Many historians believe Santa came from a mispronunciation of Sintaklass. Pictures of Santa appeared in Harper's Weekly about the 1860s and the rest, as they say, is history. In Belgium children get their presents on the 6th December, St Nicholas Day. Small gifts are exchanged on Christmas Day. In Spain Christmas is traditionally a religious festival and the Spanish still do not recognise Santa.
Children do however look forward to gifts during the season.
One Spanish tradition is to leave their shoes on the windowsill full of stray, carrots, and barley to feed the horse and donkeys of the Wise men. The Italian Santa is a woman, La Befansa to be precise. She is like Babouschka who in Russia depicts an old lady who did not offer help and food to the wise men on their journey to the baby Jesus. The women now searches in vein with gifts and gives them to well behaved children, instead. Naughty children get ashes in their stockings.