Free Essay

Santa Clause

In:

Submitted By cowfighter19
Words 592
Pages 3
Where does Santa Claus
Come from?

Santa Claus Today

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and simply "Santa", is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and folkloric origins who, in many western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24. The modern figure was derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, which, in turn, may have part of its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical figure of gift giver Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the third century in the city of patara which is a port on the Meditarian Sea, which is today turkey. Saint Nicholas of Myra is the primary inspiration for the Christian figure of Sinterklaas. He was a 4th century Greek Christian bishop. Saint Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor.

Dutch folklore

In Dutch folklore Saint Nicholas (the good saint) had helpers known as the Black peter, or pere fouettard in French. Tradition holds that Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) and his aides arrive each year by steam boat from Spain in mid November. Black Peter carries the book that contains notes on all children that indicate whether the child has been good or naughty during the year. The entourage carries gifts, chocolate letters and spice nuts to be handed to the well-behaved children. During the subsequent three weeks, Saint Nicholas is believed to ride a white-grey horse over the rooftops at night, delivering gifts through the chimney to the well-behaved children, while the naughty children risk being caught by Saint Nicholas's aides that carry jute bags and willow canes for that purpose Many countries celebrated his feast on December 6th by giving gifts. In 16th-17th century Europe, many Protestants and others changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child, and the date for giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. Santa Claus, Sinterklaas is an elderly, stately and serious man with white hair and a long, full beard and he wears a long red cape. He holds a gold-coloured crosier, a long ceremonial shepherd's staff with a fancy curled top. He carries a big book that tells whether each individual child has been good or naughty in the past year. He traditionally rides a white gray horse. In recent years, some consider it racist to have Black Peter and want him eliminated from any festival or mention.

Father Christmas

Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a jolly well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected as the "Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens’ festive classic A Christmas Carol, a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur who takes Scrooge through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace.

Santa Claus started as Saint Nicholas and has evolved through many centuries to become the Christmas that we know today. There still exists many versions in many different cultures. Fifty to sixty years ago Christmas was a celebration that brought families together and share souvenirs. Today it is still abit of this but Christmas has changed a lot because of the companies that commercialize Christmas to make millions of dollars of profit.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Susan And Frank Oswald Timeline

...like him. In fact, they were ashamed of it. Only days went by and they did not know what to do with their “creation”. The poor child did not even have a name. The two finally came to a solution to get rid of it. It was a cold, winter night, 2am in the morning. The Oswald’s went out to drop the baby off at an orphanage. Wind was knocking trees down, there was nothing but white in the distance. As they arrived at the destination, Susan scurried through the snow, up to the entrance of the orphanage, as Frank stayed in the car. Susan dropped the baby in front of the door, rang the bell, and quickly ran back to the car. Frank drove off in an instant. The baby was of course crying and freezing. The hosts of the orphanage, Shirley Claus and Santa Claus quickly awoke and ran down the stairs. To their surprise was a blonde, little boy sitting on their front step. They happened to think he was quite adorable. They took him in and put...

Words: 781 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Head Huniting for Google

...BUSI - 3004 – 1 Application Week 5 4/03/2013 Head Hunting for Google Google did act in an ethical manner when the company went after the talent of other firms. Going after employees who are already trained and understand the business is key in gaining an advantage over competitors. “Poaching” top talent can backfire if the potential employee being sought after has a contract for a certain length of time or a non-compete clause. This clause makes it difficult for a potential candidate to work for a company that deals in a like form of business. Even though in many places such clauses may not hold up in court it is enough to persuade a person to not take the risk. Existing employees in a relative or like business can be very important in growing a new business. The sought after employee would bring in already “established relationships with customers, suppliers, and channel members” that would help a growing company gain over their competition (Hisrich, Peters, & Shepherd, 2013, pg.424). This is why Google went after top talent like Microsoft’s Dr. Kai-Fu Lee and highly regarded scientist who wanted to leave Microsoft to become president if Google China (Hartley, 2011, pg.107) Going into a competitors turf like Google did with Microsoft shows them that you will not back down from a challenge and that you are willing to take risks to grow the business. The down fall of going after the talent of other companies is that it might interfere with the morale of the...

Words: 389 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Chihuly

...Profile Process Piece: Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation Week 1 Assignment Please answer the following questions in complete sentence and paragraph format. Although this is not a formal essay assignment, please note that proper spelling, grammar, and sentence structure are required. This week’s lecture and Chapters 2 and 3 in your text will help you work through some of the terms within the rhetorical situation. Defining Topic, Angle, Purpose 1. What is your chosen topic? (For example: a profile of Barb Collins, a volunteer at the local homeless shelter; a profile of “Shipwreck Days,” a citywide flea market and festival; or a profile of Burdick’s Grocery, the oldest family-owned business in town.) I am doing a profile on Dale Chihuly, An American glass blower and artist. 2. What unique angle can you present on this topic? (Consider what is new about the topic or what unique perspective can be shared about this topic.) Chihuly’s works are considered unique to the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture," (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). 3. What is your purpose for writing? (What do you hope to accomplish? Why are you writing?) My purpose for writing about Chihuly is to give everyone a chance to see what kind of amazing and beautiful art that can be done by someone who is blind in one eye. Analyzing your Readers You will be writing your Profile essay to your local community. Imagine you might submit the Profile to your local newspaper...

Words: 421 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Logical Connectors

...LOGICAL CONNECTORS Adverb Clauses, Sentence Adverbs, Transitions, Conjunctions and Prepositional Phrases Structural Formulas: Adverbial Clause: ADV + SVO, SVO. / SVO ADV + SVO. ADV + Ving, SVO. / SVO ADV + Ving. Sentence Adverbs: ADV, SVO. / S, ADV, VO / SVO, ADV. Transitions: SVO. TRANS, SVO. / SVO; trans, SVO. SVO. S, TRANS, VO. / SVO. SVO, TRANS. Conjunctions: SVO, conj SVO. Prepositional Phrases: PP + NOUN, SVO. / SVO PP + NOUN. (NOUN= Nouns, noun phrases, pronouns, gerund phrases, noun clauses) TIME: Adv.Cl: Until, Till, Up till, By the time, Before, After, When, Once, The moment, Now that, Immediately, Whenever, While, Whilst, As, Just as, As long as, As soon as, Since, Hardly . . . when . . ., Scarcely . . . when . . . , No sooner . . . than . . . Transition: Beforehand, Afterwards, Later, Later on, Then, Meanwhile, In the meantime, From (now/then) on PP: Before, After, Until, By, On/Upon, Prior to, Previous to, Subsequent to, During, For Other: Preceding, Proceeding, Following, Succeeding / Formerly, The former/The latter CONDITION Adv.Cl.: If, Only if, Providing/Provided (that), On (the) condition that, In the event that, Suppose/Supposing (that), As long as, So long as, What if, Even if, Unless, Whether … or (not), Assuming that, In (the) case (that), Given (that) Transition: Otherwise, If not Conj.: Or (else) PP: In case of, In the event of, If it weren’t/hadn’t been for, But for, Without CAUSE (REASON) Adv.Cl.: Because,...

Words: 805 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

King Essay

...JD Lee FYC 13100 Professor Clauss December 12, 2010 A Writing which is emotional, but not illogical at all In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., with other fifty-three black people, marched into downtown Birmingham and protested against the unjust racial segregation. However, all the members involved in the march were arrested. In Jail, as a response to the letter written by the clergymen to stop the black’s demonstration, Martin Luther King wrote “The Letter From Birmingham Jail” back to the clergymen. King’s letter longs for the immediate need for non-violent and direct protest against the unjust and immoral segregation laws. The letter itself exemplifies all the aspects of arguments. However, to be little more specific, King’s effective and brilliant employment of ethos and pathos to persuade the audience plays the major role for his effective and remarkable argumentation in this letter. Effectively and successively utilizing ethos, King succeeds not only in disproving the clergymen referring King and his crew as “outsiders” but also in making his arguments more credible. In “Statement by Alabama Clergymen, April 12, 1963”, the clergymen refer Martin Luther King and other 53 black people to the term, “outsiders.” As a response to this, King starts off with the use of ethos in “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” to acknowledge the audience that he is not an outsider, but one of the clergymen in Birmingham Society. He greets the clergymen with the head of the letter...

Words: 809 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Toefl Secret

...TOEFL Secrets Your Key to TOEFL Success From the desk of Tom Paulson, Director of Test-Taking Strategy at TOEFL Secrets, May 5, 2002Dear future TOEFL Success Story: Congratulations on your purchase of the most advanced test-taking manual for the TOEFL. Notice I did not say study guide- there are plenty of decent study guides on the market, but that was not our objective in writing this manual. Our goal is to seek and exploit specific weaknesses in the TOEFL assessment, and then share those secrets with our customers. Let’s be perfectly honest here- you’ve worked hard enough in the past, and if you want to spend hours in a study guide to boost your score, that’s a great thing to do. In fact, we recommend at least a brief review of some of the better study guides on the market. But that’s simply not enough to do well in the high-pressure high-stakes environment of the test day. How well you do on this test will have a significant impact on your future- and we have the research and practical advice to help you execute on test day. The product you’re reading now is much more than a study guide- it is a tactical weapon designed to exploit weaknesses in the test itself, and help you avoid the most common errors students make when taking the TOEFL. How to use this manual We don’t want to waste your time. This manual is fast-paced and fluff-free. We suggest going through it a number of times, trying out its methods on a number of official practice tests. First, read through the...

Words: 26507 - Pages: 107

Premium Essay

Fundamental of Effective Communication

...kin31937_ch.02.qxd 10/23/06 2:06 PM Page 11 THESIS SENTENCE TEMPLATES A thesis sentence is a sentence in the introduction that tells the reader what the topic or argument of the essay is. Experienced writers have little difficulty writing thesis sentences. This is because they have read and written thousands of them. You, the emerging writer, don’t have it so easy. So, you have to accelerate the process. You do this via thesis sentence templates. A thesis sentence template is the basic machinery of a thesis sentence, what makes it work. It is like a car minus the hood, the doors, the engine, the side panels, the wheels, and the air conditioner. On that basic structure, thousands of different cars can be built. From a thesis sentence template, thousands of thesis sentences can be constructed. The introduction for any piece of writing is very important. This is where you establish a relationship with the reader. The introduction will always be read, while the body of the paper might sometimes be glossed over (not carefully read) by graders of standardized tests like the SAT® or TOEFL®. ? HOW THE THESIS SENTENCE TEMPLATES WORK Each type of thesis sentence presented in this section is followed by two or three examples of how very different thesis sentences can be written using the template. Then you will write two or three thesis sentences of your own using the template. If you find the template difficult, just do one sentence on your own. But the more you...

Words: 1077 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Functional Analysis of Anticipatory ''It'' Lexical Bundles in Political Speeches Functional Analysis of Anticipatory ''It'' Lexical Bundles in Political Speeches

...Functional Analysis of Anticipatory ''It'' Lexical Bundles in Political Speeches Abstract This paper investigates a particular structural group of frequent word combinations referred to as ‘anticipatory it lexical bundles’. Lexical bundles are words formed that often co- occur in longer sequences. They are not idiomatic or structurally complete, but the sequences are building blocks in discourse and are so common and recurrent that the readers and listeners should pay much attention to them. The paper aims at showing and exploring structures and functions of the 'anticipatory it lexical bundles' presented in political speeches. This paper adopts Hewings and Hewings's categorization of interpersonal functions of 'anticipatory it lexical bundles'. Furthermore, the present investigation scrutinizes the interpersonal functions of 'anticipatory it lexical bundles' in the discourse of political speeches delivered by British politician 'Margaret Thatcher'. The structural and functional types of 'anticipatory it lexical bundles' found in the speeches under analysis are described and compared. The main finding of this paper indicates that there are two main interpersonal functions of lexical bundles that dominate in this domain: attitude markers and emphatics. 1.1 Lexical Bundles Lexical bundles, as a particular and relatively recent category of word combinations with a possibly formulaic status (Biber and Barbieri, 2007: 263), are coined and...

Words: 11541 - Pages: 47

Premium Essay

Stylistics

...Stylistics Task 2: Adoption (written language): There is some fairly long clauses and sentence, there is a lot more facts and things that is important to know. There are few repetitions, a varied vocabulary and a bigger and more nuanced vocabulary. Correct grammar and hole words instead of abbreviation. There are also many subordinate clauses and it is complete sentences. Basketball (spoken language): In this text they use short sentences, it is like they are talking to a friend - Daily life vocabulary, "incorrect" grammar. Few subordinate clauses and unfinished sentences with a lot of repetitions. The word "and" -> listings, is one of the most used words in spoken language. There are also many contractions (e.g. it´s). Task 14: In your essay you need to use written language. You use to many contractions e.g. It´s, try to use it is instead. “ But Jesus in heaven there sure are issues”, try not to write like you are talking to a friend. But I think that it is good that you use some fairly long clauses and sentence, and you are not using the word ”and” to often. Task 18: There is one passive sentence in the first letter, and there is zero in the last. I think that it is a harsh tone, he use in both letters. I just think that this should be a conversation, instead of written a letter. A letter is un personal, no matter how bad he´s teaching was, he deserves a conversation and not a letter, So I don’t think he should send any of these two letters. Task...

Words: 345 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

English Grammer

...or topic which the sentence deals with. To discover the subject, ask who or what before the verb, e.g. in the sentence The house stands on the hill, what stands on the hill? Answer: the house. Examples: The house stands on the hill. It overlooks the plain. PREDICATE The predicate is all of the sentence except the subject. Examples: The house stands on the hill. It overlooks the plain. OBJECT The object is the person, thing or topic upon which the subject carries out the action of the verb. To discover the object, ask who or what after the verb, e.g. the house overlooks what? Answer: the plain. Examples: The house overlooks the plain. I see him clearly. He watches himself carefully. dog walk s in dogs ed in walked In some cases a whole clause...

Words: 2134 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Plagiarism

...What is Plagiarism? Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines plagiarism in this way: "To steal or purloin and pass off as one's own" the exact ideas, words, writings, etc. of another. If a student deliberately copies the exact words of a clause, sentence or paragraph written by another without enclosing these words in quotation marks and citing their source in a footnote, he or she is guilty of plagiarism. A frequent problem is the student who changes some words, or perhaps even rearranges the sequence of clauses in the material he or she is using. Such an approach is also plagiarism. Several papers submitted by students with obvious problems in this area appeared to be a cut and paste job from the specific sources. Cut and paste paraphrasing is still plagiarism. It is interesting to note that in 1983 a journalist for a major television news service was fired and barred from journalism for using the first five sentences of a Newsweek article as a part of a television report on the same topic without attributing it to its source. This is serious business. Presidential candidates have been forced to withdraw after evidence of plagiarism was discovered on their college transcripts. A recent temptation to plagiarize has been created by the Internet. It is possible to copy documents directly into your word processor and use cut and paste to create a written document. This is totally unacceptable and will be prosecuted through the Academic Affairs Committee of the College when...

Words: 301 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Grammar Worksheet

...GLENCOE LANGUAGE ARTS Grammar and Language Workbook G RADE 9 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Send all inquiries to: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill 936 Eastwind Drive Westerville, Ohio 43081 ISBN 0-02-818294-4 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 024 03 02 01 00 99 Contents Handbook of Definitions and Rules .........................1 Troubleshooter ........................................................21 Part 1 Grammar ......................................................45 Unit 1 Parts of Speech 1.1 Nouns: Singular, Plural, and Collective ....47 1.2 Nouns: Proper and Common; Concrete and Abstract.................................49 1.3 Pronouns: Personal and Possessive; Reflexive and Intensive...............................51 1.4 Pronouns: Interrogative and Relative; Demonstrative and Indefinite .....................53 1.5 Verbs: Action (Transitive/Intransitive) ......55 1.6 Verbs: Linking .............................................57 1.7 Verb Phrases ................................................59 1.8 Adjectives ....................................................61 1.9 Adverbs........................................................63 1.10 Prepositions...

Words: 107004 - Pages: 429

Premium Essay

Business Writing

...Max one page resume for position in your field Improve your business writing 1. Audience oriented (who is my audience) 2. Purposeful (why am I writing to you, specific wording, one thing at a time. Reader can choose which one is better if option) 3. Economical (less is more) less words is better * To improve writing skills, you need 1. To learn effective writing process 2. To study model messages 3. To practice * The writing process 1. Stage1 Analyzing(who am I writing to?) Analyzing, anticipating, adapting 2. Stage 2 Writing researching, organizing ,composing 3. Stage 3 Revising revising, proofreading ,evaluating * **Read what you wrote more than once Audience Benefits Shape your statements to involve the reader. Strive to develop the “you” view. Ask yourself: what’s in it for the reader? **You have the goal but the reader has to be benefit. Example 1: Instead of this: We are promoting a are plan that we believe has many outstanding benefits. Try this: We will enjoy total peace of mind with our affordable holiday get away plan that meets all your needs. Example 2: Instead of : Before we can allow you to purchase items on this new account, we must wait two weeks to verify your credit. Try this: You may begin making purchases on your new account in two weeks. Example 3: Instead of : I need your response immediately so that I can ask the employee vacation schedule by next week. Try this:...

Words: 983 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Kusse

...of the story - old, modern? Time of day? 3. The main character: What sort of person is Toby? What is wrong with him? What does he like and dislike? Whom does he look up to? What sort of things matter to him - and why do they matter so much to him? Relationships: Describe Toby's mother. What is your impression of Toby's relationship to her? Why do you think Toby keeps his mother's "tickits" rather than giving them to her? Patrolman McVee: What seems to be McVee's attitude to Toby? Would he agree with Toby's mother that he's "a goddamn nut"? 4. Point of view and narrator: a) What is the point of view (synsvinkel) ofthe story? Note here that the sentence structure is fairly simple: mostly short main clauses (hovedsætninger) without any subordinate clauses (ledsætninger). b) Is the narrator omniscient, or do es he have restricted knowledge of the characters? 5. Theme, aim: a) What would you say is the theme of this short short story?? b) What might the author want to show us, what is his point? 6. Putting the text into perspective, seeing the text in a broader context (sammenhæng): If you have found answers to section 5, you will also have put the text into perspective. Der er vedlagt et eksempel på hvordan punkt 4 & 5 kunne bevares. Derfor skal I ikke besvare disse punkter. Besvarelse til Tickits: 1. a. The first seventeen lines is the first section. I have given the section the headline: TOBY. In the beginning of the story, we...

Words: 594 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Dee Dee

... | |3. PRONOUN |Takes the place of a noun | |4. ADJECTIVE |A word used to modify (describe) a noun or pronoun | |5. ADVERB |A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb | |6. PREPOSITION |A word that relates a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence | |7. CONJUNTIONS |Words that are used to join words, phrases, or clauses | |8. INTERJECTIONS |Words that are used to express mild feelings or strong emotions | Every TUESDAY: I need to label the SENTENCE PARTS The two most important parts of a sentence are: 1.)...

Words: 463 - Pages: 2