IS THERE A REAL SANTA CLAUS?
Millions of children ask their parents this question every December, and the answer is "YES"! He was born in Asia Minor on March 15, 270 A.D. and gave presents to children when not distributing food and clothing to the needy. But doesn't Santa live at the North Pole? What does a philanthropist born in what is modern-day Turkey have to do with a jolly man wearing a red suit? In The History of Santa Claus, you'll learn the answer to these questions and many more. Why is Santa called by so many names in Europe, where he is assisted by scary-looking figures named Krampus, Black Pete, and Belsnickel? How did Santa help eradicate pagan festivals celebrating the winter solstice? How did he escape the repressive communist regimes in Russia and China? And how did a poet named Clement Moore and the Coca-Cola Bottling Company save Santa Claus from an untimely death in the age of skepticism known as the twentieth century? The History of Santa Claus is a book that you will want to read again and again before passing it on to your children so that they'll know the true identity of Saint Nicholas and what he has really been up to for so many centuries. You and your family will learn how Santa Claus has been influenced by dozens of diverse cultural influences in as many countries while nevertheless being embraced as the kindly figure named Saint Nick.
Most of all, you and your children will learn why Santa is alive even today in the hearts of people who still look out the window for reindeer on Christmas Eve because they know the real story of Santa Claus.