The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas.

It is believed that Nicholas was born around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day
Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas
became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all
of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the
poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is
that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery by
their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be
married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity
spread and he became known as the protector of children and
sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death,
December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make
large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas
was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant
Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be
discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.
St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th
century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of
Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch
nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint
Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John
Pintard, a member of the New York Historical
Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the
society's annual meeting. The background of the
engraving contains now-familiar Santa images
including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung
over a fireplace. As his prominence grew, Sinter
Klaas was described as everything from a "rascal"
with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and
yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed
hat and a "huge pair of Flemish trunk hose."
The tradition of Santa Claus entering dwellings
through the chimney may reach back to the tale of
Saint Nicholas tossing coins through a window, and,
in a later version of the tale, tossing coins down a
chimney when he finds the window locked. In Dutch
artist Jan Steen's painting, The Feast of Saint
Nicholas, adults and toddlers are glancing up a
chimney with amazement on their faces while other
children play with their toys. The hearth was held
sacred in primitive belief as a source of beneficence,
and popular belief had elves and fairies bringing gifts
to the house through this portal. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney
was made part of American tradition through Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas where the
author described him as an elf.
Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas tradition for children for many years. These
letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior.
Santa Claus's home traditionally includes a residence and a workshop where he creates - often
with the aid of elves or other supernatural beings - the gifts he delivers to good children at
Christmas. Some stories and legends include a village, inhabited by his helpers, surrounding his
home and shop.

Sources: http:// www.history .com/content/christmas/ evoluti on-of-santa/the-legend-o f-st.-nicholas

http://en.wi kipedi a.o rg/ wiki/San ta_Claus
 VOCABULARY

Find the opposites of the words below in the text:

a) Poverty –
b) Rich -
c) Healthy -
d) Worse –
e) Small –
f) Bad –

Look up at the dictionary and explain the words below with your own words and give an
example:

a) Monk –
b) Piety –
c) Inherited –
d) Slavery –
e) Dowry –
f) Nickname –
g) Stocking –
h) Rascal –
i) Dwel -

COMPREHEENSION

Answer the questions about the text:

a)Who is Santa Claus?

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b)Where is it believed that Santa Claus was born?

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c)What are some of the legends about Santa Claus you can find on the text?

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d)When is his feast day celebrated? And what is this day considered?

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e)When did Saint Nicholas first appear in the USA?

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f)What’ s the meaning of Santa Claus’s name?

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g)Why is it said that Santa Claus visit the kids entering the house through the chimney? Explain
it with your own words.

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h)What’s in the letters kids send to Santa Claus?

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i)Who help Santa in his workshop?

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HAPPY CHRISTMAS
EVERYONE!!!