Santa Claus is real â but he's also dead archaeologists say
Saint Nicholas of
Saint Nicholas of Myra (now Demre)  was known for  his  anonymous gift-giving and generosity. People believed  he 'd put coins in the shoes of anyone who left them out for  him  on  his  feast day  Dec. 6.
As the story goes   he  was a monk who gave away  his  hefty inheritance and instead chose to help the poor and the sick.
 He 's also a patron saint of sailors and was  of course  especially fond of children. (There's one slightly bizarre story  more Halloween than Christmas  of  St. Nicholas  saving three children who had been "lured into the clutches of an evil butcher.")
It wasn't until the 16th century that  St. Nicholas  began to take on  his  modern  candy-cane hued form in images and imaginations. In Europe  he became known as Father Christmas.
[TGT] was known for   [TGT]   anonymous gift-giving and generosity. People believed   [TGT]  'd put coins in the shoes of anyone who left them out for   [TGT]   on   [TGT]   feast day  Dec. 6.
As the story goes   he  was a monk who gave away  his  hefty inheritance and instead chose to help the poor and the sick.
 He 's also a patron saint of sailors and was  of course  especially fond of children. (There's one slightly bizarre story  more Halloween than Christmas  of   [TGT] saving three children who had been "lured into the clutches of an evil butcher.")
It wasn't until the 16th century that   [TGT] began to take on   [TGT]   modern  candy-cane hued form in images and imaginations. In Europe  he became known as Father Christmas.