The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-25
SANTA CLAUS.
Biographical Note OF the WORLDS
Greatest Figure.

Btogr aphical Note OF the worlds
Greatest Figure.
10 THE EDITOR or THE SUN-Sr: At
this season OF tho year the question Is
often asked where the name OF santa
Claus originated. who Santa Claus was,
where he came from, SC. Though several
explanations now and then have appeared
in the papers l have never yet seen the
| right explanation In any paper In TINS
country. Here IL Ia From 1853 10 1913
there was an eighty year war between
| Holland and Spain. During those years
thousands of Spanish soldiers roamed over
| Holland and 1t was not more than natural !
that several Spanish legends were spread
| among the Holland people. One OF them
was the legend Of the Spanish Bishop St
Nicholas. 1t was told that this Bishop
had had a very benevolent nature. worked
always among the poor. had great love
for children and took great delight 10
give presents to them. especially In some
surprising or unexpected way. The legend
| with many other details. made deep I'M
preston on the Holland rural population
and more so on the children, and by
| degrees there developed the feast OF 81
| Nicholas on the alleged birthday OF the
saint, the 9Th OF December OF each year.
| Now the Spanish word for saint Is santa,
go II was the feast OF Santa Nicholas.
| But as In this country we call James Tor
| short Jim, or William affectionately BIZ.
50 in Holland anybody by che name OF
Nicholas Is called klaas. and II became.
| therefore. the custom to call the 9Th OF De-
cember the feast of Santa klaas. This feast
on this date ls still at present the great chill
| dren's feast. The children are told that on
| December a big ship filed with toys
comes from Spain and when IL arrives
| In Holland the Spanish Bishop Santa Klaas.
| dressed in his scarlet robe and his mitre
on his head stands on the front OF the
| ship, accompanied by black Moorish
| boy
| When the ship is moored and the toys
are unloaded Santa Klaas and his black
| boy land, they mount the big black horse
and the black pony they brought with
| them from Spain and they drive. loaded
with toys, through city, town ana country.
During the night the horses climb on
| the houses and the black boy goes down
| the chimney. leaves TOYS for the good
children and rods for the naughty ones.
Now / have 10 20 back for moment
| to true history again. out OF the eighty
year struggle against Spain arose the
mighty Holland republic. Holland sailors
| navigated the seas OF tho then known
| and unknown parts of the world. New
| lands were discovered and taken posses
sion Of This was especially so in the
| East Indies. Australia (then called New
| HollanO. New Zealand. Java, Borneo.
| Sumatra and numerous other islands came
| under the Holland flag. The trade with
| these colonies was enormous and the
Holland East India Company which con-
| trolled this trade. transported untold
| riches from the newly discovered lands
! to Holland. on their trip home the ships
! had to pass the seas OF Spain and Portu-
gal. They often suffered enormous losses
through pirate fleets of these countries
II was for this reason that the East
| India Company decided to send expedi-
tons to the north TO find a new passsg e
through the Arctic Sea to the East Not
| w.thstanding several efforts they failed
l4Y u laff IN nal nl1 60
complsh this feat more than two CEN
turtles later. But during these efforts II
happened more than once that Holls nd
sailors. through shlpwrecks or otherwise.
landed on the Norwegian coast and were
| forced to remain there during the long
dreary winter Legends from Holland
were thus brought to Norway, and no ~
was with the legend OF Santa klaas. 1t
took hold of the Norwegian people. The
first thing that happened was a slight
klaas is in Norwegian Claus. so it be-
came the feast OF Santa Claus. But this
was not all Though the eighty year war
was fought by Holland to free themselves
from the persecution OF the Roman Cath
Ole church and IFS Spanish Inquisition.
the Holland people were never bigoted
and did not object to have ne patron for
their childrcns feast a bishop In his
clerical Catholic attire. 1t was different
in Norway. Norway was the Protestant
country par excellence.
The NoTwegisns robbed the good
Bishop of his clerical robe and his mitre
and dressed Santa Claus. according TO
the custom of their own country, in
fur lined coat, trousers and cap. but Il
H. remarkable that the scarlet color Of
the Bishops robe was preserved in the
new attire. Instead OF the Spanish
horses the new Santa Claus red
in the conveyance particular to the
country. sleigh drawn by RENDERS
The feature OF letting the presents go
through the chimney was preserved
The Bishops day, December 6. was no;
Protestant enough. So that date was
changed 10 Christmas or Yuletde. The
Moorish boy was lost In the change and
instead the FIR tree, particular TO the
country. was added In this shape
Santa Claus travelled through Den
mark 10 Germany and from there 10
England and the United states
So it is clear that the original Santa
Claus was thA spanish Bishop St.
Nicholas. that the feast OF Santa Klaas
originated in Holland and that Holland
If the only country where II IL still
preserved with all it's original features
In his travels through different ooun-
tries the patron saint has lost nearly
all his characteristics only the Spanish
prefix Santa. the scarlet color OF the
Bishops robe and the distribution al
presents through the chimney are the
original features left over. But nonod,
who looks now at Santa Claus will rec
ognlze anything OF The face, dress ana
other features OF the good old Spanish
Bishop. tho original Santa Claus, as We
| find him in MANY old Holland pictures