. An Episcopal minister named Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem for his children that helped bring along the Dutch-American Saint Nick to his fully Americanized form in 1823. The poem was called, “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” but today is more commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas.”