What does it mean that there is an old man with a white beard wearing a red hat on the glass window of many businesses these days? Who is that old man?

Legend and origin of Santa Claus: American tradition thinks that Santa Claus comes from the North Pole, but Nordic countries think that they are the hometown of Santa Claus. At the 40th world santa claus congress, Greenland, a Danish territory, was recognized as the real hometown of Santa Claus.

Legend 1:

Legend has it that Santa Claus appeared in Scandinavia thousands of years ago. In Norse mythology, Odin, the god of wisdom, art, poetry and war, rode his eight-legged horse to the ends of the earth in the cold winter to punish evil and promote good and distribute gifts. At the same time, his son Thor wore red clothes and used lightning as a weapon to fight against the god of ice and snow in the dark, and finally defeated the cold. According to pagan legend, Santa Claus is a descendant of Odin.

Legend 2:

There is also a legend that Santa Claus comes from Saint Nicholas, so Santa Claus is also called Saint Nicholas. It is said that he is the bishop of Mera City in Asia Minor (Izmir, a port city in western Turkey). He lived in the 4th century AD and was born in patara, Asia Minor. His family is very rich and his parents are very enthusiastic Catholic friends. Unfortunately, his parents died young. When Nicholas grew up, he donated all his wealth to the poor, became a monk himself, and devoted his life to the church and served the society. Nicholas later became a priest and was promoted to bishop. After his death, he was honored as a saint. He is an old man with a white beard and a red hat. In his life, he has done a lot of charity work, and he likes to help the poor in secret. Santa Claus was his later nickname, which came from the story that he secretly sent money to help three girls.

It is said that there are three beautiful girls living not far from Nicholas. They are twenty, eighteen and sixteen years old. My father is a poor scholar and often lives by borrowing money. Once, because she was unable to pay her debts, she had to sell her beautiful and healthy third daughter to a creditor and take her to Africa as a maid. When the three daughters learned about this, they hugged each other and cried. The sad situation at home can be imagined. Nicholas knew about it and ran to their house to comfort him. In the evening, Nicholas put three pairs of gold stockings and hung them secretly in front of the three girls' windows. When they got the gold and paid off their father's debts, their third daughter was spared the fate of being a maid. The next day was Christmas. Knowing that Nicholas had done something good, they invited him to celebrate and thank him. Every Christmas, these three girls tell this story. Hearing this, the children are very envious and hope that Santa Claus will give him a sock gift.

Later, I don't know which clever parents began to give socks to their children in the name of Santa Claus. As a result, this habit became popular in Europe and America. Nicholas later became the bishop of Milla. Because he was an orphan when he was a child, he became a special protector of orphans. After his death, the church listed him as a saint. His spirit of caring for orphans and helping the poor has been passed down with Christmas. Later, many kind people in the world followed Nicholas's spirit of love and donated many things in the name of Santa Claus, bringing love to the poor, the poor elderly and orphans. Every year when Christmas comes, Santa Claus always appears all over the world, bringing warmth and happiness to millions of children, lonely old people and abandoned children in Qian Qian. We hope that all the friends who live well in the world are Santa Claus, and spread the glory of love to every corner of the world within our power, not only at Christmas, but even at ordinary times. Because most of these stories carry forward the Christian spirit, their origins and story plots are mostly forgotten, but Santa Claus lives in people's spiritual world forever.

Every Christmas (Christmas is the day when God Jesus was born in the western Christian legend, which is equivalent to the Spring Festival in China), Santa Claus rides reindeer and Santa Claus comes to the world with a Christmas tree. With the change of the world, writers and artists began to describe Santa Claus as a familiar image today, dressed in red and with a white beard. At the same time, different countries and cultures have different interpretations of Santa Claus. In Germany, it is said that he dressed up as a holy boy and put nuts and apples in children's shoes. He travels around in a two-wheeled carriage, observing people's behavior, especially children. If he behaves well, he will get many prizes, such as apples, nuts and sugar. Bad boys get whipped. Parents had a brainwave and used this legend to encourage their children to obey. It has greatly surpassed the New Year and become a national holiday. Santa Claus has become the most popular symbol and tradition of Christmas. The image of a happy old elf driving a reindeer and pulling a sleigh full of toys and gifts to give gifts to every child from house to house has been deeply left in people's memory.

Different legends about Santa Claus in the northern hemisphere

The origin of Santa Claus can be traced back to the last century. We know that he is a combination of different legends and mysterious figures.

The predecessor of Santa Claus is the Bishop Nicholas of Izmir, a port city in western Turkey. He lived in the 4th century A.D. and was a kind, generous and very kind person to children. The Orthodox Church regards Nicholas as a miracle worker.

Nicholas was called "Santa Claus" in central and northern Germany, "Santa Claus" in Britain and "Santa Claus" by Dutch immigrants in America.

The children all want to know where Santa Claus lives and when they will receive presents. The answer is usually that Santa Claus lives in the North Pole and his workshop produces Christmas presents. 1927 Markus Rautio, a host of children's programs called "Uncle Marcus" by children, revealed for the first time that Santa Claus lives in Tunturi, Korva, Lapland.

Korvatunturi, located in the eastern border area of Finland, found a rabbit-like ear. In fact, it is Santa Claus's ear, which is used to listen to children's wishes. Scandinavian legends tell the history of Santa Claus and his assistant, the Elf Gate.

At the end of last century, different legends about Santa Claus in the northern hemisphere were summarized into the same version-the old man with white beard gave gifts to children, and then returned to Tunturi, Korva (Cole Mountain; Tojiyama).

From 65438 to 0950, Santa Claus stayed happily in Papiri, and communicated with children and young people after Christmas. More and more people visit Santa Claus regularly. 1985, he set up his own studio. Every day, Santa Claus comes to the office to listen to the children's Christmas wishes and communicate with them. Santa Claus Village is Santa Claus's main post office, receiving letters from children all over the world.