Santa is one of the most popular figures in the world and, yet, rarely has anyone ever seen him. It really makes you wonder if he’s even real. After all, you would have heard if someone tried to slide down your chimney in the dead of night on Christmas Eve. Nonetheless, despite his bright red suit and his boisterous laughter, Santa remains elusive.
Don't let the fact that you haven't seen him in person get you down. Santa Clause was real, and he was as loved back then as he is now.
Santa Claus was known as Saint Nicholas of Myra back in the day. He was born on March 15th 270 AD. He was born into a rich family and inherited a lot of wealth, but he gave it all away to people in need around Greece. He was so generous and gave away so much that he became infamous for his gift-giving. After he died on December 6th, 343 A.D., everyone celebrated him and his actions by throwing a feast in his honor every December 6th.
Unfortunately, not much was written about him while he was alive or in the years after his birth. Historical texts only started mentioning him over 200 years after his death. This has led people to believe that Saint Nicholas was not a real person, and though that has been debunked, the misconception still remains.
So, as you can see, Santa Claus was a real person. Though Saint Nicholas might have died centuries ago, his spirit lives on in Santa Claus.
Saint Nicholas went around either giving gifts anonymously or in person. He never rode a sleigh led by reindeer and he never snuck into people's homes. Santa, on the other hand, prefers a sneakier approach. You may be wondering why Santa does things this way, but it makes sense once you know.
Saint Nicholas only had to think about giving gifts to people across the country. Santa needs to give gifts to kids across the entire globe... and he has to do it all in one night! He can’t risk getting spotted and then getting side-tracked by a fan. He has to get in the house, leave gifts, eat some cookies, and then get out.
Santa is also very busy the rest of the year. He needs to make toys and care for his reindeer. He also needs to read letters from all the kids that want presents, as well as acting in all the Christmas movies and TV shows. It's a very time-consuming job, so he doesn’t have time to meet with people as much as he would like to.
However, he does work with the alumni of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School to get updates on what kids want. Graduates of this school teach people how to spread the joy of Christmas by dressing up as Santa and going to malls. There, you can sit on the graduate’s lap and tell him everything you want for Christmas. He'll then make sure to report back to the real Santa in the North Pole, so make sure you’re on your best behavior when visiting a mall Santa.
Even though Sana doesn’t do in-person appearances himself, you can still track where he is on Christmas Eve. It's the only time of year he’ll leave the North Pole, so hop on an online Santa tracking website to see for yourself. On most Santa tracking websites, you’ll see Santa’s live location, his last stop, how many packages he has left to deliver, and where he’s headed.
Many Santa tracking websites also update the public on what’s going on in Santa’s Village as early as December 1st. These websites often have a countdown until Christmas Eve, when Santa’s location goes live.
Santa does want everyone to get to know him; he’s just too shy to do it in person. So, you may not be able to see him, but there are many ways to know what Santa is up to when the holiday season comes around.
If you still have doubts about whether or not Santa is real, you can get confirmation from the old man himself! All you have to do is send a letter to Santa’s letter factory in 580 South Santa Claus Lane, North Pole, AK 99705. Santa will get back to you with a personalized letter to let you know that he’s out there and that he read your letter!