Many Santa's faces for Christmas

Valerie M. Fridland: Everyone heard about Saint Nicholas, who plump, white, red guy who provides Christmas presents through reindered sleighs.

But have you never wondered how he became a man with so many names? From St. Nick after Santa Claus after Kris Kringle is a miracle that Rudolph is not completely confused, for whom he works exactly.

So, as a linguist who studies social and historical paths, which provide used words, holiday lights of the season and Holly branches inspired deep immersion in the past Santa Claus to discover what name we should really apply for a man in red.

I have, I have

It may seem that it exists as long as the North Pole, but the name of Santa Claus so often mentioned by the Americans to refer to the aged Saint Nicholas Christmas Eve is a surprisingly recent nickname.

The first written quote for “Saint Nicholas” appears in the US only in the 18th century, where the religious event in the New York newspaper was mentioned: “Last Monday, the anniversary of St. Nicholas, otherwise known as Saint Klai, was celebrated in the Protestant Hall.”

The fact that the first quotation appeared in New York is not unusual, taking into account the history of New York until 1664 as a Dutch colony and the continuous presence of Dutch settlers in this area.

This Dutch origin is the key, because Saint Nicholas is actually borrowing English Dutch sintering Klaas, who sometimes appeared dialectically as Sante Klaas.

Despite this, before the 1830s, replacing Santa Claus Saint. Nick was often used. In fact, before it grew significantly in the general popularity in the second half of 1800, its apply of this century was often recalled by Dutch heritage and culture, as in the satirical writings of Washington.

For example, the New York satirical magazine of the era had this to say in 1808: “The well-known Saint Mikołaj, vulgarly called Santa Claus-all saints in the calendar most worshiped by real Hollanders and their unforgettable descendants.”

But in the 1820s, the child's book introduced Sante Claus in a sleigh pulled out by a reindeer, suggesting that by that time his contemporary reputation was created. However, his iconic outfit did not become his standard uniform, as long as Coca-Cola's advertisement depicted him in red splendor over a hundred years later in 1930.

Earlier, Santa's costumes covered a range from green and yellow to patriotic stars and stripes.

Old Saint Nick

Santa Claus was a popular term before this period, a name known for his religious observance of Saint Nicholas on December 6. The Dutch name Sinterklaas is actually a derivative of the name Saint Nicholas.

Historically, Santa's namesake was a very charity bishop of a Roman city called Myra in the fourth century. He became the patron of children and was known as a man of great generosity.

His origin made him an basic candidate for later related to Christmas, despite the fact that he was originally celebrated on a completely different day and from a different reason.

Regardless of whether it is about St. Nick or Santa Claus, a huge celebrity of a man as a grant of real wishes, also turned out to be another heritage of the Dutch, because their tradition was giving compact gifts or sweets on Santa's Day. And so, this Dutch tradition inspired the American mythologization of a man with a sack of gifts on the back to deliver to children around the country.

Kingle wrinkle

The name Kris Kringle was another name of Saint Nicholas, which gained popularity in 1800. While Santa Claus was Dutch, Kris Kringle came through the Germans, who settled in Pennsylvania for the first time and then spread, especially at the end of the 19th century.

The name Kris Kringle, however, was not associated with Saint Nicholas. Instead, it came from the German word Christkindlein, which means “the child of Christ”, referring to a child in a manger. So, unlike St. Mikołaj, Kris Kringle is more directly related to the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ.

Over time, however, the feast of St. Mikołaj, also celebrated by German immigrants, increasingly combined with Christmas in the US, taking into account the German influx to the United States, was much greater than the Dutch in the nineteenth century, it is not surprising that the name of Germany competed with the Dutch term during this period before this period before the Americans.

A man with many names

Ultimately, whether it is St. Nick, Santa or Kris Kringle, who goes on vacation, the story of how he won his name, illustrates a great combination of languages and cultures – a reminder of how the differences can combine in a affluent and diverse part of culture, celebrated by many.

Valerie M. Fridland, professor of linguistics, University of Nevada, Reno

This article is published from Conversation under the Creative Commons license. Read Original article.