The person known as "St. Nicholas" was born somewhere between 270 and 280 AD, in Patara, Lycia in Asia Minor. Born of a wealthy family, Nicholas did his best to help others whenever he could.

As a young man, he migrated to Myra, Turkey, where he became ordained as a bishop. St. Nicholas spent his entire life helping the poor. He loved children and often went out at night disguised in a hooded cloak to leave gifts of money, food or clothing on the window sills of unfortunate families.

The most famous story of all about St. Nicholas, is about a poor family with three daughters of marriageable age whose chances were dim due to the lack of dowries. St. Nicholas heard of their plight and one night climbed the roof and dropped three bags of gold coins which landed in the girls' stockings which had been hung on the fireplace to dry. He was caught in the act by the girls' father and St. Nicholas asked that he keep this visit a secret. However, two days later, the entire town was talking about the good deed done by Nicholas.

But life was not always good for Nicholas. He along with many others was thrown into prison for not worshipping himself as a god as declared by the Roman emperor Diocletian. He was released in 313 AD when Diocletian resigned and Constantine came to power. He then returned to his post as Bishop of Myra continuing his good works until his death on December 6, 343.

Out of love and respect for St. Nicholas, by 450 AD, churches were being named after him in Asia Minor and Greece. In the 1200s, December 6th became known as Bishop Nicholas Day in France. And by the end of the 1400s, over 2000 chapels and monasteries had been named after him.

In the 1500s, the English stopped worshipping St. Nicholas in favor of another gift-giving benefactor, Father Christmas. Over the centuries, his popularity grew and more and more stories were told about him and of his good deeds.

The name Santa Claus was derived from the Dutch Sinter Klass. It was the Dutch settlers in New York who brought the Santa Claus tradition to the Americas.

Over the years, "Santa Claus" took on many different appearances. It was Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his "History of New York", published in 1809 under a pseudonym, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback each eve of Saint Nicholas.

Santa Claus fully achieved his "Americanization" in 1823 in the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" also called "The Night Before Christmas" which was written by Clement C. Moore originally for his children. Moore added a team of eight tiny reindeer, as well as Santa Claus's laughs, winks and nods.

The American image was further elaborated by Thomas Nast, who illustrated him as a rotund Santa for issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. It was Nast who added details of Santa's workshop at the North Pole and Santa's list of good and bad children. Santa also got a "new" suit or image over the years thanks to the advertising campaigns of Coca Cola.

And then there have been the movies, "Miracle on 34th Street", "Santa Claus, the Movie", "The Santa Clause" to name just a few who show Santa as a "real" person. Does Santa really exist? Is there a North Pole?

Many don't believe or stop believing in him at an early age because they have been told by someone that there is no Santa Claus. But as for me, I WILL ALWAYS BELIEVE--every time I hear of an unselfish act of love, see a smile on someone's face, or whenever I receive a simple thank you for having performed a miniscule task--for Santa Claus is love and kindness and as long as love and kindness exists, Santa will continue to exist.

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