Hey guys! Can you feel Christmas in the air? As we all know, Santa Claus is a mythical character generally depicted as a joyous, white-bearded man -sometimes with spectacles- wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, black leather belt and boots, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. Have you, however, wondered where the legend of Santa Claus came from and who he really was? According to Scandinavian myths, Santa Claus was Odin –the god of thunder- also known as Thor’s father. He was a tall fellow with a floating beard who possessed unmatched power in the entire Nordic forests. Legend has it that he would travel across the sky in winter nights to decide who would die and who would prosper. In England, Odin eventually evolved into Father Christmas who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, food and revelry. Frequently, he was accompanied by a horned goat whose image, however, rejected the salvation of Jesus Christ. The most widely spread story about Santa Claus surprisingly came from a church in Rome. It was said that a Turkish bishop of Myra named Nicholas would travel from house to house to inquire about the behaviors of children. He would drop candy and gifts down the chimney into the good children’s shoes which had been placed there. It was from this story that we had the tradition of hanging socks below the chimney at Christmas time.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 12:30:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015