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America is a melting pot of cultures, so it only makes sense that our customs and traditions would incorporate bits and pieces of various cultures. Christmas is perhaps the most celebrated American holiday. It is impossible in this country to go shopping, to watch T.V., or to even drive down the street without seeing the number one symbol of Christmas: Santa Claus. Who is or was Santa Claus really? The modern American image of Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, St. Nick, or the variety of other names by which he is called, is really a mixture of many different cultural combinations that over time have been combined into one Santa.
In the small town of Myra in Lycia, which was part of modern day Turkey, there was a bishop named Saint Nicholas that lived sometime during 300 to 400AD. St. Nicholas was a very devoted Christian his entire life. Even as a small child he was religious and devoted to Christ. As he became older he entered into the priesthood. After St. Nicholas' parents died they left him very wealthy. St. Nicholas was a kind-hearted and generous person. He would give gifts to the poor and help the children whenever he could.
One story tells of St. Nicholas visiting an inn where during a time of great hunger the inn keeper was able to keep his customers fed well with the bodies of small children that he had been kidnapping from local villages. St. Nicholas made the sign of the cross over a tank where the inn keeper was storing the bodies of the children in salt. Three of the missing children rose up and the truth was then known about the inn keeper. The villagers stoned the man to death. This story illustrates his connection to and love for the children and God.
However, this is not what gained St. Nicholas his connection to modern day Santa Claus in America. St. Nicholas is most well known for his generosity toward a devout Christian man with three daughters. This man was poor and couldn't afford a dowry for his...