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Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas. To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of good will and selfless giving.
Santa Claus also has some other names, like Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle and Pelznickel.
The Santa Claus we talk about in the United States flies from his home at the North Pole on Christmas Eve to bring toys and gifts to children. The happy, white-bearded man is dressed in red. He usually flies on a sleigh led by his reindeer. Santa enters each home through the chimney and fills children’s stockings with toys and gifts.
This modern image of Santa Claus largely comes from Clement Clark Moore’s famous poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;…
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
Santa Claus is believed to have come from the story of St. Nicholas. He was a 4th-century clergy in the Mediterranean port city of Myra, part of modern-day Turkey. It is said that St. Nicholas gave away all his wealth to help the poor and the sick. History.com says St. Nicholas became known as the protector of children and sailors. It adds that he was the most popular saint in Europe.
In the 18th century, Dutch immigrants brought the story of Saint Nikolaas and the tradition of gift-giving to New York City. The Dutch said his name very quickly. It sounded like “Sinterklaas.” When English speakers said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.
German immigrants working as farmers in the American state of Pennsylvania also knew of Saint Nikolaas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from “pelz,” meaning fur in German, and “nickel” for Nicholas. Saint Nikolaasor became a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.
Pelznickel became part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl, as the Germans called the child of Christ. After some time, Christkindl became “Kris Kringle.” That is another name you will hear for Santa Claus.
A Santa-liked figure is known as Father Christmas in Britain and Père Noël in France. In Scandinavia, an elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. In Italy, a woman called La Befana rides a broomstick down the chimneys of homes to bring toys for lucky children.
The image of Santa Claus as we now see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria, Germany.
Nast remembered that, when he was a little boy, a kind old man would give toys and cakes to the children on Christmas. So, when Nast painted Santa Claus, he looked like the old man from his childhood.
Nast painted Santa as a short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard. He wore a red suit with white fur. He also gave Santa a North Pole workshop, elves, and a wife, Mrs. Claus. Through the years, Nast’s painting has remained the most popular picture of Santa Claus.
American children write letters to Santa hoping to be on his “nice list” for Christmas gifts. On Christmas Eve, they leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and “the most famous reindeer of all,” Rudolph.
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Words in This Story
sleigh - n. a large, open vehicle that is usually pulled by a horse (or reindeer) over snow or ice.
chimney - n. a part of a building through which smoke rises into the air
figure - n. a person
jolly - adj. happy and cheerful
参考译文：
Santa Claus是一个将永远存在于儿童心中的人物。他是那个虚构的人，负责在圣诞节给孩子们带来玩具和其他礼物的人。对于成年人来说，他是一种特殊的善意和无私奉献的象征。
Santa Claus还有一些其他的名字，比如Saint Nicholas、Kris Kringle和Pelznickel。
在美国，我们谈论的Santa Claus是在圣诞夜从北极的家中飞来，给孩子们带来玩具和礼物的人。这位快乐的、白胡子的老人身穿红袍。他通常乘坐由驯鹿拉动的雪橇。Santa通过烟囱进入每个家庭，用玩具和礼物填满孩子们的袜子。
这一现代化的Santa Claus形象在很大程度上来自克莱门特·克拉克·摩尔的著名诗篇《圣诞夜访客》。
“圣诞前夜，家里一片寂静，
连老鼠都没动一下；
袜子挂在烟囱边，
希望圣尼古拉斯快点来；…
他一言未发，径直做起了工作，
把所有的袜子都填满了；
然后他转身，翘起了鼻子旁边的手指，
点了一下头，顺着烟囱上升起来；”
据信Santa Claus起源于圣尼古拉斯的故事。他是公元4世纪时在现代土耳其境内的地中海港口城市Myra的一位神职人员。据说圣尼古拉斯把自己所有的财富都捐给了贫困和生病的人。History.com称St. Nicholas成为儿童和水手的保护神。它补充说他是欧洲最受欢迎的圣人。
在18世纪，荷兰移民将Saint Nikolaas的故事和送礼物的传统带到了纽约市。荷兰人很快说他的名字。听起来像“Sinterklaas”。当说英语的人说这个词时，听起来像Santa Claus。
在美国宾夕法尼亚州作为农民工作的德国移民也知道Saint Nikolaas。但是他们称他为Pelznickel。这个词来源于德语中的“pelz”（毛皮），以及Nicholas的“nickel”。Saint Nikolaasor成为一位每年一次穿着皮草的人，给乖巧的孩子们送礼物。
Pelznickel成为一个庆祝基督之子Christkindl的一部分，就像德国人称之为基督之子。过了一段时间，Christkindl变成了“Kris Kringle”。这是你会听到Santa Claus的另一个名字。
在英国，类似Santa Claus的人物被称为Father Christmas，在法国被称为Père Noël。在斯堪的纳维亚，一个名为Jultomten的小精灵被认为乘坐由山羊拉动的雪橇送礼物。在意大利，一位名为La Befana的女性骑着扫帚顺着烟囱进入家中，给幸运的孩子们送礼物。
我们现在看到的Santa Claus形象来自Thomas Nast。他是在德国巴伐利亚出生的美国画家。
Nast记得，在他还是个小男孩的时候，一位慈祥的老人会在圣诞节给孩子们送玩具和蛋糕。
因此，当Nast画Santa Claus时，他看起来像他童年时那位老人。
Nast将Santa画成了一个矮胖、快乐的老人，留着长长的胡子。他穿着一身红袍，白色的毛皮。他还给Santa配备了北极的工作坊、小精灵和妻子Mrs. Claus。多年来，Nast的画一直是最受欢迎的Santa Claus图像。
美国的孩子们写信给Santa，希望能进入他的“好名单”获得圣诞礼物。在圣诞夜，他们为Santa留下饼干和牛奶，为他的驯鹿留下胡萝卜：Dasher、Dancer、Prancer、Vixen、Comet、Cupid、Donner、Blitzen和“最有名的驯鹿”Rudolph。
