What is "santa claus"

Saint Nicholas \Saint Nicholas\, St Nicholas \St. Nicholas\, n. A Dutch saint, who was reputed to bring gifts to children on Christmas even, giving rise to the modern legend of Santa Claus.

A Visit from St. Nicholas The original name for a poem by Clement Clarke Moore, popularly called titled The Night Before Christmans. It is a popular poem with the theme of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) coming to bring gifts to children on Christmans eve. See Night Before Christmas in the vocabulary.

1773 (as St. A Claus, in "New York Gazette"), American English, from dialectal Dutch Sante Klaas, from Middle Dutch Sinter Niklaas "Saint Nicholas," bishop of Asia Minor who became a patron saint for children. Now a worldwide phenomenon (Japanese santakurosu). Father Christmas is attested from 1650s.

Santa Claus (1961–1970) was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He is most notable for his achievements as a three-year-old in 1964 when he won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby. His performances earned him the title of British Horse of the Year.

Santa Claus is a folkloric figure in many Western cultures associated with Christmas. Santa Claus may also refer to:

Santa Claus (sometimes known as "Santa Claus vs The Devil") is a 1959 Mexican fantasy film directed by René Cardona and co-written with Adolfo Torres Portillo. In the film, Santa works in outer space and does battle with a demon sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and "making all the children of the Earth do evil."

A dubbed and slightly edited English language version was produced for U.S. release in 1960 under the direction of Ken Smith. It was lampooned on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa is a mythical figure with historical origins who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of well-behaved, "good" children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December). The modern Santa Claus is derived from the British figure of Father Christmas, the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, and Saint Nicholas, the historical Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra. During the Christianization of Germanic Europe, this figure may also have absorbed elements of the god Odin, who was associated with the Germanic pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.

Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white- bearded man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children. Images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem " A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books and films.

Santa Claus is believed to make lists of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("naughty" or "nice") and to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the flying reindeer who pull his sleigh. He is commonly portrayed as living at the North Pole and saying " ho ho ho" often.

Santa Claus is a 1898 British short silent drama film, directed by George Albert Smith, which features Santa Claus visiting a house on Christmas Eve. The film, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "is believed to be the cinema's earliest known example of parallel action and, when coupled with double-exposure techniques that Smith had already demonstrated in the same year's The Mesmerist (1898) and Photographing a Ghost (1898), the result is one of the most visually and conceptually sophisticated British films made up to then."