Santa Claus, the jolly old man with the plump belly and snow-white beard who travels all around the world one night each year to bring gifts to all the good boys and girls. The tale of him is as old as time. We were all told about him at a young age and we'll carry on the tale and tell our children about him one day. The legend will live on. Yet, we're all wondering...

How did this man actually originate?

If you're anything like me and you actually thought out the idea of Santa Claus, you were absolutely terrified that this man had the ninja-like capabilities of sneaking into all of our houses, chimney or not, just to bring us presents. No? Maybe my parents just really instilled stranger-danger into me at a young age... either way, I was left puzzled.

Will the real Santa Claus please stand up?

Well, that might be a little difficult. You see, for starters, Santa Claus goes by a plethora of names. Each country has its own adaptation of how Santa Claus originated. Yet, to save some time, we're just going to focus on how Santa Claus evolved in America.

Turns out, Santa Claus originated as St. Nicholas. Yes, I learned this in my grade school days, but I didn't know much more other than he was a Saint.

St. Nicholas got his start as a bishop in Myra, which is a small Roman town that is now modern Turkey. He was born around 280 years after Christ and was known to be a patron of children all due to two magical stories. Bishop Nicholas was a very generous man and tried to right the wrongdoings of the world. It has been told that he secretly paid off the dowries of three young girls who were to be married into a life of prostitution.

Didn't see that one coming, did ya? Yeah, me neither.

It has also been told that Nicholas performed a miracle. One night, Nicholas sensed an act of violence and entered an inn whose keeper had just murdered three little boys. He performed the miracle of resurrecting the three little boys. This act earned Nicholas sainthood and patron of children.

Bishop Nicholas, now St. Nicholas, continued out through life as a gift bringer. Of course, he couldn't live forever. He passed on December 6th and the year is not certain. However, his story and magic lived on. The anniversary of his death is celebrated as St. Nicholas Day. This day should definitely receive more attention seeing as this concept all started with him.

Now, how did we go from a St. Nicholas to a jolly, old Santa Claus?

The name Santa Claus evolved from St. Nicholas’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas. The name then managed to just stick and now we have Santa Claus.

Our image of Santa that we have today is all thanks to the political cartoonist, Thomas Nast.

Before Thomas Nast, Santa Claus was nothing but a figment of our imagination in poems.

In 1821, an anonymously illustrated poem entitled "The Children's Friend" delved much further in shaping the modern Santa and associating him with Christmas. The poem kept the magical gift giving of St. Nicholas but removed Nicholas of any religious titles. Soon after that poem was released, more poems followed suit, adding to the description of Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote, "The Night Before Christmas," describing Santa as this plump, jolly man who operates a sleigh driven by eight reindeer.

As you can see, the description of Santa Claus slowly developed and evolved over time. Today, he is still seen as a generous man who showers the good little boys and girls with gifts.

Christmas is a time of giving and the magic of Santa Claus sure sounds like the gift that keeps on giving.