The History & Other Names for Santa Claus Around The World

[Updated 12/02/22]   Like most kids who grew up in the US, I became fascinated with Santa Claus from a very early age.  

From his fuzzy red suit and his long white hair and beard to the reindeer who pulled his sleigh, this jolly old elf who distributed presents to kids all around the world was a larger-than-life legend.

But unlike other children, I never really grew out of my interest in St. Nick. Always the inquisitive kid, I had so many questions: Who was Santa Claus? Where did he come from? How did he get to be so beloved by children all around the world?

Raised in the Episcopal Church, I became particularly fascinated with the history of Santa Claus.

In particular, the origin of Santa in the Catholic Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Greek bishop who was known for his charitable gift-giving and countless miracles.

The older I got, and the more I learned about Santa, the more I came to treasure the Christmas spirit he represented and the importance of keeping it in our hearts all year round.

This year, as my 17-year-old daughter celebrates her last holiday at home before heading off to college, will be an extra special season for us.

So, in addition to our annual holiday traditions (including reading The Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas), we’ll be sharing these 55 fascinating facts about Santa’s 1600-year history and honoring St. Nicholas’ legacy of charitable giving.

Here at Green Global Travel, we like to put an emphasis on the green aspect by finding lots of little ways to make life more sustainable.

Of course one of the most important aspects of this mission is reducing waste. With Christmas fast approaching, we want to help by providing ways to reduce waste created by this increasingly commercialized holiday.

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” has been a popular mantra of the environmentally conscious movement since the 1970s.

This popular phrase is a literal order of priorities in terms of how we can live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

To reduce your carbon footprint, you should first try to reduce the waste you produce. This can be done by purchasing less stuff.
 
Next you should try to reuse what you have already bought once its initial purpose has run its course. This is what we will be focusing on in this article.
 
Recycling should generally be used only as a last resort, because it still produces more waste than reducing and reusing.

Recycled Christmas cards crafts are a great way to reuse a common…